Musicians, friends and visitors to South Africa have paid tribute to the legendary trumpeter Blackie Tempi, who died this week.

Blackie, as he was famously known, had performed on the South African jazz scene since the 1970s, and was active in many bands around Cape Town. He was scheduled to perform in Observatory, Cape Town, this Sunday. 

He and his wife Sheila would host tourists at their home, where Blackie entertained them with soothing music while Sheila prepared traditional food and other goodies. Tourists would later be toured around Cape Town townships, which Blackie knew like the back of his hand. 

“He was my friend, I am broken,” Sheila told Daily Maverick on Thursday. “We were going to celebrate our 40th anniversary on 28 November. I really cannot express how hurting his death is.” 

Sheila broke down and sobbed, and asked to not continue with the interview since speaking about her late husband hurt deeply. She said Blackie’s funeral will be held in Gugulethu, on a date to be communicated this week. 

Jazz trumpeter Fezekile ‘Blackie’ Tempi performs at the Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town on 18 April 2022. (Photo: Supplied / Jai Reddy)

Blackie was known for his stylish blend of rhythmic African music and American traditions, and his brilliant big-band presence.

He was part of jazz groups such as Tandanani and The Brotherhood – the latter being a five-piece band he started in 2000, along with George Werner on piano, Wesley Rustin on bass and Babs Ndamase on drums. He also recorded with the likes of famous South African tenor saxophone player Winston Mankunku and musician, composer and pioneer of Cape jazz/goema Errol Dyer.

‘Kind, gentle’

Sonja Campbell, a close friend of Tempi’s who now lives in France, said they met about 20 years ago when she was working for a tour operator that took visitors into Cape Town townships to listen to local music and share a meal with the musicians and their families.  

“I always went along to see that things ran smoothly, and guided myself at times,” she recalls. When working in Langa Campbell would take tourists to Tempi’s home to listen to his music while Sheila cooked a traditional meal.

“Over the years we became friends,” she said.

Trumpeter Blackie Tempi. (Photo: weekendspecial.co.za)

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“Blackie was a kind, gentle and quiet guy. He had a heart of gold. When he played, sometimes his friend, Latch, would accompany him. When Latch suddenly had a stroke, Blackie and his wife fed him and looked after him.”

Speaking about his modesty and desire to uplift young people in the township, Campbell said Tempi was largely involved in bringing music to the children of Gugulethu, and worked tirelessly to secure sponsors for the many educational projects he helmed. 

“Before I left for France he showed me a huge donation of instruments that he had managed to acquire for his school projects. I helped him with the proposals,” she said. 

Making music in difficult days

Tributes have poured in on social media following news of Tempi’s death. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, local photographer Fanie Jason said he had received a call from jazz photographer Gregory Franz who was trying to confirm if it was true that Tempi had died. 

“That came as a complete shock to me, I could not answer his call, because Blackie stays five minutes walk from me. I rushed to his house to confirm, and discovered that it was true. I was even more devastated; we will all die but getting used to death is difficult,” said Jason in his post.

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“I knew Blackie and his whole family for over 60 years, we grew up together in Nyanga West (now Gugulethu) when music and sports (rugby) was vibrant in the township in the 60, 70 and 80s.” 

Blackie Tempi at The Commons in Muizenberg, Cape Town, on 24 June 2022. (Photo: Supplied / Gregory Franz)

Jason photographed Tempi throughout his life, at pivotal moments in his career. He said Tempi left school after the 16 June Soweto uprisings. 

A self-taught musician, Tempi had started playing trumpet and flugelhorn in 1977. “He furthered his studies in jazz workshops and started his own band, Fever, in 1982.

“Blackie’s music career was shaped and formed by the vibrancy of the townships, under those difficult days of apartheid.”

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Speaking to Daily Maverick, Tempi’s close friend and music producer Jai Reddy said the trumpet was his primary instrument, but he also played the flugelhorn and piano. 

“It was the ‘each one teach one’ philosophy back then. If you came from the township and you loved music, you’d go to the person who played trumpet and whom you admire, and ask him to teach you,” said Reddy. 

Reddy recalls meeting Tempi at a local hangout in Langa in the 1980s. Reddy was in his late teens, watching the jazz musician – roughly five years his senior – perform for the audience. 

“If I remember correctly it was around 1980, at a spot in Langa called Zations,” he said. “It was a hangout spot… we used to have jazz on a Sunday night there. The music scene was very vibrant in the townships because we weren’t allowed out into the general spaces, so we kept ourselves entertained in our own areas.”

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Reddy never produced for Tempi but the artist performed in many of his clubs – the first being Riffs, in Cape Town, in 1991. 

“He performed locally and internationally for many years,” he said.

The performance at A Touch of Madness in Observatory on Sunday would go ahead, in honour of Tempi’s life. 

(Photo: Supplied / Jai Reddy)

“The family have asked us to still hold the gig and celebrate Blackie’s life,” Reddy said. 

“We’re going to play music and share love for the afternoon. This is the only way that we understand how to deal with our emotions – to play more music and share more love.” DM