Vocalist/guitarist Vusi Mahlasela has been affectionately dubbed “The Voice” of South Africa in tribute to his passionately soaring performances. With such a rich and vibrant sound this “African folk” singer-songwriter has inspired many with his themes of freedom, forgiveness and reconciliation. Mahlasela’s track-record boasts performances at esteemed events such as at Nelson Mandela’s Presidential inauguration, the FIFA World Cup Kick Off concert, and Mandela’s 90th Birthday 46664 celebration in Hyde Park, London, to name but a few. In 2012, the South African Music (SAMA) Awards fittingly honoured him with a lifetime achievement award for music. He is supported by Oupa Makhubela (guitar/vocal), Elwyn Masango (bass), and Johnny Motuba (drums).

Since their inception in 2011, MiCasa has taken South African audiences by storm. A groovy mix of urban house and jazz influenced the band’s first album, Micasa Music, which went gold and won several South Africa Music Awards in 2012, as well as nominations for “Best Dance Album”, “Album of the Year”, “Group of the Year”, “Newcomer of the Year”, and “Record Of The Year”! This year even saw them perform at the inauguration celebrations of Barack Obama. Consisting of three core members, this young group hails from Johannesburg and Port Alfred; and with such a prolific career in such a short space of time, keep your eyes and ears fixed on this fire-starting trio. Grahamstown audiences will see J’Something (vocal), Mo-T (trumpet), Dr Duda (producer & keyboard) on stag e with Carlo Jooste (bass), Lebo Mokhela (percussion), and Mike Mwale (vocal).

The Soweto String Quartet is undeniably one of South Africa’s most-loved music groups and their sound is always fresh, vibrant and trendy, never failing to deliver an enchanting performance. With a plethora of accolades and performance highlights the group is a force on the South African music scene. The four members of the Soweto String Quartet are a political statement in themselves – four African classical musicians from a South African township, backed by a jazz rhythm section. It’s no wonder they are reportedly Nelson Mandela’s favourite music group!

Bruut! is a funky group comprised of four young, hip Dutch players: Maarten Hogenhuis (sax), Folkert Oosterbeeck (Hammond organ), Thomas Rolff (bass), and Felix Schlarmann (drums). Their progressive playing stretches the boundaries of traditional approaches to music, combining a mix of funk, blues, dance and contemporary jazz to create a uniquely-titled ‘super-jazz’. Never lacking in musical ingenuity they constantly evolve to find the niche of every new performance.

Saxophonist Rus Nerwich set out to have a project that is simple, fun and musically rich; and it has come to fruition inThe Collective Imagination – Under the Poetree.Incorporating elements of the different styles he enjoys in a contemporary musical context, he wrote more lyrically-orientated songs – things he’d like to say more directly to the audience – with the intent and style of Guru Jazzmataz, The Roots or Buckshot Lafonque with an African spin. Sparked by the musical synergy betwe en him and modern rap, Nerwich is backed by a solid band of experienced jazzers; including the likes of Dave Ledbetter (guitar), Andrew Lilley (piano), Wesley Rustin(bass), and Kevin Gibson (drums).

Slide guitar, harmonica, African blues guitar and soul vocals all feature in the vibrant sound of Robin Auld. An award-winning artist with an international CV spanning twenty albums, he has performed and recorded around the world. Currently based in the UK, his music has evolved from the pop sound of the early recordings that made him famous to the contemporary mix of roots influences that make up his sound today. Over the years many of Southern Africa’s top musicians have appeared on his albums, including the likes of Anton Fig, Louis Mhlanga and Johnny Clegg. He performs in Grahamstown as a trio, with Schalk Joubert (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).

Joubert (bass) and Gibson (drums) extend their collaborations to form a blues trio with guitarist Albert Frost. Frost is an all-round master guitarist with a prolific career over 20 years and, with a natural onstage charisma, he has performed on nearly every major stage in South Africa. Although continually on a quest to re-invent himself, he returns often to his first love – the blues. Voted as Best Blues Guitarist in South Africa by Stage Magazine, he has performed internationally alongside the likes of The Rolling Stones and REM.

