afrojol

afrojol was originally composed as a jazz tune around 1991 for Channel 18, Reddy’s jazz-fusion band with whom he worked in Johannesburg. This comprised Reddy (keyboards), Rob Watson (drums), Danny Lalouette (bass), and Bruce Cassidy (electronic valve instrument). In Germany, Reddy performed it with Daniel Schlaeger (drums), Stefan Schoenegg (bass), and Martin Heizmann (saxophone). The piece works well as a piano solo, as a piano and bass duet as shown in the video below (where it is played at a rather slow tempo), or as a jazz trio, quartet, etc. Reddy rewrote the piece in 2005, writing out the piano part in full. Reddy was both a classical virtuoso and a jazz pianist, and compositions like afrojol are a fusion between the two styles that he called ‘clazz’.

‘Jol’ is South African slang for having a good time, or a party.