SHANNON HOPE AT SEABROOKE'S

Award-winning pianist and vocal artist Shannon Hope joins forces with percussion extraordinaire Gareth Gale for one night only! Having performed together years ago under very different circumstances, the two Durbanites join forces once again for a percussive piano collaboration at Seabrooke's Theatre tomorrow night (July 31).

Hope is described as “a thrilling, enthralling, endearing and awe-inspiring performer”, and with a reputation as one of the hardest-touring self-managed solo artists on the national circuit, her intriguingly powerful heart songs have made their way across the country countless times to rave reviews. Having just returned from a debut tour to the UK, her fourth season at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and a speaker appearance at TEDx Cape Town, she returns home for this exciting collaboration.

With a near-tangible passion for the art and science of drumming, Gareth Gale is arguably one of South Africa’s most respected homegrown talents. An array of influences including Ahmir Questlove Thompson (The Roots), Steve Jordan (John Mayer), Horacio Hernandez and Barry van Zyl (Johnny Clegg) give Gareth’s style an eclectic twist. He draws inspiration from the African and Indian rhythms that radiate out of his home city, Durban, and is conscious of reflecting these whenever he plays. If you’re listening carefully, you’ll hear a range of international influences too, ranging from groove and old school R'nB, to soul, Motown, funk and hip-hop.

The performance takes place on July 31 at 19h30 at Seabrooke’s Theatre, Durban High School, 255 St Thomas Road, Musgrave. Tickets R70 booked via the box office on 082 894 7541. More information and live performance videos can be found on shannonhope.co.za

THE SIR WALRUS BAND

(Ildo Nandja, Jonathan Judge and Sebastian Goldswain)

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music will present a Durban based Fusion/ Jazz-Rock ensemble, The Sir Walrus Band, tomorrow (Wednesday July 31) at 18h00.

Sir Walrus Band is a groove-based, electric four-piece instrumental outfit. They are easily one of South Africa’s most exciting young bands and are known for writing catchy fusion pieces as well as re-arranging covers. The band prides itself on having an unusual musical balance that has seen the band perform the same set in front of Rock, Blues, Jazz and even Heavy-Metal audiences and has remained tasteful to them all.

Guitarist Sebastian Goldswain, sax player Jonathan Judge, effortless drummer Bryan Stone (aka Zamani), and much respected bassist Ildo Nandja are top young musicians in the country at their respective instruments.

Catch them live at The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM), Level 2, Shepstone Building at UKZN Howard College Campus at July 31 at 18h00. Doors open at 17h30. Entry fee R35 (R20 pensioners and R10 students). Contact Thuli on 031 260 3385 or email Zamat1@ukzn.ac.za for more details

MY DREAM FOR THE ARTS

A group of artists and practitioners recently started a campaign in response to government's Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage.

The group had decided to send a formal response individually and through Arterial Network South Africa, a dynamic network of individuals, organisations, donors, companies and institutions engaged in the African creative and cultural sector.

The group decided to encourage South Africans to dream more and to get working together on making South Africa’s arts scene everything that it can and should be. “My Dream for the Arts” was born.

By July 26 2013, people from all corners of South Africa had submitted dreams. Bass guitarist Concord Nkabinde commented: “One of the remarkable things about this experience has been reading the dreams that people have been carrying with them for a long time.” These dreams talk about accessibility to the arts, development through the Arts, respect for artists and what art means to society and how people want to preserve it and share it.

“Your initiative is a constitutional imperative. We must not only improve the standard of living of all; we must also enhance their quality of life: Man does not live by bread alone,” was the submission by retired Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler.

All South Africans are encouraged to contribute their dreams by e-mailing to mydreamforthearts@gmail.com or by adding them to the website www.mydreamforthearts.wordpress.com

GAGASI FM STREAMS AHEAD

Gagasi FM will be taking “the sound of the city” to New Newcastle, Dundee, Glencoe and Danhauser when new transmitters come on stream this weekend.

Operations Manager, Patrick Bogatsu, said that the new transmitter is based at Glencoe (107.9FM) and it covers Glencoe, Newcastle, Dundee, Dannhauser, Mdadeni and surrounds. Currently the frequencies at which Gagasi FM transmits are 99.5 in Durban, 88.6 throughout the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, 100.1 in Pietermaritzburg, 94.7 along the North Coast and 103.5 along the South Coast.

Chris Meyiwa, Managing Director of Gagasi FM, said that he was pleased to be able to take the station’s diverse mix of R&B, Durban Kwaito, Afro House, Afro Pop and Classic Soul, dedicated lifestyle features and specialist slots, sports, news and competitions to an even wider audience.

“Gagasi FM is a contemporary radio station with a strong local identity and is a bilingual commercial radio station in KwaZulu-Natal broadcasting in both English and isiZulu. Together with an eclectic group of lively and talented performers, we go all out to serve the needs of our beautiful province, not only entertaining listeners but also providing information and education through specialist features and focused events and promotions. It is good to know that we will be reaching more people,” he said.

For more information go to http://www.gagasiradio.fm or www.facebook.com/gagasifm

DIFF: THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

The actors kept it real and so did the director. (Review by Pranesh Maharaj)

Appearing on last week’s Durban International Film Festival is The Place Beyond the Pines directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes.

This is a great story and, taking advantage of the genre, the director chose to drag shots unnecessarily. One can easily remove at least 20 minutes of this film without it affecting a single line from the script. You might have to sacrifice some of the background score; but you will end up with a sleek movie. 

It was well shot and very well acted out. I might want to have a word with the DOP and ask him to read the script but maybe they had a plan that didn’t quite work out. Or, they became too attached to the shots and just couldn’t let go. The journey, albeit a great one, was far too long. I would still recommend this movie, though. I eagerly awaited my viewing of this one and wasn’t as disappointed as I might sound for technical reasons. The actors kept it real and so did the director. So, hats off for that.

A lot of value and emphasis was placed on the common man. The man who can fight but also die, the man who can conquer but also cry and the sons who are inevitably an extension of their fathers. It’s a compelling story that forces you to look at your own life and the decisions that you make on a daily basis. Ryan Gosling’s character sets the pace and I kind of wanted the movie to continue in that, if not, for it to pace up a bit each time we explored new threads to the story.

Calling it a mere drama will not suffice. It is inevitably an action drama and the producers and director should have treated it that way from development stages. It comes with an FPB rating of 16 and if your son is of age then take him along to watch this. It will put a lot of things together for him. The Place Beyond the Pines consists of real people who real people can relate to. There is no hero in a cape and the winner in the end is the decisions we choose to make.

More information on the Durban International Film Festival can be found on www.durbanfilmfest.co.za or by calling 031 260 2506. – Pranesh Maharaj