This year will also see the establishment of the Standard Bank Jazz & Blues Cafe at the Lowlander, St. Andrew’s College, which will end each night with a great jazz show and a late night jazz jam session or blues gig – a place where audiences can catch musicians letting off steam and butting musical heads late into the night, featuring the likes of Nduduzo Makhathini, saxophonist Dan Shout, Lee Thomson, Imbaula, and the Rick van Heerden Quartet.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

For more information check www.standardbankarts.co.za or www.youthjazz.co.za

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival is presented with support funding from:

Institut Français, the French Institute of South Africa and the Alliance Française
Paul Bothner Music
ProHelvetia
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Royal Norwegian Embassy
SAMRO
Swedish Arts Council / Swedish Jazz Federation / Mary Lou Meese Youth Jazz Fund
Jamey Aebersold Jazz

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

Join the biggest food fight in history, happening in over 350 cities across the world, including Durban, Joburg and Cape Town.
Monsanto is responsible for Genetically Modified Foods. Independent science is proving this technology to cause cancer, organ damage and reproductive problems in lab animals, and they are forcing us to eat it. But GM food is only part of the problem – other problems include excessive use of poison herbicide and pesticide that is currently creating ‘superweeds’ and wiping out bees and small bird populations. Your government has already been bought out by biotech industries and will not help us. GM foods have been banned in 30 countries and we want South Africa to do the same. Please join us and make our voice be heard

MORE PEOPLE = MORE POWER!

if you need more information (fasten your seatbelt), please read this short story online:

http://www.urbanshaman.co.za/news_read.asp?news_title=Genetically%20Modified%20Future

Durban March brought to you by Sidewayz Produxionz, Cosmic Collective and UrbanShaman
In association with EarthDance and YOU

Saturday 25 May

10am: March against Monsanto
meet in the park behind the Workshop
dress up, make a banner or placard
print flyers and hand them out

https://www.facebook.com/events/242496509230336

1pm: Media Conference at ’101 on pine’ Pub and Grill

https://www.facebook.com/events/666918003333666

Directions to ’101 on pine’ pub & grill:

https://maps.google.co.za/maps/ms?msid=200449659766597275826.0004dd29582aa694f2567&msa=0&ll=-29.856417,31.029897&spn=0.004141,0.006899

2pm: FREE Live Music, movies, poetry and Durban finest DJs
at ’101 on pine’ pub & grill

Musos -
Steve Fataar, The Meditators, Free Haine, Lu Dlamini, Hinds Brothers, Lance, Poppy Seed, Kianja, Sara Jackson, Shomon, The Accidentals

Poets -
Menzi Maseko, Mbali Vilakazi, Mpho Ngcobo, Hamza Moleleki, Bulletman (aka The Pre-Adamites)

PLUS -
Conscious Cinema, Talks, Poets Corner, Organic and Agroecological farming Displays, Raw Food Demonstrations & more.

EarthDance (The Global Dance Party for Planetary Peace) will be hosting an after-party starting at 9pm at the same venue, featuring some of Durban’s best underground Dj’s & artists:

*****Full Moon on The Rooftop*****

DJ’s -Special Guest – *BuShaman* Lee, Kaluta, Kaptan Kermanchi, PsyBaba, DJ Vader, Emn8, Chemikult,

*****Chill Zone – Reggae*Dub*Psydub*Amibent*Electronic & Live Organic Chillage*****

DJ’s – Drumshack Jon, BuShaman, PsyPixie, Ressa, Raysonic, TigerSun, Spyro, Syntax, Emn8 & Guests

The food and wine pairing options on the day are – seared tuna fillet, sautéed Lisbon potatoes with melted onion, paprika and parsley, aioli paired with First Sighting Shiraz Rose 2012, seared tiger prawns, herbed couscous salad and mango chilli, lime and coriander salsa paired withFirst sighting Sauvignon Blanc 2012 and gorgonzola, pear and walnut salad with mixed leaves paired with Strandveld Adamastor 2010.

Further options include veal saltimbocca with Parma ham, fettuccine pasta with sage and butter sauce paired with First sighting Pinot Noir 2010 as well as ‘Fabada Asturiana’ – Spanish pork and bean stew with chorizo, pancetta, morcilla and butterbeans paired with First Sighting Shiraz 2011.

For the Kid’s, a selection of burgers, hot dogs and ice cream cones are also on offer.

