MELUSI Khumalo may not be a familiar name to many a music lover, but if you are a jazz junkie, he is your man, and his latest offering — Middle of Nowhere — is his new gift to you.
BY JOEL TSVAKWI
The jazz crooner is an experimental musician who, by his own admission, is trying to do a lot within the jazz discourse.
He puts it down to a rebranding process which he believes will help him consolidate his prowess within jazz circles.
The new album, according to Mel, as he is affectionately known among his fans, is all about breaking limitations. “You see, you don’t want to limit yourself. When people hear the name jazz, they quickly come up with all sorts of ideas and if you don’t meet these expectations, there is always an element or feeling that you have let people down and hence the need for rebranding,” he said with a chuckle.
He told NewsDay Life & Style that as part of the rebranding that took nearly a year, he has cast off his group’s old name, Jazz 1 Voice. It is now Mel and The Crew.
By his own admission, Mel had reached a place where he felt that the old name had outlived its lifespan. The album has two brand new tracks with two remixes, plus two instrumentals, Khumalo quickly explains, but zeros in on the opener, Sthandwa Sami.
“So when you listen to this track, it’s a track which is loaded with some love that one can easily touch,” Khumalo said, adding that he draws inspiration from his day-to-day life experiences.
