Gito Baloi killed

[brownie]

Terrible news from South Africa!

From Reuters:

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - South African jazz musician Gito Baloi was shot and killed in Johannesburg, the latest prominent artist to fall victim to the country's high rates of violent crime, officials said Monday.

Police said Baloi, a Mozambican-born bass guitarist, was shot and killed early Sunday by two assailants while driving home from a performance in Pretoria.

Provincial officials called on the public to help track down his killers.

"It is a shame that people who are professionals and proudly South Africans who continue to work tirelessly in order to uplift the standard of development are now being targeted by ruthless criminals," said Nomvula Mokonyane, the Gauteng provincial minister for safety and security.

Baloi, 39, gained fame as a member of the award-winning jazz group Tananas and released several popular solo albums.

Another leading South African star, Tebogo Madingoane of the group Mafikizolo, was shot and killed in February after an altercation with another driver in Soweto township near Johannesburg.

Several brutal killings have refocused the spotlight on South Africa's high levels of violent crime in recent months, including one in which a farmworker was assaulted and fed to lions, possibly while still alive, and another in which four members of a family were kidnapped and killed.

The murder rate has fallen over the past decade, partly because of a sharp decline in political violence, but is still about eight times the overall level in the United States.

[king ubu]

This is sad news (notwithstanding I never heard anything by Gito Baloi).

Hope we would have more exposure to ZA-jazz here!

ubu

[Guest ariceffron]

I LOVE HIS STUFF WITH DON CHERRY ON BLUE NOTE. ITS REAL DIFFERENT FROM HIS LATER LATIN ORIENTED STUFF.

[brownie]

Aric, Gito was no Gato!

http://www.bassplayers.co.za/gitobaloibio.html