Also on offer will be Hotel Izulu’s Deli, which includes soup, cheese boards, breads, biscuits and Hotel Izulu’s famous fudge.

All of the wines are available for purchase at a special reduced price by the bottle. Wine chillers are also available to be purchased at R79 each.

]]> http://www.whatsupdurban.com/durbancalendar/event/hotel-izulu-introduces-new-executive-chef-at-may-wine-market/feed/ 0 http://www.whatsupdurban.com/durbancalendar/event/standard-bank-jazz-festival-grahamstown/ http://www.whatsupdurban.com/durbancalendar/event/standard-bank-jazz-festival-grahamstown/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 12:28:22 +0000 The Famous Idea Trading Co. http://www.whatsupdurban.com/durbancalendar/?post_type=event&p=664 The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. Mainstream is one of the genres that will be highlighted at the festival this year, though it is just one part of the formidable line-up which includes Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth.

Trombonist Steve Turre of the Juilliard School of Music, New York, has played and recorded with many artists around the world. These include Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Roland Kirk, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Max Roach, Horace Silver, Carlos Santana, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Mingus Big Band, JJ Johnson and hundreds of others, but his most iconic performances were probably with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra where he shot to prominence on both trombone and shells. He has won the Down Beat Readers’ poll five times as Best Trombonist and has enthralled audiences with his performances on different sized conch shells. Turre is an innovative musician and composer who keeps one foot in the past and one in the future. He adds zest to the Awesome Big Band, and his solo show is supported by a strong line-up compromising Marcus Wyatt (Trumpet), Bokani Dyer (piano), Hein van de Geyn (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).

One of the sell-out trademarks of the Jazz Festival in Grahamstown is the Awesome Big Band – a unique selection of top international jazz musicians in a standard Big Band format. A band of this nature is also known as a Jazz Orchestra for the dynamic and harmonic depth and contrast that arrangers can produce from 17 instruments, reminiscent of Classical orchestras but with the added power and energy that jazz exudes. This year’s band is conducted by Canadian trumpeter Bruce Cassidy, renowned for his quirky, powerful arrangements.

Regular audiences at the National Arts Festival will recognise Frank Sinatra & Friends as a sequel to the series of earlier successes that have been conceptualised and conducted by maestro, Richard Cock. In 2011, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Friends sold out within days of opening bookings. In 2012, Louis Armstrong & Friends (2012) was presented in a larger venue and once again, the sold out show meant that a number of music enthusiasts had to be turned away. In 2013, Frank Sinatra & Friends will have two perfor mances. In this concert, Nic Nicolaidis and Zwai Bala accompanied by the notable KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra will serenade audiences with melodies such as Fly me to the moon, I’ve got you under my skin, Fascinating Rhythm, Unforgettable and of course the singularly popular Sinatra signature song, My way.

AJ Brown is a young singer and saxophonist from Britain who is rapidly gaining a popular reputation around Britain. He has performed at the Wigan International Jazz Festival and Birdland Club in New York amongst others and was guest vocalist for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in Britain. He has quickly mastered the tunes of the great crooners like Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé and Nat King Cole and has begun producing his own compositions, which are eagerly received. He performs in Grahamstown with Kingsley Buitendag (piano), Gorm Helfjord (guitar), Romy Brauteseth (bass), and Kevin Gibson (drums).

Justin Binek is the Head of Vocal Jazz Studies at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and maintains an active jazz and classical performing schedule as a singer, pianist, and clinician/adjudicator. He is a prolific arranger and composer and performs in Europe and the US. Paulien van Schaik studied voice at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Utrecht and Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has performed across Europe and in Japan and China. With their tasteful backing band, comprising Jason Reolon (piano), Ola Bengtsson (guitar), Shaun Johannes(bass), and Lloyd Martin (drums); their Vocal Celebration should prove heavenly!

Van Schaik also presents a show with fellow Dutch performer Hein Van de Geyn. Both musicians are on top of their game – masters of their instruments in a context so subtle the audience is spellbound. The critics agreed: “Hein and Paulien have stripped the music of all its frills. A courageous couple, for there is nothing to disguise them. Their interaction is of an ethereal beauty. This must be how angels sing.” Their second recording won an Edison Prize (Dutch Grammy Award). Cape Town percussionist Ronan Skillen joins them as guest.

