Phillip Tabane and Malombo

Dr Philip Nchipi Tabane (25 March 1934 – 18 May 2018) was a legendary South African musician and one of the key pioneers of what became known as Malombo music. A guitarist, composer, vocalist, spiritual innovator and cultural philosopher, Tabane helped place South African indigenous jazz fusion firmly on the world map. He is also widely remembered for performing the theme song of the popular television drama series Muvhango.

Tabane was born in rural Ga-Ramotshegoa, northeast of Pretoria, into a family of gifted guitarists. Although some biographies list different birth years, most agree on 1934. His mother, Matjale, was a spiritual healer, while his Christian father encouraged hymn singing at home. These contrasting influences — spiritual ritual music, traditional Sepedi and Ndebele sounds, and sacred choral music — shaped his early musical world. As a child, he secretly built makeshift guitars from oil cans and broomsticks before eventually receiving a real guitar in his teens.

In 1953, the family was forcibly removed to Mamelodi, where Tabane formed his first band, the Lullaby-Landers, in 1959. By the early 1960s he began searching more deeply for ways to fuse traditional African rhythms with modern instrumentation. This led to the creation of Malombo, whose sound drew strongly on Sepedi chants and ritual rhythms believed to hold healing power. Malombo won first prize at the 1964 Cold Castle National Jazz Festival and went on to inspire artists connected to the Black Consciousness Movement.

Although the group went through many line-up changes, percussionist Gabriel “Mabi” Thobejane remained a key collaborator. In the 1970s, Tabane toured the United States and performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, where critics described Malombo’s music as haunting, powerful and deeply original. He worked alongside giants such as Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, yet always insisted: “I play for the spirit,” resisting commercial labels such as “malombo jazz.”

For decades, his recordings were celebrated internationally while remaining difficult to access in South Africa. Only after 1994 did renewed recognition and re-releases begin to appear. Live, Tabane was electrifying — dressed in a blend of Western and traditional attire, moving fluidly from tender rural melodies to explosive improvisations. His music reached toward the ancestral realm, evoking figures such as Sun Ra and Ali Farka Touré while remaining utterly unique.

Though honoured with multiple doctorates, his true legacy lies in the sonic universe he created — spiritual, avant-garde, African, and timeless. His passing in 2018 marked the loss of a profound cultural visionary. Hamba Kahle, Dr Philip Tabane.

Sources:

• Wikipedia – “Philip Tabane”

• Sisgwenjazz blog (Wordpress)
- Image Source : Muvhango Facebook Page