Great SA Songs: Mannenberg

Artist: Dollar Brand
Song: Mannenberg
Album: Mannenberg is where it’s happening(1974)

It’s tempting to make the grand claim that, with the release of Mannenberg in 1974, Dollar Brand brought jazz back to Africa. Or at least back to Cape Town.

Prior to its release, the jazz musicians of the Cape were largely concerned with fitting into the styles of their American influences. After Mannenberg, there was much more of an emphasis on creating locally-inflected jazz, on creating sounds that could be termed authentically South African.

Every week, the M&G chooses one great song that says something about what it means to be South African. We write from the perspective of the listener, and in the belief that art is greater than artists will ever know. Suggest your own great South African songs here.