GALLERY > BIOGRAPHY > CAPE JAZZ ALL STARS
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ABOUT CAPE JAZZ ALL STARS (SOUTH AFRICA – CAPE TOWN) - Laid back charm of a unique form of jazz music from the masters of this genre - This all star band plays the “traditional” music of the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa. Though we use the word jazz, in fact the sound lies somewhere between world music and jazz. This genre has existed for a long time before a tag was put on it. Perhaps the first real internationally recognised proponent of this music was Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) and the first popular recording was his recording, Manenberg made in the mid 1970’s. But the jazzification of Cape folk songs goes back perhaps 150 years to the time when troops of carnival revellers, known as the Klopse or Coons began to parade through the streets of Cape Town notably on Tweede Nuwe Jaar (the 2nd of January) and who competed in the competitions that surround this event. This project grew from two directions. The first was with the release of a compilation album by Mountain Records which featured a number of recordings under the title Cape Jazz. The second was with the rise in popularity of such live performers as Basil Coetzee and Robbie Jansen and their bands, Sabenza and the Sons of Table Mountain, respectively. The first album (the third part of this series will be released this year) featured the two aforementioned sax players, guitarist Jonathan Butler, Morris Goldberg, the Tony Schilder Trio and others. It collected several lively tunes which were strongly reminiscent of the carnival music but which were all original compositions. This was proof for the label that they were on to a separate genre of music. Several years passed and a bunch of new bands associated with the sound appeared. The Goema Captains headed by Mac McKenzie, The Hilton Schlder Group and Jansen’s Sons of Table Mountain were pulling in the fans. Interestingly enough there was a lot of cross membership between the groups. The same performers were performing in each others bands. In effect a large pool of players on each occasion with a different leader and composer. It was the disappointment of the cancellation of Robbie Jansen’s tour to Europe for health reasons, in the spring of this year that created the possibility for an all star band to fill the gap. The repertoire would still be Cape Jazz but now the organisers will draw on the larger pool of talent, including some new names, to carry the touché of this growing cultural jewel of the Cape. The core of the new ‘orchestra’ is the rhythm section headed by veteran drummer Jack Momple (Pacific Express, Sons of Table Mountain, etc.) and pianist Kyle Shepherd and bass player Jonathan Rubain, both from Robbie’s band. The remaining members will be guitar and brass players depending on availability and drawn from the top Cape performers. The beauty of it is the music that is presented will be mined from the rich vein of star composers in the genre - Abdullah Ibrahim, Robbie Jansen, Basil Coetzee, Errol Dyers, Hilton Schilder and his father Tony, Jonathan Butler, Allou April, Mac McKenzie and more… The group will be managed by Mountain Records who will invite different musical heads and young stars to take part as and when the group perform, very much on the basis that they already do but with the variety of composers at centre stage! |