Named after jazz vocal luminary Billie “Lady Day” Holiday, The Lady Day Big Band is South Africa’s very first all-women big band ensemble. After garnering international acclaim through various festival appearances, this incredible band recently debuted their very first album – Livus’umoya. On a mission to uplift women and foster social unity, Livus’umoya is a mixture of brand-new orchestrated tunes and big band interpretations of South African classics. Ready to delve into this amazing melange of jazz, big band, and South African sway? Let’s talk about it.
Wait. Who does what?
The band was formed in 2018 by the extremely talented Lana Crowster, Amanda Tiffin, and Kelly Bell. And serving as the creative nucleus, they constructed two specific iterations of The Lady Day Big Band: a full band boasting 20 musicians, and the “Little Big Band” – a more compact 11-piece ensemble for smaller endeavors.
Now, let’s do that aforementioned delving….
Listening, and talking about it.
The album begins with “Ayo Ayo”….and they’re the very first words chanted in harmony as the song begins. And when the band kicks in, the chanting is joined by jazzy horns, percussive, muted electric guitar, and lightly grazed drums. The harmonies continue with horns punctuating brief rests and resolutions. It’s borderline glorious as the voices fall from clouds and gently mist the parched African veldt. This is an excellent opener, and a marvelous display of extremely concise and inspired playing. The Lady Day Big Band is for real, folks, and they have the chops to prove it.
“Chilojo” begins with playful flutes and horns; the music of various creatures fluttering about, perhaps hiding, perhaps at peace. And now, a trickling of vibe phrases, a staggering drum, and a swarm of punctuating horns. The song has officially touched down, quietly and softly, upon rustling, sun-ripened grasses. This is a clever, mood-filled, musically shifting instrumental that, again, displays the band’s irrefutable competency.
“Tuku” starts with a piano phrase gaining power with accenting instruments. And then a sax takes the lead; it’s a little sultry, a little playful, a little weary, but always quite bright and optimistic. “Tuku” leans closer to standard jazz excursions, but that African sway, those boppy churnings of Earth where man first walked, remain embroidered throughout.
“Toe Vind Ek Jou” begins with quiet acoustic guitar and introduces a fragile female vocal; it’s bound to a sun-bathed hill of balancing horns. There’s a sadness here, but a veritable boatload of persistence. This is, officially, my favorite track.
“Elegy for the Forgotten Child” features dimmed vibes and that incredibly gorgeous, fragile female vocal; it calls to what was lost while piercing through grief’s heavy, hanging fog. The horns become more commanding and the voice stronger; it still laments, but it pushes through, finds acceptance, and finds strength in that acceptance. Another stunning track.
“The Calling” brings back that bold big band cheer. It’s punchy, grand, grooving, and happy to see the sunrise. Running a little shorter than its gloriously performed brethren, its brevity is a strength; so many changes, so many moods conveyed in such an ever-evolving performance.
Livus’umoya closes with “South African Vintage Pop Medley.” And it’s definitely poppy, but far more potent with its adept and space-filling orchestration – with its African rumbling and pure earth playfulness. I’ll admit to never hearing the selections of said medley previously, but I can, with some authority, say this: good grief, they are lifting this music from something a bit more mundane to something truly astonishing. Is there a genre they can’t handle? Answer: nope.
But is it good?
It’s beyond “good” – it’s African, sure, and jazz, big band, etc., but it’s so much better/bigger than these individual strands of influence. It’s an earnest homage to familiar musical forms, but it’s more than that – it’s elemental. It’s truly alive. It’s clay, and grass, and hope…and magic. It’s where you came from, how you lived, and why you’ll never truly end. It’s music as it was meant to be – something new from something you loved. Highly recommended, and if you have the chance to see them live…take it.
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BELOW: Listen to The Lady Day Big Band and check them out on Bandcamp, Apple Music, iTunes, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Please support The Lady Day Big Band by visiting their website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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