Represent Review: Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2010
Between bracing the Cape winds, running between stages and having dinner with Bilal (coughcough), our two fabulous Jozi representer’s Lebogang and Akona (you’re always a Jozi girl for us) still managed to cover the Cape Town International Jazz Festival for us this year… and with such panache… What can we say besides a massive Sharpile. Watch your snailmail for your thank yous đ See Lebogang’s gorgeous photostory of the event here and read Akona’s review below: Represent! This yearâs 11th annual Cape Town Jazz Festival, which took place last weekend, once again got itâs stamp of approval for being one of the grandest music festivals in the country, I also think this event, previously known as North Sea Jazz Festival, is one of the better organised festivals out there save for the crazy Cape Town wind trying to get itâs time in the spotlight. The line â up was incredible, the most exciting part for me are the number of fusion artists I had never heard of – you see, the Jazz Fest for me is the place I go to be introduced to new music without being caught out as an ignoramus by die-hard fans. T his is where the artists have to bear their souls through their craft, this is where they introduce themselves to the possibility of new fans â me being one of them of course. 42 acts, over two nights, on 5 stages = a whole lot of dancing, singing, crying, with a healthy dose of soul touching music to keep you entertained.  On the first night, with a late start to the evening, I was blown away not only by the Cape Town wind at the âBasslineâ stage (which was setup outside of the International Convention Centre) but also by the Japanese fusion jazz group â a six man group playing what Iâd call dance music, with a very jazzy root. It was impossible not to be mesmerized not only by their energy, but the way in which they got the audience involved, singing hooks, dancing, clapping along and creating a measurable heat out in the open stage (audience by now had to do just about everything not to succumb to the thrashing of the wind). What was most important is how the band didnât seem bothered nor allowed themselves to be distracted by the wind and sand smacking them about on stage, they never skipped a beat â at one point I saw the saxophonist cough out some dirt only after blowing his instrument to the tunes. The Soil and Pimp Sessions is a vibrant band who transcend any expectations, MC, trumpet,...
Bilal joins the Line-Up at Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Oh, to hear the opening strains to Soul Sister, to close our eyes and be swept away by the swelling vocal crescendos of Sometimes… damn, Bilal playing at this years Cape Town International Jazz Festival is the best news since we heard about our poor Guru (who by the way is thankfully out of his coma). It was so dope to see Bilal a few years ago at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, where he mesmerized the crowd and had ladies nearly nekked with lurve for his sexy ways… We’re sure Bilal will deliver hands down once again and we urge you of course to GO GO GO. We will try to see just how up close and personal we can get. Bilal, one of the worldâs most well-respected and highly sought after live acts performing exquisite, pitch-perfect, old-soul hip-hop tinged vocal gymnastics like no other completes the line-up for the 11th Cape Town Jazz Festival. From the humble streets of Philadelphia to The Big Apple, Brooklyn has been the aural disseminatorâs base from where three albums worth of brilliance have, thus far, been realised. As his keen insistence saw him plough through and challenge his chosen genre Bilal quickly caught the attention and made fans of soul jazz legends Giles Peterson, the Roots, Dr. Dre, Jay Z and Raphael Saddiq. It was Erykah Badu who, upon hearing his early Brooklyn demoâs, hired the prodigy to not only perform, but also produce her 2000 album Mamaâs Gun. Dedicated to old-school, the former jazz musician navigates comfortably around all things percussion, organ and guitar-based. In 2001, at the age of only 21, Bilalâs aptly titled 17-track autobiographical debut 1st Born Second shook the larger neo-soul tree to way beyond its knotted root core where it celebrated comparisons to the true greats. The most memorable confirmation came when critics set it up alongside DâĂngeloâs 2000 Voodoo album, labelling it the âsmoother stepchildâ. From there the rollercoaster was well and truly set in its tracks and was hurtling, at blinding speed, up the charts and into live arenaâs right around the world. âHis voice â including a terrific falsetto, can still a room. He has the ability to head in unexpected directions, at the edge of off-key, only to bring back the song with emotional satisfaction that comes when risks pay offâ â The Boston Globe In 2003 he delivered his startling second collection of songs titled Love For Sale. The album was never officially released, but rather bootlegged by hungry fans and one which Vibe magazine tagged âpsycho soulâ. From âHow Do You Do Youâ and âAll The Humans...
Don’t miss this treat of a gig – Sat 9 May
Oh this weekend is gonna be pumping out some sweet jazzy sounds – we cannot recommend a better gig for anyone that loves offbeat sublime SA jazz, at only R25 a ticket this is a gift… So how about dinner in Newtown or Melville and then zooting yourself over to the WITS Amphiteatre… Siya’s voice alone will have the hairs standing at attention, never mind the slickness of Marcus, Carlo and Justin. GO GO GO. Represent! The Prisoners of Strange with Siya Makuzeni: voice Marcus Wyatt: trumpet Carlo Mombelli: bass & soundscapes Justin Badenhorst: drums Venue: Wits Amphitheatre (University of the Witwatersrand) Saturday 9th MAY 9 pm Bookings â R25 at Strictlytickets.com or at the...
