By Zuko Komisa
Point of View with Phemelo Motene had a conversation with bassist and composer Shane Cooper about his love for jazz and his latest album with fellow bandmates MABUTA.
Cooper is a Johannesburg-based bassist, composer, and producer.
He is a member of the new generation of South African jazz musicians who are advancing the genre.
He is also well-known for his contributions to electronic and dance music, as well as for music he has composed for theatre and motion pictures.
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LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION HERE:
On his move to Johannesburg from Cape Town
Along with bandmates Bokani Dyer, Sisonke Xonti, Robin Fassie, and Reza Khota, he formed Shane Cooper & MABUTA in 2018.
Welcome To This World, their debut album, was released in 2018 and is available digitally, on CD, and on double-LP.
In May 2022, their second album, “Finish The Sun,” was released on the Dutch label Dox Records as well as on vinyl via Shane’s own label, Kujua Records.
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Cooper spoke about how he had to move from Cape Town in 2018 to join a thriving jazz scene in Gauteng.
“I moved here from Cape Town in 2018 and had been travelling here for a while to perform at the Orbit, and I came up here because there was this mass migration of Jazz musicians from Cape Town and I wanted to be part of this scene that was quite strong here.” said Cooper
On working on the new Thandi Ntuli album
He spoke fondly about working on Thandi Ntulli’s latest album Blk Elijah & The Children of Meroë as a bassist.
“With Jazz, it’s an incredibly dynamic and organic art form, it’s a broad genre and there’s of course sub-genres in it. I play bass on the new Thandi Ntuli album which came out recently and I hadn’t really heard it since the studio session, which was some months ago.”
“When you’re in the studio there are certain levels of awareness you are used to, you are aware of how you are playing, you sit in an ensemble, you are aware of how much risk to take, how much voice to give when it is not your project and how much to let it be dictated Jazz has a good balance of following the leader, and knowing how much you can bring of your own voice.
“When I finally listened to the album it was an incredible to see this powerful vision that Thandi brought,” said Cooper
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