DIRECTOR: Cathy Peacock

CAST: Calli Thomson, Bruce Baker, Ian Holloway, Duncan Wooldridge, Andreas Kappen, Reanne Leigh, Cathy Peacock, Jaziel Vaugh’hann

VENUE: The Rhumbelow Theatre

UNTIL: Sunday

RATING: ****

In an age where mainstream music seems to be dominated by a 90 percent electronic edit and a 10 percent talent ratio, it is groups that perform live, such as Platform Jazz, that should be praised for giving an audience a taste of good music.

The seven-piece Dixieland jazz outfit, featuring local singer Jaziel Vaugh’hann, are at The Rhumbelow Theatre for a two-week run and, boy, can I see this show making a come-back soon.

From start to finish the audience is kept entertained by the band and well informed about jazz.

Music director Cathy Peacock deserves a pat on the back for stringing together a great show that, in my opinion, is two-pronged in its success.

One, the show is a journey through jazz. From its early years in the 20th century, through its rag-time era, working through the New Orleans/Dixieland jazz years, into eras such as the “hot jazz”/Chicago formations, and even touching on some of the more modern contri-butors, and more.

This show is a great, enter-taining introduction to jazz (if you’ve never known much about the genre beyond certain artists) and at the same time jazz fundis will be kept well entertained.

The second, and strongest, element of this must-see show is the fact that the band comprises some of the best talent Durban has to offer.

Calli Thompson on keys. Wow! I have always known Thompson was talented from seeing her in a number of music and musical theatre shows, but, boy, have I discovered her to be super-talented since Saturday’s show.

Undoubtedly a master pianist, Thompson really stood out in this production. Her piano playing and singing are amazing and I hope we get to see more of her on stage this year.

Bruce Baker on drums. Baker’s rhythm is on top form; Andreas Kappen has mad skills on the bass; Ian Holloway on clarinet, Duncan Wooldridge on trombone, Cathy Peacock on trumpet and Reanne Leigh on sax – these frontline musicians really gelled well together and put on an excellent performance.

I particularly enjoyed The Livery Stable Blues set when you get to hear each of them a bit more, also in a bit of a playful setting.

Peacock, Wooldridge and Holloway don’t pull any punches, but I got the impression that the young Leigh was holding back a bit on the saxophone.

She clearly is skilled, but perhaps just needs to be more confident in her ability to play the instrument, which she does rather well.

Another young addition to the baand was Vaugh’hann, who featured on vocals.

Now he may be young in years, but Vaugh’hann’s taste in music is very mature. You just have to listen to his three albums to know he has a passion for seasoned sounds of the past.

Performing some of the songs on this show’s playlist is no easy task. What with the likes of What a Wonderful World, What a Difference a Day Made, to Fly Me to the Moon, Girl from Ipanema, Quando Quando and more, Vaugh’hann has clearly put a lot of work into his perform-ance doing these songs from the golden age of jazz.

Rounding things off, Platform Jazz have gone to great lengths to prepare for this show and it’s clear from the performances of the individuals on stage.

Definitely one not to miss, Platform Jazz wraps up this weekend.

• Tickets are R100 at Computicket (083 915 8000, www.computicket.com) or e-mail roland@stansell.za.net. Bring your own food or picnic baskets.