Image: John Edwin Mason
Woke up this morning with the sad news in my email inbox–from music journalist Gwen Ansell–that Ezra Ngcukana (b. 1954), the great Cape Flats jazz musician and a member of the Ngcukana jazz dynasty, had passed away. Ngcukana had been diabetic with high blood pressure. Ngcukana’s death is “… no doubt exacerbated by the sadness everybody in Cape Town is still feeling about Robbie Jansen. Ezra must have been devastated by that.”
The best tribute to Ngcukana’s genius I have seen (h/t: Suren Pillay) is this, posted earlier today, by the historian and photographer, John Edwin Mason, here .
– Sean Jacobs
Advertisement
RIP bra Ezra
This is so sad. RIP. Loved his music.
Im where i am bcoz of him(musical). He’s been a great teacher ,a friend and a father to me. May his soul rest in peace. We will miss u Tata. Your ‘catz’ Sthe.
Ezra was a true legend and a great teacher…will never forget the musical & life lessons learned from you…Rest in peace guy.
Hi,
Thanks for letting us know. I met Ezra, when I was working as a lecturer at UKNZ university in Durban as a lecturer in music & technology.
In fact his room at the university was next door to mine.
He was a very wonderful man and a great saxophone player. We can be heard in the same track on a CD called dUrban Noise Works, by Jürgen Brauninger.
Hamba Kahle, Ezra!
great thanks \o/
19 april 2011
Just read the Cape Times online edition today and found out that Ray’s elder brother had passed away and this led to search for news on Ray (Ezra) only to discover this sad news and wonderful tributes to my old friend and colleague.
We worked together in 1984 at Partnership where Ray was instrumental in us creating the Cadbury Chocolate Eclairs “School’s Out” Radio campaign with the upcoming Brenda Fasi on vocals. Soon afterwards I left SA for Asia and settled there. I have very fond memories of m time with Ray and salute him as a gentle giant of a man who had the nicest laugh that exploded from his wonderful cheerful face. Thanks for the all too short time we walked the path together.