On the Cutting Edge of the Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown.Jazz musicians are (in)famous for pushing musical boundaries, and the internationally acclaimed South African musicians at this year’s Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown (June 20 to July 4) are at the forefront of radically redefining the limits of the genre in their generation.
Marcus Wyatt is one of South Africa’s leading trumpeters who has travelled extensively, and recorded and played with the likes of Winston Mankunku, Jimmy Dludlu, Courtney Pine, Bheki Mseleku, James Morrison and Abdullah Ibrahim. He recently returned from a tour to India with his successful new project Language 12. He gathers some of the best young talent around for a burning late-night session at this year’s Festival. On piano is Afrika Mkhize, who has spent the past couple of years in Paris soaking up the French jazz scene, on bass is amazing young player Prince Bulo, who was selected for the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band for three years and is now making a serious career for himself professionally, and on drums is Justin Badenhorst, who has also recently returned to South Africa from an extended period in the US, and who has performed with musicians as diverse as Ismael Lo, Judith Sephuma and Steve Hofmeyer. Joining the band as guest is the very talented young vocalist Siya Makuzeni.
In the 1970’s Carlo Mombelli, an eager young bass prodigy, emerged under the tutelage of guitar maestro Johnny Fourie and took every opportunity available to learn from other musicians and explore new approaches to sound. Three decades later the same exploratory, vibrant approach is the hallmark of the music of Mombelli, now firmly established as one of South Africa’s most interesting musicians and composers. The decades have seen Mombelli in Europe for an extended period, where he played with Lee Konitz and Egberto Gismonti, influenced by the European avant garde, and then an eclectic set of collaborations in South Africa, including musicians such as Marcus Wyatt, Sibongile Khumalo, Miriam Makeba and Simphiwe Dana. Mombelli’s focal project over the past seven years has been The Prisoners of Strange, which now features Carlo Mombelli (bass), Siya Makuzeni (vocals, trombone), Marcus Wyatt (trumpet) and Justin Badenhorst (drums). The band offer s evocative explorations of new soundscapes, taking jazz to fascinating places.
Cape Town saxophonist Rus Nerwich “is a real jazzhead”, says a jazz critic, “who should be showcased in Grahamstown. ”Grahamstown? For sure,” responded Nerwich when invited to perform this year. “I once drove from Hungary to Spain just to play one gig. I’d love to do Grahamstown!” After tours and performances throughout Europe over the past few years, he has returned to Cape Town where his music is attracting serious attention. Nerwich has a reputation for being an innovative and dedicated musician, committed to using music as a vehicle to uplift, communicate and empower and his music draws from a variety of influences and ranges from the hard-bop Mantras4ModernMan to the funky hip-hop grooves of his house band The Collective Imagination. There is an unmistakable resonance of his Jewish musical heritage, but having recorded in Buenos Aires and performed around the world, he sounds like a citizen of the wor ld. He is supported by a heavyweight Cape Town rhythm section of Andrew Lilley (piano), Wesley Rustin (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).
Tribe is one of the most exciting jazz bands in South Africa, playing original compositions that feature the cultural diversity and musical intensity within the band. The members of the band, with a few previous Standard Bank Young Artists Award winners, have a mass of individual awards and accolades, but the sum is undoubtedly even greater than its parts with Buddy Wells (sax), Mark Fransman (piano), Charles Lazar (bass) and Kesivan Naidoo (drums).
The Standard Bank Jazz Festival runs from June 21 to July 3, as part of the National Arts Festival. The National Youth Jazz Festival will run from June 24 to 28.
The National Arts Festival is a designated cultural activity of the Soccer World Cup, and is on in Grahamstown from June 20 to July 4, 2010. To get the full festival experience online, click on the National Arts Festival’s advert on this page which will link you through to their website.
Pick up a copy of the Booking Kit / Programme at selected Exclusive Books and Standard Bank branches, and Computicket Outlets. Call the Festival hot line for all enquiries – 046 603 1103 and follows the NAF on Twitter @artsfestival or on Facebook: facebook.com/nationalartsfestival
The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The Eastern Cape Government, The National Arts Council, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, The Sunday Independent and M Net.
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