Growing up in a home with singers, a saxophone player, a drummer and a church organist, playing the bass came naturally to Bakithi Kumalo at a young age.
The South African musician is best known for being the bassist who played on Paul Simon’s 1986 album “Graceland.” It was on this album that Mr. Kumalo was able to show off his skills on the fretless bass, and contributed to hits like “I Know What I Know,” “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” and the famous bass run in “You Can Call Me Al.”
But before Mr. Simon discovered the musician on a visit to South Africa in the 1980s, Mr. Kumalo found his passion for music on the streets of his hometown, Soweto, a rural township located in the City of Johannesburg. Though playing music in public was not accepted by the South African government when he was growing up in the 1960s, Mr. Kumalo said that it was celebrated in Soweto, and it was there where he found much of his inspiration early on.
“I spent a lot of time with the people in the township trying to figure out what they were doing,” said the 62-year-old musician, who began joining local bands when he was just 10 years old. “I just wanted to be a musician and take this to another place. I wanted to be serious about it.”
Mr. Kumalo was 14 by the time he started recording in a studio, playing traditional South African music, Motown and jazz with various bands from throughout Soweto. The multi-talented musician experimented with the acoustic guitar, the first instrument he learned how to play, as well as the alto saxophone before he settled on the bass.
It wasn’t until his 20s when Mr. Kumalo first met Paul Simon.
Mr. Simon visited the country after listening to a tape of South African music sent to him by producer Hendrick Lebone. After falling in love with what he heard on the recording, the singer-songwriter flew to South Africa to meet with the musicians and discuss how he could incorporate their style of music into his next album. Mr. Kumalo, who was balancing his jobs as a mechanic and a session musician at the time, was one of the artists invited to the studio to play with Mr. Simon.
“At that time I was just trying to work for my family, and then they called me to go into the studio to play for him” he recalled. “I didn’t even know who he was.”
Little did Mr. Kumalo know that his career would take off from that moment, when he was invited to record and tour for “Graceland.” The musician spent several years traveling back and forth to Soweto and the United States while working on the album and tour before settling permanently in Stony Brook.
“After the ‘Graceland’ tour, I decided to come here because I wanted to grow and challenge myself to another level,” he explained. “I didn’t have anything to challenge me in Soweto.”
After moving to the United States, Mr. Kumalo grew his portfolio as a session musician, recording with artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Joan Baez, Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Grover Washington Jr. and Mickey Hart. He has also released several solo records. Two years ago, he formed the Nations United Band, featuring a group of world-class musicians from Asia, South America and South Africa. The band will play music from a variety of genres including Brazilian jazz, South African folk, mixed meter and traditional jazz during an outdoor concert at the Southampton Arts Center on Saturday, August 11.
Mr. Kumalo has since moved to Pennsylvania to start a family, but continues to keep in touch with his Long Island roots. He has been involved for several years with East End Arts, a nonprofit organization in Riverhead committed to enriching the community through arts education.
“I’ve done everything. I’ve been all over the world, and so now it’s time to help the kids,” he said. “That’s my next thing—to educate the kids.”
Students from different schools throughout the East End come together to learn about music with Mr. Kumalo. He works with them to put together a 15-song setlist to later perform, shows them how he practices, and teaches them how they too can become musicians.
“I want to let these kids know that we play music to create something,” he said. “When it comes to music, we speak the same language. It helps us come together.”
Bakithi Kumalo and the Nations United Band will perform a free outdoor concert at the Southampton Arts Center in Southampton Village on Saturday, August 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. Call 631-283-0967 or visit southamptonartscenter.org for more information.
on Aug 7, 2018