This weekend is Cape Town Jazz Festival weekend: a celebration of international and, more importantly, local musical talent across a spectrum of sounds notably wider than just traditional jazz. There is something for most music fans to celebrate and enjoy. However, not everyone can get to the Jazz Festival. But all is not lost.
If you love good music, especially the blues, and you would like the opportunity to attend an incredible performance by an internationally recognised blues guitarist and vocalist, make your way to Kirstenbosch on Sunday evening to see Dan Patlansky in concert.
I hear many of you asking, “Dan who? “ And therein lies the rub.
This amazing Gauteng-born guitar virtuoso is known across the world for his dynamic licks, which accompany his gravel edged voice, perfectly suited to the blues–rock music style. Think Stevie Ray Vaughn, blended with elements of Jimi Hendrix a dash of Robin Trower, a pinch of Joe Bonamassa and you will begin to get the picture.
His debut album, Standing at the Station, released in 2004, kicked off a career that has had him opening for Bruce Springsteen, being a special guest for Joe Satriani and headlining his own concerts around the globe. And apart from endorsements by fellow musicians, his 2016 album Intovertigo was voted #1 Blues Rock Album by Blues Rock Review USA. Dan has recently release a brand new album, Perfection Kills and will be featuring a selection of numbers at the concert on Sunday.
The tragedy is that, unless you follow the genre very closely, you might not have heard about him before. You not find any local radio stations having him on their playlists. Even the so-called classic rock stations are stuck is such ruts that they lead one to believe that Hotel California was the only song the Eagles ever recorded, and are completely oblivious to the fact that Bruce Springsteen has recorded many more albums since Born in the USA than prior .And this, even though visiting acts across the broad spectrum of the genre are well supported when they visit our shores. Here we have a local artist, internationally acclaimed and basically unknown in his own country.
So much for the industry claiming to be behind local music.
So, if you enjoy incredible contemporary blues –rock, if you missed the Jazz Festival, if you believe SA artists should be supported and if you want an unforgettable music experience, grab your friends, some blankets and a picnic and get to the Dan Patlansky concert in Kirstenbosch on Sunday.