LIVING FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC

Arguably the most talented guitarist
of his generation, Clement
Jackson is still to launch himself
on the great majority of the unsuspecting
public in his home country.
For a man who has played on the
world stage with legendary guitarist and
rock megastar Eric Clapton, as well as
Shabba Ranks, UB40, Maxi Priest and Oliver
Mtukudzi, the outspoken local muso
deserves to be up there amongst the greats
in the Botswana hall of artistic fame.
His musical adventure began in the
70’s whilst at Mater Spei College. There
he met up with Masilonyana Radinoga
and Louis Mhlanga to form the college
band, Black Serpents. In a career
that has since taken him from the back
streets of Francistown to the golden
gates of San Francisco and beyond, Jackson
has a whole load of stories to tell.
To find out what makes the forty-something
musical pioneer rock, Moses Maruping
recently had a chat with the legend as
he worked on his solo album.

It’s an honour to be in the presence
of greatness. Could you briefly tell
me about yourself?
The pleasure is all mine. I was born
four decades ago in Francistown, but I’m
a descendant of the Ndebele from Borolong
in the north. Given my music career,
I’m known as something of an outgoing
character who makes friends easily.


What’s your claim to fame?
Ha-ha! I really wish I were
famous. Let me just say I’m a seasoned
guitarist who plays a couple of instruments,
among them the alto sax. I’ve
been playing the guitar for the past three
decades. I started playing with the likes
of Ndingo Johwa, Masilonyana Radinoga
and Louis Mhlanga during the mid 70’s.
Then in the mid-80’s, together with the
late Duncan Senyatso, I formed a group
called Kgwenyape and released an album
dubbed “Mephato ya Maloba”. I was the
lead guitarist of this band while Duncan
Senyatso was the lead vocalist. We earned
a certain amount of fame, if not fortune,
when we travelled to Zimbabwe after Duncan
wrote the admired ‘SADC Song,’ and
we shared the stage with renowned singers
Oliver Mtukudzi and Jabu Khanyile.
I’m not blowing my own trumpet, but
our group did steal the show. Ha-ha!
I also stayed in Cape Town for three
years where I had a stint doing gigs at
places such as Inyanga and Gugulethu.
Ah - those were the days my friend.

Tell me about your highlights in
the music industry.
I vividly remember the 80’s
when I had the opportunity to share the
stage with superstars such as UB40, 3rd
World, Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks and
Mahlathini. However, the highlight was
when we played with the greatest of them
all, the legendary Eric Clapton.
As a guitarist, my entire musical
career went through a huge transformation.
Playing alongside the greatest was
a breakthrough for me. He was the main
man, the guy who inspired me into taking
up the guitar, and I would spend time rehearsing
his songs note for note. When he
came here, I had the opportunity to play
one of his songs called “Crossroads,” and
he was bowled over.
He said to me, “How can you play
my song better than I do?” He just didn’t
expect to find that kind of touch in our region.
All I said to him was that I was passionate
about music and we exchanged
contacts. We kept in touch for some time,
and then out of the blue, he wired me
some money to buy a guitar, exactly like
his. It was a Fender Stratocaster, and it’s
every guitarist’s dream to get their hands
on one. It’s to guitars what a Lamborghini
is to cars. Apart from Clapton, it’s what
guitar greats such as Jimi Hendrix, Richie
Sambora, Mark Knopfler and John Lennon
played.

With such experience, what role
have you played in unearthing
and nurturing young talent locally?
I was supposed to release my
own solo album next month, but I decided to put it on hold so we could
release my son, Eugene’s album.
I have brought on the likes of Helen, Eugene,
Bonnie Fisher and Nono. As testimony to
the fact that they truly respect and recognize
what I have done for their careers, during
my last birthday celebration, the young musicians
raised funds and bought me a guitar.
I was overwhelmed with joy.
What are the challenges you have
faced in the local music industry?
In our time, we didn’t have anyone
locally to model ourselves on, musically,
so we resorted to playing songs
of already established foreign artistes.
I remember after Kgwenyape released the
Mephato ya Maloba album and we took it to
Radio Botswana, one well known announcer,
who shall remain nameless, said e bosula
(it’s boring). That was the greatest challenge
of them all.
I’m happy that today young musicians
have many more opportunities than we ever
did. In our time, for example, when working
with the late Duncan, although it was so
rewarding artistically, and we had enough
songs to carry us through five albums, since
we didn’t have a recording deal we ended
up losing some of the songs. We kept going
because of our love for music, but financially
we were playing for survival.

