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Hilton Schilder
The mastermind behind musical projects such as Iconoclast, African Dream, and most recently, Rock Art, respected composer and soloist Hilton Schilder first rose to prominence as one of the founding members of the cult 80’s rebel rock band The Genuines. Schilder and his long-standing musical partner Mac Mckenzie are key figures in the history (and future) of the Cape’s most distinctive variation of jazz music, goema.
An early interest in music was almost guaranteed for acclaimed jazz artist Hilton Schilder. Born in Lotus River, Cape Town, into one of the Cape’s most musical families, he is the son of well-known jazz pianist Tony Schilder. His formal introduction to music began with the gift of a drum at the tender age of three.
Although he never quite abandoned his early predilection for percussion, Schilder the younger soon proved to have inherited a particular flair for anything with a keyboard – these days, computers included.
Throughout his youth in Cape Town, he was involved with music of every kind, from carnival troupes to jazz bands to hip hop groups. The story really begins, however, with his introduction to guitarist Mac Mckenzie in 1978, and the formation of the musical partnership that would go on to birth The Genuines. With its vibrant fusion of jazz, rock, and the unique Cape music known as goema, the band found an enthusiastic audience at home and in Europe during the eighties.
The self-styled "mind freedom fighter" has always been keenly aware of the political and social role of music in South Africa. Later spearheading experimental “concept bands” such as African Dream and Iconoclast, he developed a passionate interest in combining contemporary and traditional African music, and continued his work as a trailblazer and torchbearer for modern goema.
In recent years, Schilder and Mckenzie have reunited to collaborate on several projects, including Namakwa, the District Six Band and The Goema Captains of Cape Town. Schilder is also a frequent contributor to Robbie Jansen’s Sons of Table Mountain, and has toured and performed internationally as a concert soloist and workshop leader.
His own sound has evolved into a thought-provoking and very personal style which he refers to variously as "landscape music", “urban Khoi” and “crossover electronic”.
His latest group project is the innovative Rock Art ensemble. Together with experimentalist trumpeter and accordionist Alex van Heerden, the duo continues exploring the musical legacy of the Cape and making it accessible to new generations.
After a lifetime’s contribution to the corpus of Cape jazz, Schilder is at last coming into his own as a solo artist. His debut solo album, No Turning Back, was nominated for a SAMA Award as Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Meet Hilton Schilder personally on the Cape Town Jazz Safari.
More articles on Cape Town Jazz:
The Custodians of Cape Jazz
Robbie Jansen
Mac McKenzie
Jazzing the 7 seas
One Jazz riff after another in Cape Town (New York Times)
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