Represent Review: Joy of Jazz 2009
Represent shimmied in amongst all the Friday night jazz cats last weekend down in Newtown, Johannesburg at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz 2009 festival – see our photostory here and read our take below from our team Nkateko Siweya and Hloni Ditse – Sharpile guys! : It’s a Friday just after rush hour traffic – it’s the last winter weekend and there’s no sign of a cold wind or rainy clouds, I wonder why… A long stream of cars flows past in an absolutely uniform precision, going in the opposite direction. Where are they going? People are supposed to be going home at this hour! Well not these music lovers… Mhhh, maybe all these people driving towards downtown Joburg might know that something interesting is about to go down. I’m also heading downtown, Newtown to be exact, past the dim highway lights, to arrive at a light and bubbly (no direct relation to Champagne) scene of blue and white lights: the 2009 Standard Bank Joy Of Jazz. I step into a mass of people of all ages, walking and mingling as if it were a holiday: we are in Jozi, the city that never sleeps. Such energy and excitement is derived from just being out and about in Newtown, Johannesburg city and it can be felt and witnessed by each face that makes up this buzzing crowd. One thing you are never short of in Joburg is a fashion parade, from the young funky attires to the mature elegantly dressed- that on its own is an art form unique to Africa’s greatest metropolitan. Our bright colours call out loud: “Welcome to the southern spring season!!” The stages are set, the guests are here, the weather is clear and warm we are out and about in an era brimming with talent and skill. The stages in Newtown boasted the most adept and diversified jazz and soul musicians from many a corner of the globe. This is one time I wish I could replicate myself just for the night so I could get to fully immerse myself in the simultaneous happenings on all four stages. I would soothe myself with the foreign and blissful featuring artists like Room 11, Somi, Brian Thusi, Level 99, MAG, Minor Band, CJC, Live Rhythm, J4Dot, Solace and Soul Tique and the many more who showcased their talent at great length. Even though my self- morphing into four of me didn’t go down, I did manage to catch a few of the legends in action, from the very appealing Judith Sephuma’s soulful choruses to Unathi Nkayi who was just having a wonderful jol with the...
Levi’s® Vintage Sundays is back- Sun 10 May
The sixth edition of ‘Levi’s Vintage Sundays’ takes place this May in Joburg – it’s heartening to see a brand consistently supporting South African musicians by providing them with a (reliable) platform from whence to share their love. Good job Levi’s. Sharpile! The second installation of this 6th round of gigs takes place this Sunday at The Crazy 88 in Norwood at 7:30pm. Do you best to get there as it features three of our bestest South African musical wonders… Kwani Experience, the legendary Pops Mohammed and the poet mc TUMI. It’s gonna be crazy up in there. KWANI EXPERIENCE is a six-piece live band powerhouse, hailing from the inner city of Johannesburg. Featuring a gritty yet sophisticated sound, they present a distinctive edge in their attitude, their messages, their look and their sound. Having already performed on several European tours in countries like France, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands as well as a few African countries such as Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and Cape Verde, Kwani Experience is proving to be one of the greatest South African exports. Check out www.kwani.co.za / www.myspace.com/kwaniexp for more information. Multi-talented artist, POPS MOHAMED is one of the greatest musical exports of our time. As a composer, arranger, producer, performer and teacher, he is an internationally renowned virtuoso in the field of indigenous African instruments. He also writes scores for film documentaries and radio jingles and as a member of the SA Chamber Orchestras, Pops Mohamed hosts workshops for children around the world with the preservation of traditional music at heart. Having performed across the globe several times over, Pops Mohamed is a must-see in the Levi’s® Vintage Sundays line-up. Check out www.myspace.com/popsmohamed for more information. TUMI MOLEKANE aka Tumi, is solo artist and lead vocalist of Tumi and the Volume. 2007 marked the arrival of Tumi’s first SAMA nomination, a double nomination under the Best Rap category. Having travelled the globe a few times over with a huge following in his own home country, Tumi is even more renowned abroad through his annual international tours and is arguably one of South Africa’s most electric performers right now. Check out http://www.myspace.com/tumipoetmc for more...
Old meets New School – Arts Alive Poetry
Kwani‘s back after whipping up a storm in Europe… Go and celebrate their oodles of talent at an unplugged session with the legendary Pops Mohammed as part of the Arts Alive festival – the Poetry line-up. Don’t miss it. There’s so much going on, this is just one event of many fabulous events/concerts/parties/jols… here’s a taster: The band Kwani Experience have just come back from another successful European tour of the Netherlands, Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina and are hitting the stage again with bags under their eyes. The band Kwani Experience have just come back from another successful European tour of Netherlands, Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina and are hitting the stage again with bags under their eyes. The band’s touring success is making them one of South Africa’s greatest exports following in the footsteps of many jazz, rock and alternative bands and groups who have had the privilege of performing outside Africa. One of those artists is Pops Mohammed, a living legend, and Kwani is sharing the stage & a repertoire with him. Pops Mohammed and Kwani Experience Unplugged Kwani Experience will this Saturday the 13th of September share the stage with the veteran Pops Mohammed for the Arts Alive Speak The Mind sessions, the poetry soiree of the annual Arts Alive festival. The term ‘unplugged’ will mean that Kwani Experience will only perform with 4 of its 6 core members, which will make this collaboration a totally different Kwani ‘Experience’. Pops and Kwani will perform exclusive material, sharing the stage with acts from South Africa, Zimbabwe, U.S.A, Trinidad, Angola and Kenya for one night only so be sure to check it out. No First Timers But this will be the 5th time the two local-international brands perform together. The first four times were in 2006 and 2007 for a project called Ashes to Machines that Kwani and Bra Pops are involved in, together with French producers, DJ Oil and Jeff Sharel. An album from this collaboration is due to be released early next year once a distribution deal for South Africa has been finalized. For more on the festival and Artists: www.artsalive.co.za...
We will be back!
