(Ayanda
Sikade)
iSupport Creative Business presents master
drummer Ayanda Sikade performing with his trio at Alliance Française on
February 28, 2020. Doors for the event open at 18h00 and tickets are R100 each
and can be booked at Alliance Française .
Despite being alumni at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal, it has been many years since Sikade performed in Durban. Just
over a year ago, the drummer released his debut album titled Movements, but only now has he managed
to find a gap to present his music to the Durban audiences. His compositions
and live performances draw inspiration from masters like John Coltrane and Zim
Nqawana, who was his mentor for many years.
His trio is all about exploring new
soundscapes by introduction an African context within an American jazz
approach. “We like to do this by composing music with a strong cultural and
spiritual background of our great ancestors, but with a modern twist that
represents our diversity in the new South Africa,” says Sikade. The performance
promises to have elements of freedom and the strong rhythmical essence fans
expect from this drummer.
Born in 1981, Sikade’s career goes back a
long time, since at the tender age of 10, he was already a jazz band drummer
for the band Vuka Jazz in East London, where he was born. In 1996 he attended
the Grahamstown Youth Jazz Festival, where he was selected to represent South
African Youth Jazz in Sweden, even though the trip never came to pass. He met
Darius Brubeck in 1999 at the Grahamstown Youth Festival and Darius invited
Ayanda to join the jazz programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Sikade was again selected to represent
South African students at IAJE(International Association for Jazz Educators)in
Long Beach California US. In 2004, he won the prestigious SAMRO Overseas
Scholarship. Over the years, Sikade has worked with some of the most
accomplished jazz musicians in South Africa and abroad. Namely Feya Faku, Bheki
Mseleku, Robbie Jansen, Barney Rachabane and Darius Brubeck. One of the most
impactful moments in his career is working with the International acclaimed
saxophonist the late Zim Ngqawana with whom he has recorded two albums (Live in Basel Switzerland and Live in Heildiberg in Germany). Sikade
has also worked with Simphiwe Dana and recorded a DvD that is called Siphiwe Dana Live at the Lyric Theatre
in 2010.
Sikade was invited to collaborate with Jan
Galega a Swiss jazz maestro to play in a theatre piece that was written and
directed by the respected writer in Germany, Jorg Lure, in Berlin in 2010 from
June to July. He is the drummer for Banz Oester and the The Rainmakers, which
have released their New Album Banz Oester
and The Rainmakers Live @ Bird’s Eye Switzerland.
Joining Ayanda Sikade on stage will be two great
musicians in their own right, namely pianist Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane and Leon
Scharnick on alto saxophone.
The concert takes place tomorrow (Friday February
28, 2020) at 19h00 (doors open at 18h00). Tickets R100. Bookings: info.afdbn@alliance.org.za
or 031 312 9582
Alliance Française de Durban is situated at
22 Sutton Crescent, Morningside, Durban
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