South Africa: Cry music

They still dine out on the story in South Africa. Former US President Bill Clinton, so the tale goes, abandoned a plan to play his beloved trumpet at a South African jazz club because Hillary thought the environs too earthy. Music is on my mind during a recent return to South Africa. I shun in-flight movies and, while working, enjoy two South African Airways audio channels featuring contemporary African music. I listen to veteran singer Jonas Gwangwa's hit Freedom for Some (is Freedom for None), a catchy pro-democracy anthem by a composer responsible for some of the music in the film Cry Freedom, directed by Richard Attenborough, which chronicled part of South Africa's struggle against apartheid. Later, awaiting bags at Johannesburg International Airport, comes another reminder of music's importance here: a team of porters sing in unison, their style reminiscent of one of the country's most-acclaimed groups, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, whose profile was boosted through collaborations with Paul Simon. South Africa, no longer a pariah state, is now a melting pot for sounds from all over the African continent: distinctive "high life" from Ghana, "Afrobeat" from Nigeria, music from the east, west and north of this 53-nation continent as well as from its south. Congolese musicians, incidentally, are dubbed the Filipinos of Africa: they play far and wide. Go to a five-star hotel anywhere on the continent and there's a good chance of hearing a band from Kinshasa or elsewhere in the Congo. Contemporary South Africa overflows with music from all over its continent. The country also has its own eclectic mix of styles. The young – 40 per cent of the population is under 25 – adore kwaito, a pop style, and similar hip-hop variants. The internationally renowned Soweto String Quartet supplies an African spin to classical music, with ex-President Nelson Mandela reputedly playing their CDs in his office. Dance styles such as kwela took hold during apartheid's privations. A uniquely South African jazz-funk form called mbaqanga, rich with saxophones and trumpets, has many of today's biggest names as exponents. African jazz embraces more than the word "jazz" suggests in Western countries. Sometimes it's called township jazz, since it often comes from the spread of residential districts – such as Soweto – on the edge of major cities. Hunt for performances by South African musical stars – the biggest names include Miriam Makeba (see box), Hugh Masekela, Mozambican-born jazz guitarist Jimmy Dludlu, Tsepo Tshola (who styles himself the "Village Pope") and veteran jazz singer Sibongile Khumalo – while visiting South Africa on business. (Many household names have returned to settle after decades in exile. Music was always close to "the struggle"; it and political plotting shared the shadowy environment of shebeens, the unlicensed pubs illegal under apartheid.) If no major headliners are performing, take the more relaxing option of quite literally playing things by ear: you're never far from music in this country so enjoy the unknowns and undiscovered. Here are some of the best places to hear live music in South Africa's two most-visited business cities: Cape Town and Johannesburg:

CAPE TOWN

The Cape Colony is the opulent fine-dining outlet at Cape Town's top hotel, the century-old Mount Nelson at the foot of iconic Table Mountain. Soft and mostly Western-styled jazz is featured. This classy background is ideal for business entertaining. However, for truly South African music, head to Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the city's prime entertainment zone combined with working port and boasting Table Mountain as a backdrop. Cape Town's two top jazz outlets are here. At The Green Dolphin, a seafood eatery with modest entertainment charges added to bills, I listen to the local Gary Hendrikse Trio. They're so good I go back a second time, but instead find a similarly pleasing visiting act: leading Swedish saxophonist Johan Horlen and his sextet. This is a high-powered territory, a favourite of the influential. On one visit, I spot South African finance minister Trevor Manuel at a nearby table. Manenberg's, a few steps away, is similarly celebrated. I'm blown away by Inkhokheli, a youthful jazz-rock band from Cape Flats townships. On previous visits I've heard some of the most respected names in South African music, such as guitarist Jimmy Dludlu. Cuisine, mainly Western, draws on Cape Town and pan-African influences. Up on Long Street, the most interesting of the downtown arteries – with antique shops, antiquarian bookshops, Africa curio outlets, old pubs transformed into backpacker lodgings and an ongoing trend toward upscale urban living – I drift into Kennedy's, a wine bar/cigar bar/restaurant complex with strong corporate following where local jazz is showcased. Nearby, is Jo'burg (when locals say "I'll see you in Jo'burg", they don't always mean Johannesburg) with a DJ playing house music most nights, but sometimes (it's pot luck) live South African pop or R&B/rock. Dizzy's at trendy Camps Bay, a few minutes by cab from city hotels, is a pleasant student hangout featuring homegrown jazz while the nearby The Leopard Room, a chic beachside cocktail bar, offers laid-back Afro-jazz. Hanover Street Jazz Club, in a casino complex, has stylish cabaret-room environs as a base for high-ranking South African artists.