What’s your take on musicians who
lip-synch?
It is very regrettable. As a musician,
I believe that you need to be able to play at least one instrument. I do believe that
playing in a live band is unbelievably rewarding,
but also expensive. Take for instance my
treasured guitar - you need to pay around
R28 000 for it at the current market prices.
I always tell young musicians that music is
a slippery slope and one needs to tread carefully
if they want to make it as fully-fledged
musicians. It’s wisest to go to school first so
that you have something to fall back on.

Do you also take offence to being
called Rasekanta as many of our
people call musicians?
Ha-ha! I do believe that mindset is slowly
changing, although some people are still
dismissive of musicians. My advice is simpe,
when you do music locally, make sure
there’s something else you do as well, so that
when things get tough, you can still survive.
I believe the word Rasekanta/Masekanta was
a word coined by South Africans for their
musicians. I just want musicians to be able to
plan and save for the future.
We don’t want anyone dying a pauper
and failing to afford his/her own burial.
I guess BOMU is working at establishing
schemes for musicians in the form of funeral
packages. I believe the new president, Socca
Moruakgomo is into the idea of turning the
union around by insuring musicians.

Do you think jealousy exists in our
local music industry and if so
what’s your take on it?
I think it does exist and I hate it badly.
As musicians, we need to be able to
think with our hearts and avoid petty talk. It’s unbefitting and unprofessional.
What else do you do besides
music?
Professionally I’m a qualified
locomotive driver. I was amongst the
first eight people who qualified as train
drivers in 1978. I drove the train for almost
15 years; a job I did even when I was
playing in the Kgwanyape band. Some
of my routes took me as far as Malawi,
Mozambique and Rhodesia. I’m able to
speak fluent Afrikaans, a language that
I acquired during my tenure as a train
driver. One vivid memory I have about
my time as a train driver was during
the apartheid era when a certain white
train driver, who was taking over after
me, grabbed a piece of cloth and wiped
the controls clean, informing me that he
was wiping off my black skin. I was not
amused and I warned him never to repeat
that or else his white face would meet the
skin on my black fist.

Are you married?
I’ve always had cold feet
when it comes to marriage, as I
was scared of getting divorced. Right
now, 99% of all my friends who were
married have divorced and I don’t want
to go through the same trauma. However,
there is a lady I’ve been staying with who
has been very loving and supportive, so
who knows?

What plans do you have for the
future?
I’m very passionate about
music and all I do is accumulate as much
sound equipment as I can. In the future,
I want to be able to supply sound equipment.
Right now I’ve been working on my
home studio and I can tell you it’s coming
up fine. I’m also passionate about alto sax
and I’m perfecting my skills everyday.

Have you had any embarrassing
moment?
I’ve developed balls of steel
and I always take things as they come.
My aim is to triumph over adversity.
Have you a political statement to
make about local music.
Our government continues
to be insensitive towards us musicians.
We want to be allowed to play our music
until the wee hours of the morning. The
amended liquor laws are a pain in our careers.
The association of music and alcohol
is extremely unfortunate and we wish
government had other measures to curtail
excessive alcohol drinking. The new laws
are jeopardizing our existence.

Can you form an honest opinion
about President Ian Khama?
I guess some of his rulings
need some relaxing. However, I do believe
he is a great statesman who is trying
very hard to get the country somewhere,
but I also believe his military background
could be compromising his good side.
Do you have any last words?
The youth must seriously focus
on their education.

PERSONAL PROFILE
FULL NAMES: Clement Njabulo
Jackson
D.O.B: 11 October 19**
P.O.B: Francistown
HOME VILLAGE: Borolong
KIDS: Two sons; Eugene and
Rumbee
FAV FOOD: Pap and Steak on any
given day
FAV DRINK: Glass of wine when
time allows, strictly on weekends
FAV SINGER (voice): Paul McCartney
and Stevie Wonder
FAV MUSICIANS: Frank Zappa and
John McLaughlin
DREAM CAR: BMW X5
MENTOR: My late mum; Elizabeth
Jackson
FAV PAST-TIME: Blowing my alto
saxophone and working on my home
studio