BRIDPORT Arts Centre is celebrating 40 years of South African jazz to tie in with its 40th anniversary.

The centre’s jazz cafe is holding the celebration on Friday, marking 40 years since the release of two albums of South African Jazz: Mannenberg by Dollar Brand (now known as Abdullah Ibrahim), and Dudu Pukwana’s In the Townships.

South African-born pianist Philip Clouts will be playing highlights of their work with saxophonist Neil Maya.

Philip had just finished his studies at Cambridge when he realised that he wanted to contribute to his own culture and decided to concentrate on a South African jazz style.

He said: “At that time in the 1980s there were many exiled South African musicians in London.

“Some, like Dudu Pukwana, the great saxophonist, had come over in the 1960s, as my own family had done, with the Blue Notes who became celebrated very quickly for their vibrant music.

“But there were others from a younger generation, including drummers Brian Abrahams and Thebe Lipere and for me most notably the pianist Bheki Mseleku who was a great source of inspiration and who mentored me for a short while.”

The group Clouts formed on returning to London from Cambridge, Zubop, benefited as a whole from the exiled musicians’ input into their playing.

As well as Mseleku showing Clouts the ropes, Thebe Lipere joined Zubop for their first few gigs, playing his distinctive African drum kit, and with this ‘rubber stamping’ of their efforts, the band went on to be very popular on the live music circuit, expanding into ZubopGambia.

Philip added: “It’s a great pleasure to re-visit some of my original sources of inspiration for this concert. We’ll be playing pieces that connect directly to the audience, very melodic and with catchy rhythms.”

Contact Bridport Arts Centre for tickets.