‘Jazz is kind of the ultimate form of democracy’ – Benjamin Jephta

South African musician Benjamin Jephta is inspired by Miles Davis’ view on jazz, of how the genre is, in essence, a social club.

“I mean to collaborate and be involved with many people from all different backgrounds is always a great idea for me, because everyone brings this kind of unique perspective to the sound of the music,” Jephta tells The Citizen.

The bassist and composer is preparing to release his album Homecoming Re-visited, which is like a sequel to his debut album, Homecoming, released a decade ago.

In August, he released the third single from the album, titled Still I Rise (Part 1) where he features Kujenga, Linda Sikhakhane, Ndalo Zulu, and Leagan Breda.

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Jephta’s collaborative nature

The whole album has a slew of collaborators, young and old. “Jazz is kind of the ultimate form of democracy,” he says.

“While I might be the composer and writing the music, we have to trust each other to kind of create music together as an equal set of how the music is interpreted, no matter the instrument, no matter where they sit within the band.”

Jephta says his collaborative nature stems from his mindset of always wanting to learn.

“I know a couple of things with my ten years or more in the music industry, but the willingness to learn from others, no matter the age, no matter the background, I think it’s an important kind of mindset to go into things, especially in jazz, just coming with the openness is important.

“I think I’ve always had that thing, when it comes to art and making music and wanting to grow as a person.”

Being able to work with so many different people says a lot about how easy he is to work with. He attributes this to his skill as a bassist.

“Typically bass-players are always in the background supporting people, so I think that’s kind of an extension of who I am as a person.”

As a band leader, Jephta has released three solo albums with different variations of this ensemble. His last album was 2023’s Born Coloured, Not Born-Free.

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Homecoming after 10 years

Since the release of his debut album, Jephta has worked in film and TV as a composer, scoring for productions on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

His compositions often fuse traditional jazz, funk, hip-hop, and African musical styles, creating soundtracks that are modern yet culturally resonant.

After earning his Master’s degree from The Berklee Global Jazz Institute in Boston, he moved to New York City, where he performed with acclaimed artists.

Comparing his music making now to how it was a decade ago, Jephta says he has learnt to let go in the process of music creation.

“I guess I used to have this preconceived idea of how I want this song to go; how it starts, what to do next… In some ways I’m trying not to have an idea of the destination, rather enjoy the journey of the song and see what people are coming up with and treat it with a sense on non-judgement,” he says.

Homecoming Re-visited is expected to be released on Friday, 19 September.

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SA Jazz in a good place

As a world-travelled musician, Jephta has a good sense of where the genre is globally, and he rates South Africa’s jazz as the best in the world at the moment.

“I think it’s not down to one thing really, I think South African society is a very complex place, it has always been a very complex place,” he shares.

“In the same time we are all coming from different backgrounds, different upbringing in many ways but all have some kind of similarities of connection… and I think that gives South African jazz music that ingredient where everyone has this kind of unique expression and unique voice,” he says.

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Lecturing

The 33-year-old lectures at Wits University, teaching Jazz Studies and Film Composition. “I think everything I do is an extension of my artistic expression,” he says about his lecturing.

“While it might seem a bit left field from a performance career, it’s all connected for me.”

He says this also places him closer to the new generation.

“I also teach the music business course at Wits and I’m constantly having conversations about the music industry and how it’s changing, and also speaking towards the ideas of how people are using social media with TikTok and artificial intelligence, and how they don’t need a record label anymore,” he says.

“…And all these students have a different perspective of how they see the music scene to how I see the music industry – it’s interesting to see how people view things and how younger people understand what awaits them even when they leave an institution.”

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