2008 Cape Town International Jazz Festival

This year’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival took us back to nineteenth century England – a time when gypsies traveled on the countryside carrying all their belongings on their shoulders and pitching tents whenever they stopped. When they weren’t busy hustling for food, they sang and danced to sounds of rhythmic guitars, violins and accordions creating their own form of eclectic and funky gypsy jazz – a bit more like swing jazz. Kolo Novo Movie Band, a Cape Town based traditional Balkan gypsy folk music band transported us to this time. The only thing missing were bales of bay, tents, chickens and pigs running around, couples clamping rhythmically and stamping their feet and the picture would have been complete!

Still, Kolo Novo Movie Band’s fusion of cultures and musical styles ranging from the Middle East to the Mediterranean and Balkan, and their flawless performance was awe-inspiring. We all sat down on the grass and looked up at the band with admiration as they moved from playing poignant and soothing operatic ballads to floor-stomping and lighthearted pieces accompanied by distinctive guitar riffs and a powerful percussion with such ease as if we can all just switch between different emotions that quickly.  Even more impressive was the merge between Zolani Mahola of Freshlyground’s hypnotic vocals and Sylvestre Kabassidi’s baritone voice. The duo – performing in a dialect that’s completely foreign to South Africa – gave us a unique experience that we have never seen before.

Other noteworthy performances included Afro-centric guitarist Jimmy Dludlu and his band the C-Base Collective who was dressed to the nines as usual. There’s no doubt that Jimmy is one of Africa’s most sought after jazz muso. He’s performance during the past weekend proved why this is the case. His melodic and wizardry guitar rhythms accompanied by smooth vocal chords left everyone yearning for more at the end of his set which seemed shorter than other performances. The Manhattans also wowed the crowds with their sing-along love ballads such as “Kiss and Say Goodbye”. After performing together for more than forty years, the band still hasn’t lost its spunk! Dressed in white from head to toe, they gave us one of those cheesy synchronized boy-band dance moves and the crowd went wild! Oliver Mtukudzi, acclaimed Zimbabwean guitarist and vocalist often referred to as “Tuku” gave us a taste of Zimbabwe’s upbeat traditional music accompanied by rattles, keyboards, mbiras and guitars. His performance was fresh and very vibrant, and as he danced to his own music at seemed like he was hearing the songs for the first time. Tuku enjoyed himself so much that he even played longer than he was supposed to. What was disappointing though is we were all waiting for him to play his infamous “Neria” jam which he never did.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival had something for everyone from hectic jazz fanatics to hip-hop and house fans. Bands such as Skwatta Kamp, Ananda Project, The Big Idea, Zola and Babu were designed to accommodate audiences who are new to jazz and were looking for something a little funky and less intense while artists such as multi-instrumentalist Zimology Quartet, saxophonists Candy Dulfer, Javon Jackson Superband and Gerald Albright catered for a more mature jazz listener.

Written by: By Tiisetso Tlelima

 

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