Apologies to all the winners for Ballentines ballsup @ Bassline
If you were a ‘winner’ and went to the Bassline on Saturday night only to find there was no list and your name was nowhere to be found, firstly, we’d like to apologise sincerely for this bad experience. Secondly, we’d like you to know that this had very little to do with Represent and everything to do with the venue, Bassline, and the organiser Andrew, who was managing our ticket giveaway. After generously piling on the free tickets for our readers, and us providing all info timeously, they had promised to have everyone’s names at the door on the list on time – a very simple thing to do – but it turns out they couldn’t be bothered. We are busy compiling a list of ‘winners’ experiences that night as well as finding out how they will compensate you, so please do get in touch on editor@represent.co.za, we have the list of everyone that won. It’s a sad day when people are treated so badly, without respect and we apologise once again, as you know, we do this all for the love and support of SA music, but we’re beginning to wonder if it’s worth it. Sharpile for your support as always. Editorista. We’ve got a bunch of tickets to give-away to this week’s Ballantines Finest Jazz âLeave an Impressionâ event – It’s happening live at the Bassline in Newtown on Saturday 2nd May 2009 and will feature the brilliant DON LAKA and the sultry SAMA winning SIMPHIWE DANA. If you’d like to win a pair, simply email Editorista on editor@represent.co.za with your name, your partners name, your cell numbers and the answer to this question: at which famous Johannesburg Jazz venue will the Ballentine’s Finest Jazz event take place this weekend? More details below or click on the flyer for more: Ballantineâs has been presenting some top South African jazz artist at various Newtown venues over the past year and is extremely proud to present two headline acts at arguably the home of South African Jazz on Saturday 02 May, when Don Laka and Simphiwe Dana play at the Ballantineâs Finest Jazz event at Bassline â this event is sure to LEAVE AN IMPRESSION and we are extremely proud to be the headline sponsors. The Ballantines Finest Jazz at the Bassline is a jazz event to look forward to reminiscent of the high quality jazz concerts from the Bassline Jazz Club in Melville days! Headline for the evening is the inimitable Don Laka performing his signature âKwaai Jazzâ with Jazz Diva supreme Simphiwe Dana taking on the support act slot. Don Laka after 35 years in the music...
MUST DO: Jazz lovers get to CTIJF
Jazzinista’s we hope you’re planning ahead to catch the broadly diverse line up at this year’s CTIJF taking place in less than 3 weeks! Ranging from some of SA’s hottest current bands like Goldfish, 340ml and Siphokazi, then showcasing some of the less commercial but deeply intriguing South African jazz cats like Carlo Mombelli & The Prisoners of Strange and McCoy Mrubata… through to two of our favourite international bands – acid jazz group Incognito from the 90s (still a friend of mine!) and the AMAZING Congo-Belgian all-girl group Zap Mamas (call me!) – And smoothly topped off with an edgy hiphp touch – Mos Def feat The Robert Glasper Experiment (to name but a few), it’s gonna be shaking in Cape Town! Surely this range of talent must put the festival on the global lists of ‘must attend’ jazz festivals. Here is the full line-up. Just added to this list is the young and fabulous Zaki Ibrahim, read all about it below: 340ml; Carlo Mombelli & The Prisoners of Strange; Goldfish; Kyle Shepherd Quartet; Magic Malik Orchestra Napalma; Ndumiso Nyovane; Pete Philly & Perquisite; The Robert Glasper Experiment; Shakatak; Siphokazi; South Paw; Stewart Sekuma; Al Foster Quartet; Arturo Lledo; Dave Liebman Quartet; Dianne Reeves; Emily Bruce; Freshlyground; Hugh Masekela; Incognito; Jonathan Rubain; Kyle Eastwood Band; Loading Zone; Maceo Parker; Maurice Gawronsky feat. Feya Faku; New York Voices; Peter White; Ringo Madlingozi; Rus Nerwichâs collective imagination; The Stylistics; Zap Mama; Jonathan Butler with special guest Dave Koz; Dr. Malombo Philip Tabane, âOpera Meets Jazzâ Mike Del Ferro, Sibongile Khumalo, and Shannon Mowday; Abigail Kubeka, Cape Town Jazz Orchestra, McCoy Mrubata and Special Friends and Mos Def feat The Robert Glasper Experiment. To complete this yearâs lineup, organisers of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival revealed that Zaki Ibrahim will join the other thirty-nine acts that appear on 03-04 April at Africaâs Grandest Gathering. While she refuses to categorise her music, what Zaki dishes out is a fusion of hip-hop, earthy soul, deep house, broken electro-acoustic beats and jazz-inflected vocal intonations. Still in her 20âs, the Toronto-based South African singer has taken up as her mission, the creation of smooth hip-hop. Born to an exiled South African father and Scottish mother, Zaki spent her early years shuttling between Cape Town and the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia> , Canada. She was drawn to hip-hop at early age and started to perform when she moved to British Columbia âs largest city, Vancouver. Explaining the pull of hip-hop on her, the singer who has been living in Toronto since 2001 describes how as a child he listened...
We will be back!