This year will also see the establishment of the Standard Bank Jazz & Blues Cafe at the Lowlander, St. Andrew’s College, which will end each night with a great jazz show and a late night jazz jam session or blues gig – a place where audiences can catch musicians letting off steam and butting musical heads late into the night, featuring the likes of Nduduzo Makhathini, saxophonist Dan Shout, Lee Thomson, Imbaula, and the Rick van Heerden Quartet.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

For more information check www.standardbankarts.co.za or www.youthjazz.co.za

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival is presented with support funding from:

Institut Français, the French Institute of South Africa and the Alliance Française
Paul Bothner Music
ProHelvetia
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Royal Norwegian Embassy
SAMRO
Swedish Arts Council / Swedish Jazz Federation / Mary Lou Meese Youth Jazz Fund
Jamey Aebersold Jazz

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

Hailing from Brakpan on the East Rand, 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Runette Botha, made her professional début at the Royal Albert Hall, performing in a gala concert alongside José Carreras and Kiri te Kanawa. She has also performed the Erwin Stein arrangement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony at King’s Place with Trevor Pinnock and Mahler’s Second Symphony at Cadogen Hall, and has been a member of the Staatstheater Kassel Opera Studio since 2011. She obtained a MA (Opera) at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She had previously studied at the University of Cape Town as a student of Professor Virginia Davids, after initially obtaining a BCom Accounting degree at RAU (now the University of Johannesburg). Accompanied by Audrey Hyland, she will showcase her immense vocal ability in a performance comprised of works covering 3 decades of composers: Händel, Obradors, Strauss, Berlioz, Verdi, Rakhmaninov, Bernstein, Britten and Refice.         

The 2013 Gala Concert celebrates the music of Verdi, (b 1813), Wagner (b 1813), Mascagni (b 1863), Britten (b 1913) and artist/musician, Gerard Sekoto (b 1913). Starting off with the Grand March from Aida and ending with Elgar’s Pomp & Circumstance March No 1, the concert will include arias by Puccini and Gounod, sung by soprano Runette Botha (2013 SBYA for Music), and Ben Schoeman (2011 SBYA) playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; as well as music by Strauss and Stoltz. Conductor extraordinaire Richard Cock will take audiences on an explosive musical journey of celebration with the KZNPO and these two celebrated and talented young artists.

The Odeion String Quartet was established at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 1991 as a permanent fulltime resident string quartet, and is the only resident string quartet at a South African university. Samson Diamond, 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music was appointed as first violin and leader of the Odeion String Quartet in January this year. Their Hidden Treasures is a project comprising compositions by contemporary composers; namely Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, and John Tavener; who are regarded as the most influential composers in the genre of minimalism.

Roddy the Rambunctious Rhino, Horace the Hysterical Hyena, Mafutha the Elephant, Lucas the Lazy Lion, Harry the Hungry Hadeda and many other beautiful creatures will come to life in a concert specially commissioned for children. These wonderful characters will be introduced by Ed Jordan and Nicholas Nicolaidis and their rhythmic music will have toes tapping and fingers snapping long after the concert ends. Under the baton of Richard Cock, the KZNPO offer a fun-filled concert where you will hear the songs and stories of Beautiful Creatures who live in South Africa and who need our love and protection.

Regular audiences at the National Arts Festival will recognise this concert as a sequel to the series of earlier successes that have been conceptualised and conducted by Richard Cock. In 2011,Andrew Lloyd Webber & Friends sold out within days of opening bookings. In 2012, Louis Armstrong & Friends (2012) was presented in a larger venue and once again, the sold out show meant that a number of music enthusiasts had to be turned away. In 2013, Frank Sinatra & Friends will have two performances. In this concert, Nic Nicolaidis and Zwai Bala accompanied by the notable KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra will serenade audiences with melodies such as Fly me to the moon, I’ve got you under my skin, Fascinating Rhythm, Unforgettable and of course the singular ly popular Sinatra signature song, My way.

A percentage of proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Theatre Benevolent Fund, a registered South African charity founded and administered by caring arts professionals to provide a reasonable standard of care and comfort to those performers who find themselves incapacitated and destitute by virtue of their illness.

