THE MORRIS GOLDBERG QUARTET

Grahamstown: July 2, 2012 – Review by Keith Millar

In a word - WOW! This was a world class concert.

South African born, New York based saxophonist and band leader, Morris Goldberg is a super star in the world of jazz music. And all his virtuosity and skills were on show at his concert last night at the DSG Hall at the 2012 Standard Bank Jazz Festival

In the course of his career, Morris - or Mo-G as he is known - has collaborated with the likes of Herby Hancock, Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte and Abdullah Ibrahim as well as, interestingly enough, ex US President Bill Clinton. He has also recorded and performed regularly with South African greats Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela.

At this year’s festival he appeared with a star-studded band made up of South African artists who have made their names in the USA over the past two decades.

Pianist Rashid Lanie, Bassist Bakithi and Anton Fig on drums along with Goldberg had the audience in raptures while they played a programme consisting mainly of what they call Safrojazz. The influences of Cape Town Jazz and Kwela can distinctly be heard in these offerings. Both collectively and singularly, the band had moments of pure magic which had the audience shouting for more and led to a much deserved standing ovation at the end.

Goldberg also showed his superb skill on the penny whistle in renditions of Rock-Kwela, Durant and Chick Corea’s Spain - this last number being the only item on the programme which is not an original.

This year, the Standard Bank Jazz Festival is all based at Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) and the Morris Goldberg programme was staged in the school hall. However, given the quality of the playing and the easy charisma of the artists, it was not difficult to imagine oneself in one of the famous jazz clubs of the world.

Another star of this show who deserves special mention is sound engineer Ewoud Du Munnick. His outstanding sound mix and balance and understanding of the content were integral to the magic of this concert. – Keith Millar