African Jazz Pioneers

19/06/2026

EPIDODE 1 ..late post South African Jazz History
Story telling by Suzan Skhosana

19/06/2026

How Joe Kgasi (African Jazz Pioneers former trumpeter escaped to Zimbabwe for 13years exile

Check next post..
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18/06/2026

18/06/2026

Notice Expiry: Sat, 2023-09-16 - 23:00 The National Heritage Council of South Africa (NHC) in partnership with the Artscape Theatre congratulates the entrants who were selected as finalists for the 10th annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards. The awards ceremony is set to take place in the Western Cap...

18/06/2026

Joe Kgasi didn’t just survive 4 years on the run in SA. He escaped to Zimbabwe.

Music Teacher, Five Roses Bowl, Mofolo,1976–1994: Exile & Return

June 16, 1976: Soweto rises. State hunts teachers.Joe Kgasi becomes a fugitive.Four years hiding in South Africa. 1980: He escapes to Zimbabwe. *13 years in exile.
He could not return while apartheid lived. Could not teach in Mofolo. Could not continue the Kgasi music legacy at home.1990s:Mandela is released.
Joe returns to South Africa
after 13 years. He joins his younger brother with Bra Temba Piliso and the African Jazz Pioneers.

Three generations of Kgasi music:Grandfather + Father taught →
Joe taught at Five Roses Bowl →Hunted 1976–1980 →Exiled 1980–1993 →Returns to play with the African Jazz Pioneers.
From fugitive to pioneer. Same mission: Music as dignity.

© 2026 PAS History Art Gallery / Migakgasi Museum. All Rights Reserved. Story Curated by Suzan Skhosana
Hector Pieterson, 13.Shot by police. Photo: Sam Nzima
Then they hunted the teachers.

13/04/2026

"Remembering the legendary Levy Kgasi, a shining star crom Kgabalatdane villagr of South African jazz, on what would've been his 67th birthday (1959-2016) - a true icon celebrated globally, forever in our hearts "

14/03/2026

HELP US CELEBATE OR SA JAZZ ICON’S BIRTHDAY🇿🇦🎉Raencho Arts Education Ensemble NPC celebrates the incredible Legendary South African Icon bra Mpho Sithole on his birthday! 🎉 As a leading member of the African Jazz Pioneers, bra Mpho played an instrumental role in representing the South African jazz legends in paying tribute to Joe Kgasi and Levy Kgasi (former African Jazz Pioneers Lead Trumpeters)in "The kgasi Biography". In this photo, he was captured during the profiling of South African jazz legends for feature in The Kgasi Biography authored by Suzan Skhosana, bra Mpho shared his heartfelt tribute to the brothers. Wishing him a wonderful birthday,African Jazz Pioneers "