Ezra ngcukana biography
- The tenorist Ezra Ngcukana was.
- Born in 1954 in Port Elizabeth, Ezra Ngcukana returned with his mother to Cape Town's Langa township, where he was raised.
- Ezra was an extraordinarily versatile player, comfortable in settings as diverse as African jazz, mbaqanga, jazz-rock fusion, and rock 'n' roll.
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The Ngcukana Brothers
Ezra Nyaniso Ngcukana
Ezra Nyaniso Ngcukana was an exceptional, versatile jazz musician and the younger brother of fellow jazz legend Duke Ngcukana. His father was the prominent baritone and tenor saxophonist Christopher Columbus "Mra" Ngcukana.
Born in 1955, Ezra was surrounded by music in his home from a young age: "My first saxophone was not intended for me because nobody expected me to play saxophone, because I am a humble person.
To play the saxophone you got to be aggressive." At 15, Ezra gave his first professional jazz performance. In 1972 he enrolled at the University of Fort Hare in Eastern Cape, where he joined the Village Art Quintet that his brother, Duke, had established at the university. He teamed up with Duke, Timmy Kwebulana, Buggs Gongco, Danayi Dlova and Victor Ntoni to form the Uptown Sextet. Later, he became involved in Lefifi Tladi's group called "Dashiki" that fused political struggle poetry and music.
In 1973, Ezra was expelled from Fort Hare due to political disturbances. He went on to regis
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Obituary: Ezra Ngcukana: Jazz saxophonist
And Ezra was a heavy drinker and marvellous human being.
On the saxophone, he was a monster; warm as hell and cool as they come. They called him Pharaoh - after the American jazz saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders - but to this writer he was more like Coleman Hawkins: warm, probing, brooding ... and devilishly explosive when the moment called for it.
"He was also the most gifted of the Ngcukana brothers," says Duke. "He had a natural feel for sound. He was incredible. I remember when he was still young, and we formed a band here in Cape Town and wanted the late Winston Mankunku Ngozi to lead on the sax. But we could not get Winston, so Ezra volunteered. I was not sure about him then, but hey, he showed us something. Hell! He blew and blew and blew and we just stood there, astounded and bewitched. That was Ezra for you; full of beautiful surprises."
Trumpeter Stompie Manana also remembers being pleasantly surprised by Ezra, even though music had no part in it in that episode: "We were touring the country in 1979 wi
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