RAINBOW RESTAURANT NEWS

Rainbow Restaurant in Pinetown stays on track.

The Rainbow Restaurant and Jazz Club in Pinetown has managed to stay on track so far, despite the recession.

“Up at the Rainbow, it has been a very quiet first half of the year with regards to concerts,” says joint owner Neil Comfort. “A few under-the-radar performances from emerging groups but no headline Sunday concerts mainly due to the fact that, rather than retrenchments, we have been cutting shifts and therefore cannot justify spending on concerts.

“Thankfully, I managed to get all the part timers back up to their usual quota of shifts for July and so quickly jumped in and booked the two shows we have coming up in August, featuring musicians who last played at the Rainbow many years ago.”

Next up is the Simba Morri Trio on August 2. Morri Natti - professionally known as Simba Morri - is a South African musician of Kenyan origin. He came to Johannesburg as a scholar, studying anthropology at Wits before turning to music full time. His music is an eclectic mix of crisscross rhythms known as maasaik muziki. His bio explains it as "vibrant, it is food for the soul. Joy is an essential element in the music of Simba Morri. The essential lyrics, the happy scintillating guitar, the chugging rhythms make for a wonderful experience!" Sounds good.

Simba Morri Trio performs at 13h00 on August 2 (doors open at 12h00). Tickets R30 (R20 Rainbow Jazz Club Members and Durban Collective Members). The criteria for being a Rainbow member is to visit on a weekly basis.

The Rainbow Restaurant and Jazz Club is situated at 23 Stanfield Lane, Pinetown. More information on 031 702 9161 or 083 463 8044 or email: bandwagon@artslink.co.za

(The Simba Morri Trio will also perform at the Centre for Jazz, UKZN, on August 5 at 17h30)