By Elizabeth Howard

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Episode Summary

This episode explores the opening of “Mother Africa,” Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2025–26 season, which celebrates South African jazz and the African diaspora that brought it to life. Elizabeth Howard is in conversation with Seton Hawkins, the Director of Public Programs and Educational Resources at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is a jazz advocate, educator, and producer with a particular focus on South Africa. Seton is joined by Marcus Printup, a trumpeter in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra who contributes regularly as an arranger and composer. He has recorded with many jazz legends. The story of jazz in Africa reflects the weight of resistance, identity, and hope; it is an expression of the South African experience, resonating with themes of struggle, mourning, and resilience.

Episode Notes

Seton Hawkins

Seton Hawkins is the Director of Public Programs and Education Resources at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he leads the organization’s Swing University teaching initiative. In addition, he has worked for more than a decade as a producer, manager, publicist, radio DJ, and advocate for jazz. He has written extensively for Hot House Jazz and AllAboutJazz.com, with a particular emphasis on the jazz scene in South Africa. Outside of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Hawkins is a radio host for SiriusXM’s Real Jazz channel (where he hosts a weekly South African Jazz series), a professor at the Juilliard School, and the curator of the AfricArise: South African Jazz record series on Ropeadope Records. He received his MBA from Babson College and his BA in Music from Columbia University.

Marcus Printup

Marcus Printup attended Georgia State University before transferring to the University of North Florida on a music scholarship. During his studies at UNF, he competed in and won the prestigious International Trumpet Guild Jazz Trumpet Competition.

In 1991, Printup’s life changed when he met his mentor and future friend, the incomparable pianist Marcus Roberts. Roberts introduced him to world-renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, which eventually led to an invitation to join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 1993. Since then, Printup has established and held the third chair in the trumpet section and contributes regularly to the orchestra as an arranger and composer.

Among many others, Printup has performed and recorded with Betty Carter (he was inducted into Carter’s first Jazz Ahead class in 1994), Dianne Reeves, Eric Reed, Cyrus Chestnut, Wycliffe Gordon, and Marcus Roberts. Printup has also released multiple recordings as a bandleader on several major jazz labels.

On September 18, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis premiered Afro!, officially kicking off JLCO’s “Mother Africa” season.

Mother Africa, Jazz at Lincoln Center

This episode explores the opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2025–26 season with Afro!, a new composition by Wynton Marsalis. Performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Marsalis directing, the work celebrates jazz’s deep ties to African music and features special guests vocalist Shenel Johns and percussionist Weedie Braimah.

As part of our conversation with Seton Hawkins, we highlight three South African jazz standards featured in the performance and in this episode:

Kippie Moeketsi – Scullery Department: A hard-swinging, bebop-rooted tune that captures the energy of Johannesburg’s 1950s jazz scene. Moeketsi, an alto saxophonist often dubbed the “Charlie Parker of South Africa,” was central to that city’s golden jazz era.

Winston Mankunku Ngozi – Yakhal’ Inkomo: Recorded in 1968, this tenor saxophone masterpiece became one of the most iconic South African jazz works. Its title, meaning “the bellowing bull,” reflects both deep personal expression and the broader struggle under apartheid.

Feya Faku – Elegy for Bheki Mseleku: A leading trumpeter and composer of the modern era, Faku wrote this moving tribute to pianist Bheki Mseleku, one of South Africa’s most innovative and spiritual jazz voices.

Together, these works connect South Africa’s jazz legacy with Marsalis’s new composition, underscoring how the history of jazz is inseparable from its African roots.

Gerald Kent
We are excited to welcome Gerald Kent as the producer and editor of The Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he has developed extensive experience working with clients in the podcast space, from editing to full-scale production. We are thrilled to have Gerald on board and look forward to the journey ahead with him.

The Short Fuse Podcast is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Howard. Her articles on communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, the Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015), and Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). She leads reading groups at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York. Find her on Instagram @elizh24. Learn more at Elizabeth Howard.

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