To the superstitious, number 13 is the most unlucky number there is. But to a music superstar like Ike Moriz, it’s just business as usual.
The musician – who has released albums that range in genre from jazz to pop to Latin and even rock – recently released his 13th album, Siren Terpsichore.
The 14-track offering is a return to one of Moriz’s favourite genres: swing.
“The aspiration for this album was for it to be like a Real Book,” he tells me over coffee. “That’s why I’ve compiled the standards there.”
With the exception of three songs (which include Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps), all the songs on this album were written and produced by Moriz.
Terpsichore is, according to Greek mythology, one of nine muses who rule over dance and the dramatic chorus.
Of the peculiar title, Moriz explains: “I think I first heard the term ‘terpsichore’ in a Frank Sinatra song or something from the 1930s. I’d read a lot of Greek mythology, but even I couldn’t find that term. I read Greek mythology because it’s the basis of Western culture.
“Even if you look at movies or whatever, there’s the same basic stories that date back to Greek mythology so it was nice to create an album around that.”
Moriz plays the role of the suitor who is seduced by this siren on the title track and then, just as effortlessly, delves into not one but two Spanish songs on the album.
“I never really liked Spanish,” he thinks for a moment and then laughs, “there I go offending half the world. No, I never really liked Spanish, not that it’s a terrible language, but that changed when I heard the Argentinian accent.
“It sounds beautiful and exotic and even if you don’t know Spanish that much, you just hear this thing that you don’t know and it sounds attractive. It’s a little like a siren seducing you.”
The German musician who now lives in Hout Bay with his pregnant wife, Madri (who is Nataniël’s sister), has pursued music over the glitter-but-not-gold lifestyle that comes with fame.
Obviously, some musicians aren’t fans of being the entertainment at hotels, but Moriz – who is resident entertainer at top Cape Town hotels – has a different view.
He laughs: “The Cape Town winter is very long! And it’s nice to be able to pay for a rehearsal room. When I perform there, every week I can try out new stuff.
“It’s like a paid rehearsal and that’s fantastic. I’ve done busking in London so this is much nicer. And I just love singing.”
You don’t get 13 albums deep in this industry if you don’t love what you do.
• Siren Terpsichore is in stores now. Visit www.ikemoriz.com to find out more about it.