Minister Mashatile expresses his deep sadness on hearing of the passing away of popular and legendary jazz pianist Tony Schilder after a long illness.
Tony Schilder emerged from a family of musicians, with his mother well known as an accomplished musician as was his father and brothers, Richard, Jackie, Philip and Chris also renowned in the music world. His son, Hilton is also an accomplished jazz musician.
Like many of his contemporaries he took a stance against apartheid. During repressive times Tony Schilder and other black musicians kept alive distinctive South African jazz sounds despite their lack of opportunities of playing at various venues. He also embraced the musical sounds of the South, especially Brazil, and incorporated these into his music.
His passing is indeed a great loss to the music fraternity. The past two years will go down as a very sad period for jazz lovers as we have lost a number of his peers, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, Robbie Jansen, Ezra Ngcukana, trumpeter Alex van Heerden and vocalist Jeff Weiner. “A generation has gone from our midst. Tony Schilder and his peers will all live on through the unforgettable music they created. May their legacy live on in their influence on new generations of musicians who have been inspired by their work and continue to fly the flag for South African jazz music,” says Minister Mashatile.
We pay our sincere condolences to his wife Val, his son Hilton, his entire family, his friends and the jazz fraternity.
Source: Department of Arts and Culture