After two successful years of presenting sold out performances of Conduct Unbecoming at the National Arts Festival, Richard Cock will team up with former orchestra player, Bryan Clarke, in a sequel that will unravel even more stories from the amazing world of conductors and musicians. As a percussionist, Bryan Clarke tells the stories from the player’s side that is not always complimentary about conductors. In an orchestra with only one percussionist, two of South Africa’s most entertaining music celebrities will enthral their audience with anecdotes, music and insights into why the conductor has the advantage of not seeing the audience.

The Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s Jazz at Dakawa strives to offer a platform for Eastern Cape Community jazz groups to be a part of the National Arts Festival. The vibrant programme showcases community-based jazz groups from the seven Provincial districts in a platform that provides the artists with adequate exposure to allow their work to be seen outside of their own communities, embodying the celebrating social cohesion, so present in South African music.

Ben Schoeman was the winner of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music. He is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost pianists and won major prizes, and given solo, chamber music and concerto performances throughout Europe, Canada and South Africa; and presents a solo recital of works by Haydn, Schumann, Wagner, Liszt, and Reddy.

Cellist Anzél Gerber and Schoeman were the overall winners of the Ibla Grand Prize Competition in Italy (2012). They were hailed by the press as “an impressive duo” and praised for their “superb artistry” and “intimate rapport”. Their programme includes some of the pinnacles of the vast repertoire for cello and piano, with the main work Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19. In this Sonata the two instruments are very much on the same level and it often happens that the piano introduces important thematic material before the cello embellishes upon this.

The South African National Youth Orchestra training pathway has been created to nurture the musical development of South Africa’s finest young musicians, from emerging gifted school-age students to those on the verge of a professional career. They present a concertconducted by Gérard Korsten, and featuring Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber – Paul Hindemith; Symphony No. 7 -Antonín Dvoøák ; and the premiere of a work by Robert Fokkens commissioned specially by the SAMRO Foundation.

After their spellbinding performances last year, the Chanticleer Singers return to the Festival to celebrate the Centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten and 400 years since the death of Carlo Gesualdo, whose life was so full of drama and passion. The Britten programme includes some of his earliest choral works, written when he was 17, to one of his final works, the large scale Sacred and Profane, set to medieval texts. Harpist for the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, Linor Steinhausen, joins the choir for Ceremony of Carols.  In their second programme which will be performed by candlelight, The Chanticleer Singers expose two contrasting Renaissance composers: Palestrina representing the conservative ecclesiastical side, and Gesualdo, whose music imitates his life in its drama and colour.

The music programme will also feature the ever-popular Symphony Concert featuring the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, the East Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s Pops Concert directed by Richard Cock, a series of concerts by KZN Ensembles, and the extensive Jazz programme. 

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

Join 4 fantastically funny guys as they make everything up on stage, based on audience suggestions.

It’s a night of improv games, audience participation, props and general mayhem made famous by the TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”!

YOUR COMEDIANS:

- Dusty Rich (www.dustyrich.com)

- Carvin H (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carvin-H-Goldstone-the-Comedian/342505830107?fref=ts)

- Jem Atkins (http://www.jematkins.com)

- Li’l Paul (https://www.facebook.com/little.paul.comedian?fref=ts)

For a taste of what’s in store…check out this short YouTube clip from their most recent show:

“These guys are taking comedy in Durban to the next level!” – Judd

COST:

Tickets are R100, and include Judd’s famous BOTTOMLESS PIZZA!

(Vegetarian option also available)

DATE:

Wednesday, 22nd May

TIME:

Doors open at 18:30 for dinner.

Show time: 20:00 – 21:30

VENUE:

Corner Café – 197 Brand Rd, Glenwood

BOOK Tickets at Corner Café,

Or via judd@thecornercafe.co.za or 0312010219.

Tickets sell fast and seats are limited – so book early to avoid missing out!

Proudly brought to you by On Fire Comedy Events.

Bands AVADE, BAD MURPHY and CREATURE and With DJ ROCCO

.

The 2013 day event will take place at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium, our playground and your adventure. The route will send you over, through, under and into parts of your city that you have never experienced.

-Dare to be different-

This is a world first and the only series of races that takes you to such extremes. Nothing is off limits and the brightest minds in the game are busy putting together a route that will feature the best parts of your city.

-Entries are capped at 600 participants-