Here’s an unusual find (for me) from browsing used record shops during a vacation: a 78-rpm recording on a South African label featuring a widely known band from that country:
I’m unable to precisely date this record. Gallotone Singer was a label from the Gallo (Africa) Ltd. company, operating out of Johannesburg, and in use by at least the mid-30s. Sonny’s Jazz Revelers was also active around the same time. Directed by saxophonist Sonny Groenewald, the group originated in Cape Town and toured the country, playing a blend of jazz and their hometown’s dance music.
Sources I’ve read classify Sonny’s Jazz Revelers as part of the langarm tradition, a South African ballroom dance style and social gathering popular among Black communities. Langarm developed out of vernacular dances with a pronounced influence from American jazz. The saxophone is vital to the music and setting, often played with a prominent nasal tone and vibrato.
On this record, instead, the two-saxophone lead plays with a rich, bright sound and varying degrees of collective improvisation. The pianist receives a good share of solo space. Their dialoging phrases and ringing syncopations add to the overall light spirit and heavily accented rhythm.
The Revelers also trot through beloved jazz standards from the twenties. The repertoire, combined with the double saxophones and earnest melody choruses, reminded me of dance bands from that era: a warm, rhythmic throwback. An astute musician-friend compared it to a mid-twenties dinner club band—if they got to record electrically!
I’m unsure how a South African record ended up in a record store bin in the mountains of New England, but it was mine for two dollars. I hope you enjoy it. Please note that all of the above is a broad summary of cursory research. Further information and corrections are welcome.
The Pop of Yestercentury 