2015 Wawela Music Awards Winners
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Brendan Smit
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JEREMY HEWITT
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Alun Richards
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Moshe Kgasoane
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Gugulethu Khumalo
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Michael McCullagh
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Nomfundo Xaluva
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Jan Adriaan Hoogendyk
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Special Awards
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Dr Thomas Chauke
Dr Thomas Chauke - Biography
Dr Thomas Chauke achieved as follows within his music career from 1980 until to date:
He sold over 4 million copies from 34 albums from 1980 to 2014.
He won 15 South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
He won 10 Munghana Lonene Xitsonga Music Awards.
He receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from Munghana Lonene FM for his pioneering contribution to Tsonga traditional music in 2006.
Munghana Lonene FM bestowed a special recognition to him as the greatest XiTsonga musician of all times in 2013.
Munghana Lonene FM dedicated one of the awards as Dr Thomas Chauke Artist of the year award. SAMRO funds the award.
He won 3 South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMAs).
He won 1 Morula Music Festival Award.
He also received a Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Mopani District Municipality and the Limpopo Province Sport, Arts and Culture department.
Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Venda for using culture as a tool to nation building and social cohesion.LIST OF EXCEPTIONAL MILESTONE ACHIEVED BY THE DR THOMAS CHAUKE IN HIS MUSIC CAREER
Dr Thomas Chauke was Born in 1952 in Saselamani Village near Malamulele in Limpopo. He left school at an early age to respond to his calling as a musician. His professional career as a recording artist started in 1980 at Gramophone Records Company (GRC), a Gallo subsidiary. His trademark hypnotic sound of the electric guitar and the angelic voices of his female backers – not to mention his highly danceable drum beats and prophetic lyrics that counsel and comfort troubled souls – have earned him a unique place in the history of Tsonga traditional music. His pioneering role in the development and evolution of Tsonga music has been rewarded with a string of honours and awards that are as numerous as the albums he has released in an illustrious career that spans over three decades.
Few, if any, artists have been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award more than once in their lifetime. But the exceptionally successful career of this prolific songwriter and composer was recognised by prestigious accolades from the onset of his professional life. With a record release of 33 albums that neatly match his 34-year reign as the undisputed king of Tsonga traditional music, he has achieved a phenomenal sale of over 4 million copies. All his albums have achieved gold, platinum, double platinum and multi-platinum status.
The SABC radio station Munghana Lonene FM has been consistent in supporting Dr. Thomas Chauke’s music career over the years and has bestowed him with no less than 11 merit awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and the Greatest Xitsonga Musician of Our Times’ award in 2013, for his sterling contribution to Tsonga culture.
It was also in 1994 that he began his unsurpassed achievements as a perennial recipient of the South African Music Awards statuettes in the traditional music category – only conceding defeat twice to his own son Themba Chauke and rival George Maluleke. He has achieved the same golden success after the inauguration of the South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMAs) as well as a certificate of recognition from the former Premier of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, Sbu Ndebele.
He was very humbled when the University of Venda recognised him with an Honorary Doctorate (PHD) for using culture as a nation building tool in 2010.
Chauke is a person who relishes giving back to the community. In the early ‘90s, he funded an up-and-coming sports organization known as SASA, which consisted of various soccer teams, in an effort to uplift and help the young people reach their dreams.
He would lend a helping hand to underprivileged families who had lost their loved one by providing families with food, transport and money to purchase the coffins.
He has established a musical family, starting from his daughter Conny Chauke, who has released 10 albums, all of which have achieved Gold status respectively. His son Themba Chauke has 5 albums, 3 of which have achieved Gold status. His wife, Mhan Flo Shinyori, who repeatedly features on his albums, has 2 released albums and both have gone on to achieve Gold status. His younger son, Hammy Chauke also has 5 albums to his name.
In addition to establishing a musical family, he has helped launch the careers of many an artist, and has recorded numerous artists of miscellaneous genres after building his own recording studio. These include artists such as Jerome Hlalala Brothers, Giyani Mathonsi, Venda Brothers, Niko Makelani, Richard Macheke, Mutendas, Gee Gee Chapu Band, Patrick Nkuna, George Maluleke, Doctor Sithole, David Mathebula, Ikhobobodana Band, among others. He is currently working with up-and-coming artist Steven Kubayi, who will release his debut album during the course of 2015.
His popularity in South Africa and countries such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and even Uganda, have led to the multi-award winning artist showcasing his world class musical prowess on international stages. In 2007 he and his band performed in Mozambique, and in 2013 he also performed in France.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
He sold over 4 million copies from 34 albums from 1980 to 2014.
Dr. Thomas Chauke Na Shinyori Sisters have also released a 2-volume compilation album as well as two DVDs, with each of the latter achieving Gold status.
Dr Chauke is amongst the many artists that were honoured by the Minister of Arts and Culture Mr N Mthethwa for the outstanding contribution he made to the Arts and Culture sector in 2014.
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Don Laka
Don Laka - Biography
SOUTH Africa's top jazz musician, Don Laka creates music with one foot in the past and the other in the future, creating a synergistic realm of music that speaks to young and old alike.
