Billy ready to rock Turffontein Racecourse

Jack Milner

While there is sensational horseracing taking place at Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday, it will be supported by the Joburg Seafood & Jazz Racing Festival, where the Billy Monama Quartet, the Sisonke Xonti Quartet and the Romy Brauteseth Trio will rock the crowd.

Monama is one the country’s foremost guitarists, and he has sent a message to all jazz fans.

“People must expect fire!

“This is the first time in a long while I will be performing with a quartet. In fact, it is the first time this year I’ll be performing with a full band and it’s going to be special.”

Monama has appeared at venues all over the country, but this will be his first gig at a racecourse.

“Right now my energy is focusing on the racecourse. We are preparing everything that is going to happen on the stage, our repertoire and how I’m going to take the audience through the journey until I play the last song.

“Live performances are different to listening to music off a CD. It’s like when you see a lion or a zebra in a zoo and then see them roaming wild at the Kruger Park. It’s a far more exhilarating experience.”

Monama started playing the guitar in 1997. “I was always surrounded by music. In my neighbourhood people would play music all night long. At church, in particular, I was exposed to music.

“We had a whole group of musicians in the church and if you made a mistake, nobody would judge you.”

In the early 2000s there were a number of young South African guitarists coming through the ranks. Billy would watch them on television and knew that is what he wanted to do.

“I went to Soweto, saw live music and started to experience the music scene. Soweto had so many musicians who were living close to one another. I met people like Themba Mokoena, and other giants of the local music industry.”

Within a few years Monama had been accepted into the group, not only as a musician but also as a composer. One of his early compositions was Soweto Highway which evokes all the sounds and emotions engendered by that piece of road.

“I wrote that piece in 2007. I was coming from Meadowlands and standing on the Soweto highway waiting for a taxi and a heavy storm broke out and I had nowhere to hide. All the taxis that passed me were packed already and by the time I got to school my guitar was wet, my books were wet and my clothes were soaked.

“There are so many things happening on the highway from noise of the traffic to all the violence that happens. However, around midnight it all goes quiet, no traffic, everything is so mellow. But the chaos all starts again from around 5am.”

That is all reflected in the piece, as it opens with a cacophony of atonal sounds blearing from trumpets and as it progresses becomes smooth and mellifluous – a remarkable piece of music.    

Monama is a strong champion and promoter of African music. “I was taught by people who were themselves self-taught. It was only when I went to study music that I heard of Bach and Beethoven, but I kept asking where are the African players, and why are they not on the curriculum?”

So passionate is he about the subject that he is about to publish his first book – Introduction To SA Guitar Styles Volume 1. “I’m a sucker for South African music.”

Everything he does is embroiled in jazz and all this will come to the fore at Turffontein on Saturday.

“There will be a section that recalls all the sounds from the past but rearranged for today.

“I will bring a different flavour to the event.”

Tickets are available on www.webtickets.co.za.