JOHANNESBURG

Arguably Africa's most vibrant city (don't go walking after dark, but don't be intimidated either by often-exaggerated reports of crime from some well-heeled residents), Johannesburg has music everywhere. One of my cheapest evenings was spent in Hilton Sandton's Faces. Great live music and three drinks (no cover charge) set me back less than US$20. Sandton, north of downtown, is where the business action is these days, so it's likely you'll be staying at a hotel in these parts. Most business entertaining is in this area. On Sandton's fashionable Nelson Mandela Square, upmarket Lekgotla ("meeting place" in the Tswana tongue) is a vast restaurant specialising in African cuisine. Pan-African art, animal skins and drums create an appropriate mood for continent-wide cuisine ranging from Cape Malay bobotie (a mildly spiced beef or lamb dish from Cape Town's Muslim descendants of Asian slaves shipped in by Dutch colonists) to Moroccan seafood, with plenty from east and west Africa too. South African game meats such as impala and kudu are roasted. Its location guarantees popularity for corporate entertaining. Music tends toward traditional, with African drummers in the evenings. However, Johannesburg's most famous African-themed eatery is at the up-and-coming Melrose Arch complex, 10 minutes from Sandton by cab and already headquarters for banks and allied institutions. Amid many restaurants is Moyo, a 500-seater on five levels. (Tip: go for the alfresco section, under gas heaters on cold nights with Lesotho-style blankets distributed.) Buskers and African face painters table-hop. Music often features big-name acts from around Africa – jazz, traditional styles and contemporary pop as well as South African sounds. The pan-African food includes delicacies such as South African ostrich burgers and West African peanut-flavoured stews served in clay pots. Many regulars drop in just for drinks and music. It is opposite Melrose Arch Hotel, Johannesburg's hippest place to stay. More mainstream is Blues Room, in Sandton's Village Walk mall and internally accessed from the Protea Balalaika Hotel, which is popular both with business types and air crews (Malaysia Airlines and other carriers stay here). Music ranges from esteemed local jazz groups to blues and, sometimes, rock. Aficionados of reggae should high-tail it to Cool Runnings where dreadlocks, knitted caps and Marley-esque music combine in an authentic-seeming Jamaican environment with wonderful cocktails. Harking back to old South African times, Roka Bar is a cocktail bar and restaurant attracting a trendy art, fashion and media crowd. It highlights house music most nights – but African dance music sometimes is the theme. Back O' The Moon at the Gold Reef Casino complex is altogether less frenetic, specialising in smooth sounds with strong African influences and good vocalists in a sumptuous cabaret environment. Even less noisy is Katzy's at The Grillhouse (enter through the Park Hyatt Johannesburg Hotel to The Firs mall. An extensive range of whiskeys, cognacs and cigars is available in this piano bar environment of jazzy sounds soft enough for business chat. Kippies – named after the late Kippie Moeketsi, one of South Africa's jazz greats – in the Market Theatre complex is unique in that it has featured all the big names mentioned here. Sadly it was recently condemned because of wall cracks, but word is, it has won a reprieve because of its status as South Africa's most famous jazz venue – don't miss it once it reopens. Clinton, with wife Hillary, pulled up here in 1998 so he could play his trumpet. But their limousine left before the Clintons could emerge – the South African media later reported that Hillary was not impressed by the neighbourhood. However, many foreign visitors go to the Market Theatre complex, also at cutting edge of indigenous theatre. Take a taxi – and they'll call one for you afterwards (or have your cab return at an appointed time).

Mama Africa

Doyenne of South African entertainers, Miriam Makeba – now 74 but still singing – is known by the nickname "Mama Africa". Live performances are few these days. When they're announced they quickly sell out. Makeba, who starred in the 1992 film Sarafina!, was rated 38th in a recent poll identifying the 100 most influential South Africans. She popularised The Click Song and Pata Pata. Her "street cred" is undeniable: forced into exile in 1959 because of her strident opposition to apartheid, Makeba became an active pro-democracy campaigner; she returned more than three decades later after apartheid crumbled and Nelson Mandela, the country's first democratically elected president, invited her back. "I'm just an old woman now," she told me self-deprecatingly, highlighting her involvement these days in a charity for homeless young women. Among Makeba's three former husbands are South African veteran jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela (with whom she remains on good terms) and former American black power leader Stokely Carmichael, with whom she lived in exile in the West African nation of Guinea. After a riveting performance at a world music festival, Makeba told me: "Look at how these people enjoyed the music. African music is so infectious. It's something people take home from Africa and then they can't get enough of it."

Where to greet the beat

CAPE TOWN Cape Colony Mount Nelson Hotel, 76 Orange Street, tel +27 21 483 1000 Dizzy's The Drive, Camps Bay, tel +27 21 438 2686 The Green Dolphin Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, tel +27 21 421 7471 Hanover Street Jazz Club Grand West Casino, Goodwood, tel +27 21 505 7550 Jo'burg 218 Long Street, tel +27 21 422 0142 The Dublin at Kennedy's 251 Long Street, tel +27 21 424 1212 The Leopard Room and Spa Twelve Apostles Hotel, Victoria Road, Camps Bay, tel +27 21 437 9000 Manenberg's Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, tel +27 21 421 5639 JOHANNESBURG Back O' The Moon Gold Reef City Casino, tel +27 11 496 1423 Blues Room Village Walk, Sandton, tel +27 11 784 5527 Roka Bar 44 Stanley Avenue, MilPark, tel +27 11 482 2038 Cool Runnings 4th Avenue, Melville, tel +27 11 482 4786 Faces Bar Hilton Sandton, 138 Rivonia Road, Sandton, tel +27 11 322 1888 Katzy's at the Grillhouse The Firs, Oxford Road, Rosebank, tel +27 11 447 5162 Kippies Market Theatre, Bree Street, tel +27 11 833 3316 Lekgotla 5 Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, tel +27 11 884 9555 Moyo Melrose Square, Melrose Arch, tel +27 11 684 1477