Suthukazi Arosi’s son, Lifa graduates with a BMus degree in jazz piano in the US

By Funeka Bambalele

South African-born jazz pianist and composer Lifa Arosi embodies the traditional adage that a leaf never truly falls far from its tree.

The late South African music icons Suthukazi Arosi and Madoda Malotana—a former member of the band Cheek to Cheek—were Arosi’s parents.
Now based in New York, the musician graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz piano from Manhattan School of Music (MSM).

Arosi is one of the fortunate youths to have been awarded the Hugh Masekela Heritage Scholarship, a program that is made possible by a collaboration of MSM, the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, and the ELMA Music Foundation.

The scholarship provides for the induction of two South African music scholars to pursue a four-year Bachelor of Music (BM) degree, with a goal of ensuring that the scholarship be awarded to South African students who have faced significant social, educational, cultural, or economic challenges, and who have a demonstrated interest in the advancement of music consistent with the legendary South African musician’s life-long advocacy, activism and embodiment of African identity, heritage, expression and musical excellence.

The late legendary South African musician, activist, Hugh Masekela also studied classical trumpet at Manhattan School of Music in the early 1960’s.

Still in celebratory mood, Arosi says: “I persevered through all the hardships after enduring so many. First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, for strengthening me through every trial. For their kind financial support and for believing in my ambition, I am incredibly grateful to the Elma Foundation and the esteemed Hugh Masekela Heritage Scholarship. There is a lot for me to absorb, but this is undoubtedly the result of a lifetime of hard work, and I am grateful to all my professors and instructors at MSM for imparting this wisdom.”

“A huge part of my appreciation goes out to the amazing folks I’ve met and became friends with through the MSM community. Finally, I would want to express my gratitude to my late mother, who went on to be with the Lord; it was she who informed me about this scholarship and who continually encouraged me to pursue my goal. Despite my doubts, she persisted in urging me to go for it. So far, no one had loved me completely and without conditions, but she was my rock.”

Since he has completed his studies Arosi will begin his optical training, and he is still thrilled about it. It is a year-long program where students who just completed their music studies embark on. His fellow country musician Zoe Molelekwa is currently busy with the same program.

Arosi may have a degree in jazz piano, but he says he is not limited to the sound. His musical repertoire includes hip-hop, classical, and jazz.

The young jazz musician says his mother who lost a battle against cancer in February was looking forward to going to New York for his graduation, but death had its own plans. At the time, he was in the middle of his studies when he had to come to South Africa to bury his mother. As a result of his grief, he found it impossible to play music at one time.

“The fact that she was not there to see it all is tragic. God alone knows the reason. All I can do is hold onto those times with all my heart. I am on the mend now. Death is a temporary setback that allows us to grieve before moving on. Compared to when it was first happening, the pain is now much less.”

 
Arosi explains that he has acclimated to the cold weather and jazz culture of New York after four years of living there. In 2021, during the global pandemic of COVID-19, he moved to New York. He talks on how difficult it was to adapt to a new nation while being quarantined multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was tough in 2021 because we had to go through quarantine for 10 days. Every time you try to play music, and you come into contact with someone who is infected by Covid, they send you back to quarantine. The jazz culture, though, is huge, and I’m Lovin’ it.”

Born to two accomplished musicians, he always wanted to study jazz in America. His dream became a reality in 2021 when he was awarded a scholarship. Arosi first showed signs of musical interest at the age of nine. His dad played jazz, while his mom was in a separate band.
His dad, Phumi Maduna, was Juluka’s keyboard player. They formed Cheek to Cheek, and after the band broke up, Velaphi Mnisi and the late Suthukazi Arosi took over.
“I played a lot of pop music when I was visiting my dad’s house. I was exposed to jazz because I grew up around the likes of Andile Yenana, Bheki Khoza, and Jimmy Mngadi who worked with my mother. On rare occasions, they’ll even hand me some jazz to perform. While my mother was studying jazz at the then Pretoria Technikon she did cover songs of artists such as Nina Simone.”