Cape all jazzed up about music festival

Published Mar 28, 2015

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Cape Town - Thousands of music lovers lined up at the CTICC on Friday for the start of the 16th Cape Town International Jazz Festival, one of the biggest jazz festivals in the world.

With five stages covering jazz and related urban music genres like hip hop, and even traditional African music, some old-timers also found out that performing is definitely a lot of hard work.

“The rehearsals confirm that I am unfit. My wife said you need to get into shape. I didn’t want her to know she was right. I hope my crash comes after the gig,” joked Prophets of Da City vocalist Shaheen Arafdien, who flew in from Toronto for the event.

It’s an historic performance for POC, who have not performed together for more than a decade. They were hard at work this week preparing for their turn early on Saturday morning at the Bassline stage.

 

Arafdien said their rehearsals saw them trying to squeeze six months work into three days, and that they had adapted their original sound for the festival performance.

“We kept the core of the songs in place, but we changed them for a 2015 hip hop sound. They are re-interpretations, but are not so different... some of our songs did not need new lyrics. The struggle continues,” he added.

He paid homage to his father Issy, a founding member of the decades-old band Pacific Express, who are performing on Saturday night on the Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee stage.

After Zayn Adam’s death, the band will be using vocalist Deon Manchess.

The band’s bassist, Greg Higgins, said: “People have been asking us if we are going to replace Zayn. He is now part of our past. He was in the planning of all of this. Now we have to deal with the future of Pacific Express.”

 

“(Pacific Express is) a breeding ground. We hope we have a new crop,”

Songstress Melanie Scholtz and Afrikaans hip hopster Jitsvinger took to the Moses Molelekwa stage on Friday, presenting music from Scholtz’s most recent work Our Time.

 

She also performed some new music she wrote while staying in Joburg.

A few hours earlier, Jitsvinger opened the Bassline stage as a trio. He was originally supposed to perform as the duo Jitsenic, but hip hop producer Arsenic was hospitalised.

 

After a packed out performance on Wednesday at the festival’s free concert on Greenmarket Square, British clarinetist and saxophonist Courtney Pine presented a show called House of Legends, named after his 2012 album. He performed at the first edition of this jazz festival 16 years ago.

“My options were limited when I grew up in London. Jazz allowed me to explore music from... everywhere. My ambition was to travel, I am doing that now,” he said.

The revived Mahotella Queens drew interest on Friday night as they closed off the main stage Kippies with their 50th anniversary celebration.

The artists brought the traditional Zulu sound of mbaqanga to the stage with their newest “queen” Amanda Nkosi, who replaced the retired Mildred Mangxola. Original members Hilda Tloubatla and Nobesuthu Mbadu are still performing Queens.

Tloubatla said: “We started this group in 1964, I was 22. This is the best music in South Africa. Don’t think mbaqanga is for the illiterate. We want you to take our legacy with you.”

New member Nkosi added: “I feel honoured to be a Queen. I used to dance to their music in the street. I never thought I would be a part of them.”

Polish-Briton Basia Trzetrzelewska could be considered a headliner. She occasioned some 1980s jazz pop nostalgia at the Kippies stage after Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s set.

 

The 60-year-old rose to fame with the group Matt Bianco. She relaunched her solo career in 2009, and is set to release a new album this year.

Meanwhile, “Ma Yvonne” is 10 years her junior and celebrates 30 years in the music industry this year.

“I have never cancelled a gig in 30 years. I respect my time and my work. We think as artists, we are ‘it’, but it is people who make us. I don’t take myself seriously, but I take my work seriously,” she said.

If you are fortunate enough to have tickets for Saturday night, the show starts earlier with Ringo Madlingozi opening Kippies and the Delft Big Band opening Manenberg at 5pm.

Jazz and R&B star Al Jarreau will close Kippies at 11pm.

On Friday he hopped into a press conference on a walking stick.

“I don’t make a million dollars. I may look like a million dollars. I make enough money for my record company not to tell me to go home,” he joked.

If you were looking forward to hip hop duo Cannibal Ox, you are out of luck.

On Friday, festival organisers espAfrika announced that that MC Vordul Mega from Cannibal Ox is unable to join his duo-mate Vast Aire for the festival. It is understood he “encountered travel issues”.

He said in a statement: “I am cut up that I am going to be missing out on being in Cape Town this time round. I have wanted to travel to Africa for many years, and I apologise unreservedly to all my fans and to the organisers, but I know that Vast is going to deliver one hell of a show.”

What to do if you don’t have a ticket for festival

*espAfrika have thrown their support behind a CTIJF after-party in Langa on Sunday. Organised by the iKapa Jazz Movement and the Paarl Jazz Club, it will feature Mike Perry’s tribute to Winston Mankunku Ngozi.

It’s at the Johnson Ngwevela Hall and admission is R80. Bring your own booze. Langa will also be alive with the festivities of Open Streets Langa. Washington Street, where the hall is, will be closed from noon to 5pm for performing arts and recreation.

* If you did not get to see Prophets of Da City early on Saturday morning, they are hosting The All Elements Jam at Club Fever in Lansdowne on Sunday.

From 2pm to 4pm they will have free workshops covering break-dancing and DJing. This will be followed by a performance from the original members. Tickets are R40 at the door, and the proceeds go to the Saartjie Baartman’s Women and Children’s Shelter.

* Johnny Clegg plays the Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert on Sunday at 5.30pm, but tickets are sold out.

* Manenberg’s is closing again, within months of its revival at 96 Strand Street. They are not able to do renovations for winter due to the building’s heritage status upgrade.

However, they have a great jazz line-up on Saturday and Sunday night.

Saturday night is a closing down party featuring Judith Sephuma, and on Sunday it is the Frank Paco Art Ensemble album launch of Buyanini.

Cover charge is R50 on both nights.

* The 4th South African Association for Jazz Education (SAJE) Jazz Festival runs from Sunday to Tuesday at the SA College of Music and the Nassau Centre in Newlands.

On Sunday Italian pianist Emilio Marinelli performs at the Nassau from 7.30pm. Tickets are R100. To book, call 076 401 0008.

For more on the festival see www.saje.org.za

Weekend Argus

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