Tumi Mogorosi
Image: Facebook
Tumi Mogorosi will perform at the 23rd Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF), presenting a tribute to jazz legend Kippie Moeketsi with an ensemble that reinterprets his music.
The performance, titled “Revolutionary with a Reed”, places Mogorosi at the centre of an ensemble that reflects on Moeketsi’s influence while reworking his music through a contemporary lens.
The set is scheduled for the Rosies Stage, where Mogorosi will be joined by Muhammad Dawjee on saxophone and Nhlanhla Neville Radebe on bass.
Mogorosi’s work has long drawn from improvisation, spirituality and political thought, and these elements continue to shape his approach to this tribute.
He explained that the performance was grounded in both memory and reinterpretation.
“The themes that are shaping the music I am bringing are about thinking through a lens of tribute and commemoration,” he said.
“We are trying to think about how to pay homage to the great masses that have come before.”
The project does not aim to replicate Moeketsi’s sound in a fixed form. Instead, it considers the saxophonist’s songbook as a living archive.
Mogorosi and his collaborators engage with it through new arrangements that open space for dialogue between past and present.
“We asked Khaya Mahlangu to work on a couple of the arrangements that we are going to be playing,” he said.
“So it is both about the master and the songbook, and also about how these arrangements allow us to engage the music in a different way.”
Mogorosi frames Moeketsi as a modernist figure shaped by his social and political environment. This understanding informs the direction of the performance.
“It is important to think about his locatedness,” he said.
“To think through the social and political circumstances of his upbringing and his musical practice. This becomes important in linking lineages, particularly of the horn, while also thinking about composition in a broader sense.”
As both drummer and bandleader, Mogorosi approaches the ensemble from a position that allows him to shape the overall sound while remaining part of the collective. He described the drum kit as a vantage point that offers a full view of the musical field.
“Being behind the drums and being the bandleader gives me a kind of landscape,” he said.
“I am able to see the whole field, from the low end to the mids to the high end.”
This perspective informs how he guides the group. Rather than directing from above, he focuses on creating conditions where each musician can reach their potential.
“My role is to ensure that the people in the band can reach their maximum in terms of their own visions,” he said.
“It is about bringing the best out of the ensemble.”
The idea of collective expression remains central to Mogorosi’s philosophy. His performances often emphasise shared space and mutual listening, and this approach carries into the tribute.
“The philosophy of the collective is always central in the music itself,” he said.
“I am not by myself on the bandstand. I am sharing space with people, so there is an ethical demand in terms of how we share that space.”
For Mogorosi, freedom in music is not an individual pursuit but something that emerges within a group dynamic.
“Freedom can only be exercised within the context of the group,” he said.
This belief shapes both the structure of the performance and the interactions between musicians, as they navigate improvisation and composition together.
Audiences attending the performance can expect an experience that balances intensity with reflection. Mogorosi pointed to energy as a key element of the set, but also emphasised it was conceptual grounding.
“The audience can expect a high-energy performance that tries to focus on the compositional aspect of the music,” he said.
“At the same time, we are thinking about how there is a continuous interpretive lens being placed on the music.”
This approach allows the ensemble to revisit familiar material while opening it to new meanings. The music becomes a site of ongoing interpretation, shaped by the musicians on stage and the context in which it is performed.
“The energy is what we are trying to capture within this moment,” Mogorosi added.
The tribute to Moeketsi forms part of a broader trajectory in Mogorosi’s work, which often engages with history and memory. Beyond the festival, he is preparing to release a new project that continues this line of inquiry.
“I have a new project coming out called ‘Thank You For Your Service,” he said. “It deals with the history of figures within the black radical tradition.”
The project reflects his ongoing interest in exploring alternative ways of being and thinking.
“It is about paying homage to figures who were always trying to imagine a different world,” he said. “A world that is more just and more based on freedom.”
Alongside this release, Mogorosi plans to continue performing across different venues and festivals. Touring remains an important part of how he develops and shares his work, allowing each performance to take on a distinct character shaped by its context.
“I will be playing and touring at different venues and festivals around the world,” he said.
His return to the CTIJF is marked by a sense of gratitude and purpose.
“Thank you for extending this invitation to love and to freedom,” he said, framing the performance as both an artistic offering and a gesture of connection.
Taking place on March 27 and 28 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the festival continues to hold its place as one of the continent’s most recognised music gatherings.
More information about the festival is available at www.capetownjazzfest.com. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.