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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

FRANK PACO ART ENSEMBLE FOR KZN



(Frank Paco)

Acclaimed drummer Frank Paco will be doing a whistle-stop three concert tour of KZN with his Art Ensemble band, appearing at UKZN on September 9; Luthuli Museum in Groutville on September 11 and Seaman’s Corner in Hammarsdale on September 12.

The Frank Paco Art Ensemble tour is supported by Concerts SA: a joint South African/Norwegian project housed under the auspices of the Stakeholder Hub within The SAMRO Foundation; it receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO and Concerts Norway.

The line-up for his KZN tour will consist of a great band: Frank Paco on drums, Ildo Nandja on bass, Neil Gonsalves on keys, Salim Washington on saxophone and vocalist Zoe Modiga.

Paco’s impressive career includes highlights such as 46664 Mandela AIDS concert performing with many of the world’s great musicians such as the legendary band Queen, Bono, Jimmy Cliff, Angelique Kidjo, Dave Stewart, Andrew Bonsu, Johnny Clegg, Brian May and Peter Gabriel.
Other highlights include international performances with artists such as Jonathan Butler; Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, the highly acclaimed house music group Ananda Project from USA, British-born New York-based guitarist Ronny Jordan, New Yorker House singer Monique Bingham, Lokua Khanza and more.

Paco started playing drums at the tender age of 11 in Mozambique, where he already gained performance experience with friends and school bands. He recalls making his own drums and guitars out of oil canisters as a child, as it was hard to find musical instruments in a Mozambique oppressed by a raging civil war. Despite the challenges, however, he achieved true musical greatness.

Collaborative highlights include performances with Tucan Tucan as a band leader; Uhambo (a Norwegian, Danish and Southern African collaboration); VJR, Ragga Africa (an Indian- African collaboration); award-winner Jimmy Dludlu with whom they toured USA, performed at the New Orleans Jazz Fest and Washington DC; New York, Switzerland’s Lugano Jazz Fest; Italy, France and Holland’s North Sea Jazz Fest.

In 2000, Paco was invited to record with South Africa’s top musicians under the Sheer Sound Jazz Label, of which his composition Milagre was chosen for the music video. The group also won the South African Music Awards (SAMA), for the Best Contemporary Jazz Album and received an invitation to Den Hague to perform at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2001. In his career as a session musician, Paco has recorded on more than 40 albums, 10 of which received awards and four were nominated for awards.

He is currently promoting his debut album for his band Frank Paco Art Ensemble that features some of the finest international and local musicians.

This tour is produced by iSupport Music Business and includes the following dates and venues:

September 9 at 18h00 (doors open at 17h30) - Centre for Jazz & Popular Music, UKZN, Howard College, Durban. R50 (R30 pensioners, R15 students)

September 11 at 18h30 (doors open at 18h00) - Luthuli Museum in Groutville. R30 entrance fee. Paco will also facilitate a workshop performance for learners at the Museum.

September 12 at 19h00 (doors open at 18h00). Seamans Corner, Unit 3, Hammarsdale, Mpumalanga. Entrance R30.