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Claude Deppa and Kinetika Bloco: the sound of carnival brass

Phil Croydon meets trumpeter Claude Deppa to discuss his playing, South African jazz and Kinetika Bloco, the exciting youth band from south London.
Courtesy Richard Haynes

‘My grandfather had his own brass band, so I learned to play brass instruments early. I actually wanted to play trombone, but he wouldn't let me. I was playing drums a lot of the time in the band, but then also the tenor horn.’

This is Deppa describing growing up in Cape Town, and a typical rite of passage for young musicians in Africa during the 1960s and 70s. Grandfathers played an important role ‘educating the second generation, even the cooler players and chamber players’, explains Deppa. His uncle led a South African police band, too. From the moment Deppa was born, he was surrounded by brass sections.

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