View source for Chris McGregor

{{Short description|South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2021}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
'''Christopher McGregor''' (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African [[jazz]] pianist, bandleader and composer born in [[Somerset West]], South Africa.<ref name="lock">{{cite book | first=Graham | last=Lock | title=Chasing the Vibration: Meetings with Creative Musicians | publisher=Stride | location=Exeter | year=1994 | page=62}}</ref>

== Early influences ==
McGregor grew up in the then [[Transkei]] (now part of the [[Eastern Cape|Eastern Cape Province]]),<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|pages=820/1}}</ref> where his father was headmaster at a Church of Scotland mission institution called Blythswood. Here McGregor was exposed to the music of the local [[amaXhosa]] people.<ref name="Larkin"/>

This music, as explained in Dave Dargie's book ''Xhosa Music'', is complex. Dargie mentions the following as examples of this complexity which might be seen to have influenced McGregor in his own music, both as composer/arranger and as band leader: "...a great number of style characteristics are to be found: relating not only to harmony and scale, but to melody, structure and phrasing, form, rhythm, instrumentation, singing techniques, and so on."{{cn|date=July 2021}}

In his book ''Chasing the Vibration'' Graham Lock quotes McGregor saying: "I have this strong imaginative reference to African village music, and the thing I know about that music is that it has a strong centre. It builds up, a lot of people do things together that they know."<ref name="lock" />

== Early career ==
{{refimprove section|date=July 2021}}
After school and a stint in the merchant navy training academy [[HMS Thames (1885)|The General Botha]] at [[Gordon's Bay]] in the [[Western Cape]] in 1952–53, McGregor enrolled at the [[South African College of Music]], then headed by Professor Eric Chisholm.{{cn|date=July 2021}} Here McGregor was exposed to a different set of influences, during the day [[Béla Bartók]] and [[Arnold Schoenberg]], and at night recordings of [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Thelonious Monk]], and the live music of local jazz musicians such as [[Dollar Brand]] (now Abdullah Ibrahim), [[Cecil Barnard]] (now Hotep Idris Galeta), Christopher Columbus Ngcukana, Vincent Kolbe, "Cup-and-Saucers" Nkanuka, Monty Weber, the Schilder brothers, and many others who were active in the vibrant Cape jazz scene at that time, the mid-1950s.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The vibrancy and power of this music has led some{{who?|date=July 2021}} to designate the music played around Cape Town as a particular jazz genre called "[[Cape Jazz]]." (Miller, 2007).{{cn|date=July 2021}}

While at the SA College of Music, McGregor studied composition with [[Stanley Glasser]],{{cn|date=July 2021}} who later wrote the music for ''Mr Paljas'' – a musical that played at the [[Labia Theatre]] in Cape Town around 1962 – Chris McGregor was band leader and pianist in the theatre band, which consisted of [[Dudu Pukwana]] and Nick Peterson on alto saxes, Cornelius Kumalo on baritone sax and clarinet, Denis Mpali on trumpet, Blyth Mbityana on trombone, Joe Mal on bass, and Columbus Joya on drums. An LP of the show, ''Mr Paljas'', was released by Gallotone Records (GALP 1207).

As McGregor's friend and fellow-student Bruce Arnott wrote in the [[University of Cape Town]]'s alumni magazine after McGregor's death in 1990: "I am no musicologist, but I believe that Chris was working toward a synthesis of South African black traditional music and the wonderfully evolved black American contribution to jazz."
McGregor put together a group to perform at the 1962 Moroka-Jabavu jazz festival in the Johannesburg suburb of [[Soweto]]. This group consisted of Mzimkulu "Danayi" Dlova on alto, Chris Ngcukana on baritone, Ronnie Beer on tenor, Willie Netie on trombone, Sammy Maritz on bass and Monty Weber on drums. At the festival, in which the group took second prize, McGregor came into contact with a wider group of musicians such as Dennis Mpali, the legendary altoist [[Kippie Moeketsi|Kippie "Morolong" Moeketsi]], Churchill Jolobe and the various artists then organised under the banner of the Union of South African Artists, which had put on the famous "jazz opera" ''[[King Kong (1959 musical)|King Kong]]''.

These contacts led in the following year to the formation first of the Blue Notes<ref name="Larkin"/> and, secondly, of a big band called the Castle Lager Big Band. The Blue Notes at this stage consisted of Mongezi Velelo (and later Sammy Maritz) on bass, [[Early Mabuza]] on drums, Dudu Pukwana on alto and [[Nikele Moyake]] on tenor. The great young trumpet player [[Mongezi Feza]] joined the group soon after. [[Johnny Dyani]] replaced Sammy Maritz on bass and [[Louis Moholo]] replaced Early Mabuza soon after and the permanent Blue Notes group was complete.<ref name="Larkin"/>

The Castle Lager Big Band was formed after the 1963 Moroka-Jabavu Jazz Festival. This 17-piece group made the album ''Jazz: The African Sound'', which had six tracks, two compositions by [[Abdullah Ibrahim]], two by [[Kippie Moeketsi]] and two by McGregor, all in arrangements by McGregor. Apart from the arrangements, one of the most striking things about the album was the wonderful playing by Moeketsi on clarinet, instead of his usual alto. In the band were musicians who had yet to make names for themselves but would become internationally known. Most notable perhaps was [[Barney Rachabane]], who would go on to, among other achievements, play with [[Paul Simon]] on the Graceland tour. Simon would describe Rachabane as the "most soulful sax player in the world".

