Creative Works Award for Amanda Tiffin’s ‘Facing South’

Acclaimed jazz musician, composer and University of Cape Town (UCT) academic Associate Professor Amanda Tiffin has been awarded the UCT 2021 Creative Works Award for her jazz album Facing South – “an international collaborative recording that reflects the creativity and culture of four individuals in contrast”.

The Creative Works Award recognises major artworks, performances, productions, compositions and architectural designs produced by UCT staff. Facing South brings together influences from Brazil, Cape Town and American jazz in a novel, modern setting. The work comprises original compositional works for voice, accordion and piano, acoustic guitar and double bass.

Associate Professor Tiffin is the university’s head of Jazz Studies and runs the Jazz Singing section at the South African College of Music at UCT. The award-winning album was produced in collaboration with Brazilian accordionist and pianist Guilherme Ribeiro, British-South African guitarist David Leadbetter and Dutch bassist Hein van de Geyn, each of whom contributed to its extended creative collaboration over a four-year period.

“The UCT Creative Works Award recognises the importance of artistic works as part of the academic project, which is especially significant [during] this time.”

“Receiving this award has been truly affirming for me as an artist and an academic,” said Tiffin. “The COVID-19 pandemic has practically decimated the performing arts, with live performances in front of audiences a rarity. Added to this, this time has also placed enormous pressure on academics to keep their students and programmes going under extremely stressful conditions.

“The UCT Creative Works Award recognises the importance of artistic works as part of the academic project, which is especially significant [during] this time.”

UCT News sat down with Tiffin for more on her most recent work.

Niémah Davids (ND): How would you summarise Facing South, especially for someone who has not yet heard about this work?

Amanda Tiffin (AT): The album brings together influences from Brazil, Cape Town and American jazz in a novel, modern setting. The title of the work was chosen as an indication of not only the geographical location of the project’s collaborators, but also as an expression of affinity with music of South Africa and South America.

“Winning this award reminds me of the importance of my work as a creative and puts it all into perspective for me.”

The work should be heard as an intersection of American jazz, Brazilian bossa nova and African influences, with some Western classical and folk elements woven into the fabric of some of the pieces. The harmonic language is predominantly rooted in jazz concepts. However, the melodic language utilises strongly Brazilian and African elements. The Facing South recordings offer a unique sonic landscape by combining these elements in a non-traditional format.

ND: Is this your first Creative Works Award and what does this accolade mean to you?

AT: Yes, this is my first one and I am truly humbled by it. During the past two years, I’ve been inundated with my academic work and almost forgot that I am first a musician, a performer, a composer and a creative. Winning this award reminds me of the importance of my work as a creative and puts it all into perspective for me.

ND: What were some of the challenges you encountered along the way?

AT: Navigating the collective schedules of four collaborators who also happened to be physically distanced from each other was quite a task. Eventually, after what felt like forever, we managed to coordinate our schedules and get together to work.

Also, completing the vocal recordings was a huge bump in the road because it took such a long time to finish. My UCT teaching and administrative load was extremely heavy and finding the time and mental and creative capacity to write the vocal arrangements and do the recordings was difficult, but still so rewarding.

ND: What makes this work unique?

AT: This album is unique in many different ways. It’s primarily a jazz record, but we have blended Brazilian, African jazz and folk music into the songs in a unique way. Unlike most jazz recordings, we didn’t use a drummer, and the only percussion sounds are provided by Guilherme’s body and vocal percussion, and Dave’s vocal percussion. This gives the music a lighter, airier feeling.

ND: You have many reasons to be proud of this album, what are some of them? 

“I am also especially proud of how these amazingly skilled and talented artists came together to create this masterpiece.”

AT: I must say that I am incredibly proud of the full project. The collection of this beautiful composition is unique, and the songs are beautifully recorded and mixed. I am proud of my vocal performances and vocal arrangements. I love the watercolour artwork produced by Romy Brauteseth for our album’s cover, and I am also especially proud of how these amazingly skilled and talented artists came together to create this masterpiece.

ND: There’s no doubt that you’ve had many learnings along the way. What’s been the biggest one to date?

AT: Oh, definitely. I’ve learned to trust my musical instincts and skills implicitly, and to simply believe in my own creative process.

ND: Will this award impact your teaching in any way?

AT: Absolutely. It is wonderful for students to see their teachers modelling for them the things they talk about during lessons. This award gives great recognition to my work as a performing musician and composer, which is an important part of what I do and it’s important for my students to see that.