I believe in letting an invader in and then setting a good example. That is the reply Benjamin Britten gave to a tribunal for the registration of conscientious objectors in 1942 when asked "What would you do if Britain was invaded?" I was reminded of it when researching my recent article on Marco Pallis , who was an authority on both Tibetan Buddhism and early music, and, together with Britten, a champion of Purcell . In his best-selling book Peaks and Lamas , which was written in 1939, Pallis tells this story about the Sakyas , the ethnic group of which Gautama Buddha was a member which inhabited the foothills of the Himalayas. News was brought to them of an impending attack by a hostile tribe and it was debated anxiously whether resistance should be offered or not. Eventually they decided that, as followers of [Buddhist] Doctrine, they were debarred from offering armed resistance, but must welcome the invaders as friends, so they threw down their arms... The Tibetans, how...
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I really do not understand why those Londoners are programming Hugh Masakela. I’ve listened to his Music and frankly speaking : I didn’t like it.
Threre’s much better in South Africa. Take for instance Dollar Brand , i e Abdullah Ibrahim. A great artist.
Just listen to “ Good News From Africa”. A masterpiece. It’s http://www.jazzrecords.com/enja/2048.htm
He’s very serious. He wants his Music to be respected. He doesn’t start playing as long as there is noise in the concert hall.
My guess is that he’s not that well known in the UK. When he was in exile ( apartheid) he lived in Germany. He keeps playing all over Europe ( mostly in Germany). He now has a small institute at the Cape Town University.
You can find info on pianist Dollar Brand / Abdullah Ibrahim here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ibrahim
and most of all : http://www.abdullahibrahim.com/indexf.html
The Guardian said : http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2001/dec/08/jazz
I think you’ll like this Music.
BT