== Years in exile ==
McGregor is perhaps best known for his foundation and leadership of [[The Blue Notes]], a South African [[sextet]] that included collaborators [[Dudu Pukwana]], [[Nikele Moyake]], [[Louis Moholo]], [[Johnny Dyani]] and [[Mongezi Feza]]. Equally as notable was McGregor's creation of the [[Brotherhood of Breath]] in 1969, which branched out from his work as The Blue Notes.<ref name="Larkin"/> The Brotherhood was a larger group than the Blue Notes, and incorporated leading English improvisors. They made several recordings throughout the 1970s, both studio sessions and live, as well as a final studio session in 1988. McGregor also released three albums of solo piano performances, and continued to be a major force in the music after leaving England to live in the French countryside.<ref>Cotterrell, Roger. ‘Chris McGregor: African Roots’ [[Jazz Forum]] 46 (Mar 1977), 40-3.</ref> He also made a contribution to [[Nick Drake]]'s ''[[Bryter Layter]]'' album by performing a piano solo on the track "Poor Boy".

==Death==
McGregor died of lung cancer in May 1990, at the age of 53.<ref name="Larkin"/>

==Discography==
;As leader
* ''Jazz: The African Sound'' (New Sound, 1963)
* ''[[Very Urgent]]'' (Polydor, 1968; Fledg'ling, 2008) with the Chris McGregor Group
* ''[[Up to Earth]]'' (Fledg'ling, 1969 [2008]) with the Chris McGregor Septet
* ''[[Our Prayer (album)|Our Prayer]]'' (Fledg'ling Records, 1969 [2008]) trio
* ''Piano Song Vol. 1'' (Musica Records, 1977) solo piano
* ''Piano Song Vol. 2'' (Musica Records, 1977) solo piano
* ''[[In His Good Time]]'' (Ogun, 1977 [1979]) live; solo piano
* ''Thunderbolt'' (Popular African Music, 1986 [1997]) live; with the South African Exiles
* ''Sea Breezes'' (Fledg'ling, 1987 [2012]) live; solo piano
* ''Grandmothers Teaching'' (ITM, 1988) with [[Marilyn Mazur]] and [[Harry Beckett]]

;With [[The Blue Notes]]
* ''[[Legacy: Live in South Afrika 1964]]'' (Ogun, 1964 [1995])
* ''[[Township Bop]]'' (Proper, 1964 [2002])
* ''[[Blue Notes for Mongezi]]'' (Ogun, 1975 [1976])
* ''[[Blue Notes in Concert Volume 1]]'' (Ogun, 1977 [1978])
* ''[[Before the Wind Changes]]'' (Ogun, 1979 [2012])
* ''[[Blue Notes for Johnny]]'' (Ogun, 1987)
* ''[[The Ogun Collection]]'' (Ogun, 1964–1987 [2008]) compilation

;With [[Brotherhood of Breath]]
* ''[[Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath]]'' (RCA, 1971)
* ''[[Eclipse at Dawn]]'' (Cuneiform Records, 1971 [2008]) live
* ''Brotherhood'' (RCA Victor, 1971)
* ''[[Bremen to Bridgwater]]'' (Cuneiform Recs, 1971 and 1975 [2004]) live
* ''[[Travelling Somewhere]]'' (Cuneiform Recs, 1973 [2001]) live
* ''[[Live at Willisau]]'' (Ogun, 1973 [1974]) live
* ''[[Procession (Live at Toulouse)|Procession]]'' (Ogun, 1977 [1978]) live
* ''Yes Please'' (In and Out, 1981) live
* ''Country Cooking'' (Virgin, 1988)
* ''En Concert a Banlieues Bleues'' (52e Rue Est, 1989) live
* ''In Memoriam'' (Vital Music, 1994) live; also released as ''The Memorial Concert'' (ITM, 1994)

;With [[Harry Miller (jazz bassist)|Harry Miller]]
* ''[[Different Times, Different Places]]'' (Ogun, 1973–1976 [2013])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Philippe Carles, André Clergeat, and Jean-Louis Comolli, ''Dictionnaire du jazz'', Paris, 1994.
* Ian Carr, ''Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain'', 2nd edn., London: [[Northway Publications]], 2008, ch7.
* Maxine McGregor: ''Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath: My life with a South African jazz pioneer''. Flint, MI: Bamberger Books, 1995; {{ISBN|0-917453-32-8}}
* David Dargie: ''Xhosa Music''. Cape Town and Johannesburg: David Philip, 1988; {{ISBN|0-86486-102-8}}
* Lars Rasmussen: ''Jazz People of Cape Town''. Copenhagen: The Booktrader, 2003. {{ISBN|87-984539-9-8}}
* Joe Boyd: ''And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music''. Faber & Faber; 2024. {{ISBN|978-0571360000}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150709072733/http://contentpro.seals.ac.za/iii/cpro/CommunityViewPage.external?lang=eng&sp=1000238&suite=def Chris McGregor Jazz Collection] containing articles and photographs at the [[Cory Library for Historical Research]]
* [http://www.sheetmusic.co.za/scores-capejazz The Cape Jazz Collection (sheetmusic)]
* Colin Miller: [https://web.archive.org/web/20110301041137/http://www.jazzrendezvous.co.za/readarticle.php?artcl=00000029 "What is Cape Jazz?"]
* Francesco Martinelli, [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-mcgregor-mn0000005666/biography Artist biography] at All Music.

{{Chris McGregor}}
{{The Blue Notes}}
{{Brotherhood of Breath}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Chris}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:African jazz (genre) pianists]]
[[Category:South African jazz pianists]]
[[Category:South African jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:The Blue Notes members]]
[[Category:Cuneiform Records artists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cape Town]]
[[Category:People from Somerset West]]
[[Category:20th-century pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century South African jazz composers]]
[[Category:Ogun Records Artists]]