His ability to create a smorgasbord of music explains why he is a well-respected recording artist who reaches out to all classes and races of people, at home and abroad.
Resistant to all attempts to be pigeonholed, Laka has become known as an innovator. He combines his creative multiplicity into a powerful stew of music seasoned with jazz, swing, pop, kwaito, African traditional, funk and rock n' roll with a dash of the life experiences of his community.
Laka and his new breed of jazz, called Kwaijazz, reflects the new South Africa. Kwaijazz is an up-and-coming genre of music, accessible and with no boundaries or limitations to one's creativity. It is uniquely South African and is anticipated to become popular across the globe.
A mature musician who has successfully married technique and emotion to create something with a universal appeal, Laka is probably one of the few South African musicians to combine the roles of musician and credible businessman. He is also a producer, engineer, and record label director.
Peers in the entertainment industry credit him as the father of one of the first and most successful, independent kwaito labels, Kalawa Records, which was instrumental in introducing a fresh approach to South Africa's weathered music industry.
Background
Laka, who was born in Mamelodi in 1958, formed his first band in 1969, making his first recording in 1972. This recording featured Ray Phiri on guitar.
In the politically volatile days of 1976, Laka played bass and sang backing vocals for a group called The Flood, which enjoyed a huge hit with "Let Me Into Your Life", selling a staggering 320 000 units.
After matric, Laka enrolled at the Royal School of Music, earning a Grade 8 in classical guitar and obtaining his licentiate in high school music teaching in 1979.
He would have pursued music further, but apartheid laws prevented him from enrolling at the Pretoria Conservatoire. Determined not to be defeated, Laka continued to pursue music while working as a clerk in a grocery store.
From 1980 to 1981, he joined the Afro fusion group, Sakhile that was formed by Sipho Gumede and Khaya Mahlangu. The group revolutionised South African music and set a trend for groups like Bayete.
He played with many South African notables such as Joy, Brenda Fassie, Sipho Mabuse and Sankomota.
Laka recorded his first big hit with a group called Oneness before moving on to form his own British-rock influenced band, Ymage. The group performed together for 10 years and recorded no less than 12 Albums. In that decade, Laka had an album produced by Tony Visconti (Bowie, T Rex) who passed on much of his knowledge to Laka, allowing him to explore new territory as a producer and arranger.
His songs and piano playing proved to be popular with other musicians, who asked him to write, produce or perform on their records.
In 1990, Laka began writing orchestral arrangements for Sibongile Khumalo. She performed his songs with ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa.
In 1991, he also collaborated with Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Rebecca Malope.
In the late nineties, Don's solo career was given a substantial boost with the release of Destiny, a fusion of hip-hop, traditional African rhythms, classical music and pop that saw Laka playing drums, bass, guitar, piano and soprano sax.
Two more acclaimed albums, Supernova and Pyramid followed.
His career as a producer continued to blossom as he worked – as producer and performer – with artists such as Ray Phiri, Brenda Fassie, Sipho Mabuse, Mango Groove, Sharon Dee and Johnny Clegg, Bongo Muffin, Mafikizolo amongst others. He is now regarded as one of South Africa' premier producers.
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Jonathan Butler
Jonathan Butler - Biography
Born Jonathan Kenneth Butler in Athlone, Cape Town in 1961 is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.
Racial segregation and poverty during Apartheid has been the subject of many of his records.[1] His first single was the first by a black artist played by white radio stations in the racially segregated South Africa and earned a Sarie Award, South Africa's equivalent to the Grammy Awards.
He began touring at the age of seven when he joined a travelling stage show, and was later signed up to perform on a string of hit recordings, turning him into a local teen idol. In 1975 his cover of "Please Stay (song)" by The Drifters reached number 2 in South Africa. The same year his cover of "I Love How You Love Me" by The Paris Sisters reached number 4. "I'll be Home" reached number 16 in 1976.
In 1978 he found the inspiration and encouragement to begin expressing himself as a composer and songwriter when he joined Cape Town's best known jazz/rock outfit, Pacific Express. Two albums were recorded with the Express personnel, and some Pacific Express songs were later released on the 1988 7th Avenue album. All three releases were issued by Mountain Records.
Butler was signed to Jive Records in 1977, and in the early 1980s he moved to the United Kingdom, where he remained for seventeen years. His international breakthrough came in 1987 with his Grammy-nominated hit single, "Lies" which reached #25 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and his cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", which he performed with Ruby Turner.
Butler maintained a loyal following in the 1980s and 1990s, in South Africa, the United States and Europe.
In 2006, Butler was a featured vocalist on the album Gospel Goes Classical, produced by University of Alabama at Birminghammusic professor Henry Panion. This recording, featuring arrangements by Panion, Tommy Stewart, Michael Loveless, and Ray Reach, rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Gospel chart, and No. 3 on the Classical Crossover chart. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his single "Going Home".
Also in 2008, Butler guest-starred on George Duke's Album Dukey Treats, alongside the late Teena Marie on the track Sudan, talking about the disasters of Darfur.
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