The Heshoo Beshoo Group - 1971 - Armitage Road

The Heshoo Beshoo Group

1971  

Armitage Road

01. Armitage Road 8:12

02. Wait And See 5:03

03. Emakhaya 10:17

04. Amabutho 9:02

05. Lazy Bones 12:18

Alto Saxophone – Henry Sithole

Bass – Ernest Mothle

Drums – Nelson Magwaza

Guitar – Cyril Magubane

Tenor Saxophone – Stanley Sithole

African jazz, Armitage Road, originally released in 1970, was the only studio recording released by South Africa's Heshoo Beshoo Group. As a highly prized collector's item, a re-issue and re-appraisal of this lost gem from the apartheid era has been long overdue. Heshoo Beshoo loosely translates from the inter-tribal lingo of the townships as either 'going by force', or 'moving with force'. That is certainly the case here. With its undeniably funky element Armitage Road combines graceful and moving playing with invention and passion, and it does not disappoint from start to finish.

This much lauded and rarely heard South African jazz album has featured on many a crate-digger’s want list for some time, and is finally receiving a limited edition vinyl and CD release by Canadian label We Are Busy Bodies. Armitage Road was first released in South Africa by EMI subsidiary Little Giant in 1970, and was released by EMI France on Columbia in 1971 and again with a colourised sleeve on HMV in 1974. As mint copies of any of these currently sell for £200 and upwards, how does the record sound fifty years on? Well, pretty, pretty good. Heshoo Beshoo (literally meaning ‘going with force’) were founded in 1969 by alto saxophonist Henry Sithole, who had previously worked with Dalton Kanyile’s Keynotes, Gibsen Kente’s Sikalo, Almon’s Jazz 8 and Mackay Davashe’s Jazz Dazzlers. The rest of the musicians in the band were his brother Stanley Sithole, on tenor saxophone, guitarist Cyril Magubane, bassist Ernest Mothle and drummer Nelson Magwaza. Henry and Stanley (along with another brother Danny) would go on to play in The Drive, South Africa’s top soul jazz group. The album was named after the township street where Cyril Magubane lived and was produced by former EMI South Africa staff producer John S. Norwell. The cover photo imitates the Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ zebra crossing artwork showing the gulf between life in the township street in Orlando, Soweto and London’s St John’s Wood during the depths of the Apartheid era. This is a joyful record, the sound is live and upfront and the band is tight, funky and soulful. The five compositions (four by Magubane and one from Henry Sithole) strike a balance somewhere between Soweto and Memphis. Magubane’s arrangements are clean and effective, the rhythm section keeps things on the front foot and gives the two horn playing brothers space for their inventive soloing that carries echoes of Coltrane and Cannonball as well as African horn giants Winston Mankunku and Kippie Moeketsi. All the five tracks are strong and I particularly enjoyed ‘Emakhaya’ (‘Back Home In The Bush’) with its infectious groove and one of many fine guitar solos. Another stand out is Henry Sithole’s driving ‘Wait and See’, with its heavy backbeat and strong unison horn lines. Also, the eleven minute ‘Lazy Bones’ with its traditional melody and more satisfying soloing from everyone. But it’s all good and very welcome fifty years on. Album Review by Adam Sieff

This rare apartheid-era collector’s item Armitage Road (originally released in 1970) is the only record by South African jazz ensemble The Heshoo Beshoo Group. In 2020, the album received a long overdue reissue by the Canadian record label We Are Busy Bodies.

On its initial release in the seventies, the record gained instant notoriety for two reasons. First, the players on the album were building a reputation for their exceptional abilities which left many people eager to hear them play. Second, the record was released in South Africa under the EMI imprint, Little Giants, with a later release by EMI France. In large part, record companies at the time were hesitant to promote any jazz artists; they favoured pop musicians. This was because apartheid government policies forced black people to listen to music with links to their ‘traditional roots’, therefore obscuring any sense of a cosmopolitan identity; the album consequently had a very limited distribution.

Many people, particularly the black metropolitan population of the day, and fans of jazz in the golden age of the 50s, had heard of Armitage Road but very few could access it. Since then, the record has been a highly prized collector’s item. The reissue gives all those who have longed to hear the music a chance to listen. Since the reissue, the album has been popular with its original fans as well as a new generation of jazz lovers who are aware of the Heshoo Beshoo Group. Guitarist Cyril Magubane is credited with the bulk of the composition, except for the single ‘Wait and See’, which was written by Henry Sithole. Brothers Henry and Stanley Sithole play tenor and alto sax on the album respectively, taking a lot from hard bop and paying homage to the likes of Coltrane and Kippie Moeketsi. This is fused with funk influences, which make the horn playing on this album quite distinctive.

