Khoza, Dick
Chapita
In September 1976, in the aftermath of the June 16 Soweto uprisings, Dick Khoza took the Pelican Club house band into the studio to lay down the five tracks that comprise the Chapita album. Lost for over 30 years, these recordings are a fleeting glimpse of the mid-70s mood of downtown Johannesburg, filtered through the artistic vision of troubadour, arranger, composer and impresario Dick Khoza. The Chapita recording was financed by Rashid Vally's growing As-shams (Sun) label. Vally was responsible for backing and producing the seminal mid-seventies recordings of Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), including the classic South African jazz anthem Mannenberg. Whilst the As-shams label is well known for these recordings of Abdullah Ibrahim, Vally extended the catalogue by funding numerous recording sessions for jazz musicians keen to be given a free reign in the studio. Over the course of the next twenty years more than 40 albums were issued. These records were heavily promoted through Vally's Kohinoor (Mountain of Light) record store, which was a legendary hangout for jazz lovers. It was also one of the few spaces in the city where people of different races could mix comfortably.