Kippie Moeketsi

The Jazz Epistles were South Africa's first black jazz band, pioneering a new musical form influenced by bebop and traditional South African music. Inspired by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, The Jazz Epistles formed when the Dollar Brand Trio from Capetown-which included pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, bassist Johnny Gertze, and drummer Makaya Ntshoko-combined talents with alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, the late great trumpeter Hugh Masekela, and trombonist Jonas Gwangwa. Their first and only album, Jazz Epistle, Verse 1, released in 1959, brought them international acclaim. Following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the increasing oppression of the apartheid government-including the prohibition of jazz music-band members emigrated to Europe and North America. Two of them, Ibrahim and Masekela, would go on to become jazz stars in their own right. 

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC) presents The Jazz Epistles: Abdullah Ibrahim with guest Terence Blanchard in a rare tribute concert, February 18 at 7pm in the Chan Shun Concert Hall. Half a century after the release of their landmark album, Jazz Epistle Verse 1, iconic keyboardist and Jazz Epistle alumnus Abdullah Ibrahim revisits the legendary repertoire of his historic South African ensemble. Four-time GRAMMY-winning New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard joins Ibrahim and band Ekaya as guest performer of these jazz masterworks produced during the apartheid struggle.

Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, today announced programming for the BAM 2018 Winter/Spring Season. The season runs from January 15 through June 23 and includes theater, dance, music, and other live events in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Harvey Theater, and BAM Fisher. Scroll down for highlights!

Town Hall and (Le) Poisson Rouge are proud to present the Jazz Epistles, featuring Abdullah Ibrahim and his acclaimed jazz ensemble Ekaya live in New York City for the first time on South Africa Freedom Day, April 27th. Hugh Masekela, originally scheduled to perform at this show, has been sidelined by a medical emergency, a dislocated right shoulder resulting from a recent fall while on tour in Morocco. He will be replaced for this program by the young South African trumpeter Lesedi Ntsane.

Town Hall and (Le) Poisson Rouge are proud to present the Jazz Epistles, featuring Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela live in New York City for the first time on South African Freedom Day, April 27th. Half a century after recording South Africa's landmark jazz album, Jazz Epistle, Verse 1, these original bebop legends reunite for their first North American performance at the Town Hall at 123 West 43rd Street in New York.