KAREN Devroop, a South African saxophonist, has released his latest album, Dance of the Indentured.
While Devroop has several live and studio recordings as a sideman, this is his fourth outing as a soloist, leading his own ensemble.
Devroop was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg and lives in Pretoria. He attended Raisethorpe High School and attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music Natal University (now UKZN). In 1998, he went to the US and obtained a doctorate in music.
“I spent 13 years in the US obtaining a doctorate at the University of North Texas and teaching in Virginia and Pennsylvania before returning to South Africa in 2010.”
Devroop is a professor of music and acting director at the Music Foundation at Unisa.
“At Unisa, I manage the national and international music competitions, concerts, community outreach and international projects with embassies and international festivals and universities. I am also the founder and current director of the Unisa Jazz Festival.”
Devroop said his earliest influence was his father, Morris Ramnunan, who had an Indian music band called Rajendra Orchestra in Pietermaritzburg.
“This was my first exposure to music at the age of 10. At age 12 I began playing in the band when my dad passed away and I went on to play with local bands such as Dukes Combo before embarking on my tertiary studies. At university. I was exposed to many professional musicians who visited campus and soon realised that this was what I wanted to do professionally.”
He recalled his first spark with jazz.
“I first heard Melvin Peters performing with other students from UKZN in 1987 and realised jazz was what I wanted to study. I started out on piano and soon migrated to saxophone at the suggestion of a friend, Siva Deva, who said ‘you express yourself better on saxophone’.
“This made me take up the saxophone and I began studying it seriously, primarily at the University of North Texas, although I began playing the saxophone while at UKZN.”
Devroop has been involved in music for almost 40 years, primarily as a performer and teacher.
“More recently I have been composing a lot and recording and producing. I have put out four CD recordings and produced for other artists such as Avi2.oh, and also recorded albums of several artists based abroad. I have also taken to having my music arranged for full orchestra and jazz big band in an effort to make my music more accessible to other audiences.”
Devroop said with Dance of the Indentured he wanted to pay homage to the struggles that Indians endured when they arrived in South Africa.
“During the days of hard labour on the sugar cane plantations, Indians took joy and comfort when dancing and socialising. It was the happiest part of the week, hence the focus on their happiness.
“The album covers important areas for Indians in KwaZulu-Natal, from Clairwood in Durban to Pentrich in Pietermaritzburg. Because the album was conceived during the lockdown, some reference is made to the hardships faced during this time.”
Devroop said his previous release in 2020 was more contemporary jazz. This new album, he said, took him back to his traditional jazz roots in the quartet format.
It features Hans Vroomans (piano), Hein van de Geyn (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).
“Hans is a superb pianist currently with the Metropole Jazz Orchestra (Netherlands) and he is on the faculty at Amsterdam Conservatory. I was introduced to Hans in 2019 through a mutual friend and in 2020 he was part of our international piano competition at Unisa. At that point we struck up a friendship and discussed the possibility of recording an album. Hein is the most prolific bass player to emerge from Europe.
“Kevin is South Africa’s premier drum kit player, having recorded and performed with most, if not all, jazz and pop artists. He was the natural choice. I have known Kevin for many years. He has recorded on my last two albums so it was imperative that he was on this album, mostly because he is so proficient in the South African jazz styles.”
The CD is available on all digital platforms with physical copies available through Unisa.
For more information, visit Facebook: Karen Devroop
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