This South African percussionist first built his standing through his role as drummer for Molomo, a leading exponent of kwela, a jazz-adjacent style that echoed the music long favored in South Africa’s densely populated and urbanized township districts. Flautist Abe Cindi and guitarist Philip Tabane served as his steady partners in the ensemble. In 1973 he joined the wave of musicians leaving his homeland for England, an arrival that permanently reshaped the British music landscape.
The band Jabula, which he formed after settling there, mixed African traditions with rock across its performances. Matters intensified in 1977 when saxophonist Dudu Pukwana merged his own outfit with Jabula to produce the combined group Jabula Spear. Bahula proved equally relentless as an advocate for South African sounds in his new home and as a driving rhythmic force onstage. A key initiative was launching weekly Friday nights devoted to genuine African acts at London’s The 100 Club; many of the musicians he presented were political exiles, and the series quickly stood for broader calls for transformation. Among those whose initial British shows he arranged were Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, and Hugh Masekela.
Subsequent endeavors encompassed Jazz Afrika, with whom he appeared only sporadically, and a fresh ensemble that revived the Jabula name. During the 1980s saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith featured the percussionist in his Electric Dream project. Julian Bahula died on October 1, 2023, at the age of 85.
