Bakithi Kumalo’s “What You Hear Is What You See” is a celebration of life, culture and family. His music is a cohesion of emotion and expression, intertwining melodies, poetry and dynamic rhythms which reflect his childhood in South Africa and lifelong career touring the world. From densely layered woodwinds, synths and basses guiding musical expeditions to organic and sparse melodic conversations, Bakithi harnesses various ways to paint a colorful and textured soundscape. With a story behind every song, Bakithi Kumalo’s upcoming album is a powerful statement from this 5-time Grammy award winning bassist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Working alongside producer Maxfield Gast of Militia Hill, “What You Hear Is What You See” is scheduled to premier October 22, 2021 on the Ropeadope label.
Born on May 10, 1956 in the Soweto Township of Johannesburg, Bakithi was surrounded by relatives who loved music and actively performed. His mother sang in a church choir, and his uncle, a saxophone player, was always at his house rehearsing his band. “Every weekend, everyone would be at my house singing and playing all day," Kumalo says, “Plus there were bands on every block of my neighborhood, so music surrounded me. There was traditional African rhythmic music as well as A cappella vocal groups. I picked up the bass early and realized I could follow the groove of a tune with it. I could play the bass lines from A cappella music, and I learned how to develop lines based on the left hand work of accordion players in the township bands.”
Kumalo's musical career has been characterized by a series of serendipitous events, ranging from his debut gig as a precocious seven-year-old filling in for the bassist in his uncle's band to his enlistment into Paul Simon's group during the recording sessions of the pop stars landmark Graceland album in 1985. He worked as a session musician in South Africa during the 1970's and early 1980's, eventually becoming a top session bassist and accompanying international performers during their South African tours. However, it was an 18-month road trip with his Uncle's band to Zululand, when he was 14 that helped to solidify his bass voice. The band gigged as well as played at schools and hospitals, but got stranded there. During that downtime, Kumalo had a dream where he saw someone playing using his thumb in a particular way. That set him on the path of bass discovery. Bakithi says it wasn't until later that he heard the fretless sound by people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Bailey. "And, of course there was Jaco Pastorius," he says, "I heard him, and I thought, hey, that's like me.”
While Kumalo became a professional at an early age in his Uncle's band, life in apartheid South Africa posed many challenges; so many, in fact, that Kumalo began to look for work outside the music field. However, a producer friend, Hendrick Lebone introduced him to Simon, whose music he was largely unfamiliar with. Despite his nervousness in meeting the American pop star in a studio setting, Kumalo says Simon immediately gravitated to his bass style.
Kumalo traveled with Simon to New York to finish the sessions, and after the accompanying concert tour, spent several years commuting between South Africa and New York before permanently settling in the United States. He is most well-known for his never been done before bass line from “You Can Call Me Al”, as well as his unforgettable huge sound and in the pocket groove from “Boy in the Bubble” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” from Paul Simon's Graceland album.
Kumalo creates a singular electric fretless bass sound teaming with double stops that sound like human voices, African drums, and the African grooves of his homeland. This has garnered him a stellar reputation as a side man, in addition to touring with Simon, he's also played alongside John legend, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Derek Trucks, and The Susan Tedeschi Band, Chico Cesar, Laurie Anderson, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Randy Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Bob James, Angelique Kidjo, John Cicada, Josh Groban, Mickey Hart, and Chris Botti.
Besides touring regularly with many artists, Bakithi has continuously recorded as a studio bass player, created and toured with The Graceland Experience (a tribute to Paul Simon), and recently worked on Disney's The Lion King. Kumalo has also been active as a solo artist, with five albums to his credit - 1998 “San Bonan” released in 1998, “In Front of My Eyes” and “Transmigration” both released in 2000, “Change” released in 2011, and “After All These Years” released in 2016. Bakithi’s solo albums feature his abilities as a singer, percussionist, pianist, songwriter as well as bassist; and are a culmination of his eclectic and diverse influences from throughout his life and career.
Most recently, Bakithi has been working alongside producer Maxfeld Gast and Militia Hill in anticipation of his sixth full length album “What You Hear is What You See” which is due to premiere in 2021 on the Ropeadope label. Electric Flow, the debut single from the upcoming album, was released in 2020.