In 1971, after the dissolution of Heshoo Beshoo, the brothers formed part of a new ensemble named ‘The Drive’, which became one of the few prominent South African jazz outfits in the late 70s. The Heshoo Beshoo Group is rounded out by Ernest Mothle on bass and Nelson Magwaza on the drums. The resulting sound combines those influences and drives in the horns with danceable South African jazz.

Much like The Beatles’ Abbey Road sleeve, which was released a year earlier, the original album cover shows the group crossing Armitage Road in Orlando, Soweto, Magubane’s address at the time. While one can only guess at the reasons for this, it is safe to assume that given the iconic popularity of The Beatles, the Heshoo Beshoo group was simply borrowing from American-European culture as many of their predecessors had done before, tying in with the desire for a more cosmopolitan identity, rather than that rooted in the ‘traditional’ and prescribed by the apartheid regime.

Having contracted polio as a child, Magubane appears in a wheelchair on the cover. Although small and fragile in stature, there’s nothing small or fragile about his musical abilities. When Armitage Road was recorded, Magubane was just twenty-four years old, an age when many a jazz musician might just be graduating from university or learning the ropes from their teachers. However, Magubane was able to compose four out of the five tracks on a groundbreaking album. At a relatively young age Magubane had already found his ‘voice’ and had the confidence to strive to sound just like himself.

Each of the tracks on the record are distinctive, all of them are memorable, and they provide the vehicles for improvisations that enable each of the players to showcase their skill and virtuosity.

The title track is an introduction to the album’s straight-ahead jazz influence. The melody is catchy and underpinned by a persistent drum and bass rhythm that plays in your memory long after the song has stopped. There is also a beautiful transition to swing that facilitates the majority of the solos. In this song in particular, the influence of hard bop on Stanley Sithole’s playing style is highlighted; it is this style that was further developed on the subsequent album Slow Drive to Soweto (1974) with later-formed group The Drive.

‘Wait and See’, the second track, is an enjoyable up-tempo funk tune. A good choice for the single of the album, this song beautifully illustrates the aesthetic of the record as a whole. ‘Emakhaya’, which follows, begins with a guitar solo in the style we would later come to know as South African neo-traditional guitar. The rest of the song is a groovy number distinguished by Magwaza’s driving pulse and a well thought out solo played by Stanley Sithole. Emakhaya is an isiZulu word that means ‘home’. More specifically, in the apartheid context emakhaya was used to describe the rural spaces designated for black people to reside in, otherwise known as bantustans. This particular song seems to suggest that this may be where Magubane feels most relaxed (and at home) and able to be himself. ‘Emakhaya’ becomes a vehicle that showcases Magubane’s well-honed playing as the whole song, solo and all, features outstanding guitar playing. Throughout, Magubane easily navigates different styles of guitar as the song blends several genres.

Although the word Amabutho means warriors, ‘Amabutho’ is a peaceful song, not the sound one would typically associate with any kind of warfare or soldiers. All that can be said for these soldiers is that they seem to be having a very jolly time! Again, here, Magubane’s guitar is an early feature. Henry Sithole rounds off the performance with a gutsy solo. Personally, I feel that this may be the tune that showcases the players’ personalities, as well as shows off why they work so well together.

The last track on the record, ‘Lazy Bones’, is a jovial cyclical melody driven forward by Mothle’s consistency on the bass. Mothle himself is not prone to any fancy displays, which is exactly what this record needs. Instead, he is steadfast, playing his role in each of the recordings, showcasing his skill as a bassist but at no point trying to overshadow the other players. In fact, he and Magwaza should be commended for their work in establishing the fusion-based feel of this entire album.

In the decade in which they were playing, the Heshoo Beshoo Group showed courage in persisting as a jazz ensemble at a time when any outward expressions of black cosmopolitanism were at best discouraged and at worst repressed by the state. It is unsurprising then that Armitage Road is the only record made by the Group. Not discounting potential circumstances within the ensemble itself that may have ultimately led its founding members to form The Drive, the limited distribution is testament to the hesitation by promoters and labels to invest in anything as unapologetically jazz as Armitage Road. The extraordinary abilities of the players, brought together brilliantly by Magubane’s writing, created a remarkable piece of work. This record would deservingly go on to influence the relatively few musicians who still chose to make jazz music in the 70s in South Africa. This reissue could not have come sooner and is well worth the listen.

The cover photo of Armitage Road, the sole album by South Africa’s Heshoo Beshoo Group, tells a powerful story. Inspired by The Beatles’ Abbey Road, which had been released one year earlier in 1969, the cover shows the jazz quintet crossing an unpaved street in Orlando, a township of Soweto. Guitarist Cyril Magubane, stricken with polio from the waist down since childhood, sits in his wheelchair. Without overtly mentioning Apartheid—and thus risking censorship—the image criticizes the prevailing social conditions, particularly when juxtaposed with the neatly painted crosswalk under the feet of the Fab Four.