Cape Town - “All music is like a woman,” says Mother City jazz maestro Hilton Schilder.
One of his specialities is Goema, local music named after the skin of an African drum. When a woman is pregnant, her belly is known as a “Goempie” because it resembles a drum.
One of the city’s favourite sons of jazz, Schilder is chatting to a group of tourists sitting around his dinner table, all ignorant up to this point about Cape jazz and thirsty for knowledge.
When tourists think of Cape Town they think of wine tours, Robben Island and Table Mountain, but they don’t necessarily think of exploring the routes of Cape jazz, a hidden gem. Coffeebeans Routes runs tours for overseas and local visitors, introduces them to Goema, Cape cooking and music stalwarts who have contributed to this distinctive jazz history .
The Cape Town Jazz Safari is run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm to 11.30pm.
It started in 2005 and is Coffeebeans Routes’ most popular tour.
Our travel guide for the night is Michael Letlala, who promises us that “tonight you are going to believe in heaven”. And if heaven is a mix of good conversation, great food, a cold beer and soulful music in a warm home, then he may be on to something.
We start at the Coffeebeans Routes headquarters with strong coffee. Our first stop, after about a 20-minute drive, is Schilder’s home in Fairways. He is a fourth-generation musician and has no formal music education.
It’s in his genes – Schilder is the son of South African pianist Tony Schilder, affectionately known as the gentleman of jazz.
In the past few years Schilder has battled cancer. He was diagnosed and treated for kidney cancer in 2010, the same year his father died after a long illness. Now, three years later, he looks strong, happy and healthy. His face lights up when his wife, Tesna, enters the room and his eyes twinkle like they do when he makes music.
He finds music in everything around him. He plays Xaru bows (which he also makes), drums, percussion, piano, violin, flute, double bass and cello, among others. He started making music when he was three years old with a suitcase and a pair of brushes and has been inhaling a knowledge of instruments ever since.
As we sit around the dining room table, surrounded by instruments and his art (just in case he wasn’t talented enough, he is also an artist), Schilder plays music for us and demonstrates how his instruments work. He tells us stories about his life and those he has loved and lost.
His music is dedicated to different people and times in his life, many parts dedicated to his wife.
For dinner we are served a meal of chicken curry, rice, tomato and onion salad and dhal, lovingly cooked by Tesna who has been married to Schilder for 30 years. At the dinner table, Schilder starts to play on the stool on which he is sitting, which turns out to be a Cajon, a complete drum-kit in itself played by tapping different parts.
After more stories, more music and a short documentary titled Mama Goema: the Cape Town Beat in Five Movements, it is time for us to leave for our second and last venue for the evening – but not before learning that Schilder is also a very talented rapper.
On our way back to the city centre, Letlala tells us that he thinks more people should explore South Africa’s melting pot of musical genres. Letlala appeals to young people not to give up on music and jazz, but sadly, at R895 a person, the Cape Town Jazz Safari is not priced for backpackers and local young people.
However it is possible for young people to head to venues like the Mahogany Room in Gardens and Tagore’s in Observatory to experience the scene for themselves.
We head to the Mahogany Room in Buitenkant Street for a nightcap and the late set. This intimate venue is run by three Cape Town musicians and jazz lovers who decided the city needed a decent jazz venue.
On most nights it is packed and full of life. On this evening American trumpeter, Gordon Vernick, is playing. For the Mahogany Room’s full line-up, visit www.mahoganyroom.com. Hilton Schilder will perform at the venue on April 25.
Festivals worldwide and all that jazz:
l Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is the blueprint for jazz festivals. For over 30 years, it has hosted an impressive array of musicians from all horizons – seasoned jazz players, well-known DJs, impassioned bluesmen and high-spirited rockers. It takes place from June 28 until July 7.
l The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is the “birthplace of jazz”. It’s on from April 26 to May 5. Artists include Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Dave Matthews Band, Maroon5 and John Mayer.
l The Montreux Jazz Festival is staged in the Swiss town’s convention centre, from July 5 to 20. More than 1 000 artists play on 12 stages for about 230 000 visitors. Uniquely, Montreux also offers “jazz boats” that ply Lake Geneva, and “jazz trains” that explore the surrounding countryside, along with music workshops, film screenings and art exhibitions.
l The Copenhagen Jazz Festival has over 100 venues and over 1 000 concerts from July 5 to 14.
l The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place in California from September 20 to 22.
l The North Sea Jazz festival is in Rotterdam from July 12 to 14. The line-up includes Santana, Diana Krall, John Legend and Sting.
l The Beaches International Jazz Festival is on from July 19 to 28 and is held each year in the lakeside “beach” community of Toronto. The festival has about 1 000 artists, including 50 bands for its “StreetFest” event along Queen Street East.
l The Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, in the Indonesian capital, has grown into one of the world’s largest jazz gatherings in just eight years, and is usually held at the being of March. - Weekend Argus