Jazz in Africa: Cape Town, Part 2

The first time I walked into Swingers, the first words that came into my mind were Detroit, Philly, Harlem...  Everything about this Cape Town joint--the people, the music, the decor--reminded me of the clubs I've visited in African-American neighborhoods all over the US.  As I mentioned in my last post, Swingers hosts a legendary jam session every Monday night.  The music is mostly mainstream jazz--everything from Ellington to Miles to Coltrane to Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea.  But this is Cape Town, which means that there's sure to be some bossa nova and that hard-to-define Cape Town jazz, as well.

These photos are from last Monday's jam, a particularly hot session.

That's Joe Schaffers, who's been fronting bands in Cape Town for many years and often MC's the jam session.  He can sing just about any style you can imagine--jazz, pop, Broadway--and do them all exceedingly well.

Mark Fransman, on tenor, absolutely tore up the joint all night long.

Mark, again, on tenor.  On his left is Maurice Charland, a Canadian scholar with a fine voice.  Alvin Dyers, a guitarist and composer who leads the band at Swingers, is hiding in the shadows.

Maurice and Alvin.

As I was saying, Maurice can really sing.  Here he's managed to impress Alvin, which is not easy to do.

I know her only as Adelaide.  She joined the jam for a couple of songs and sounded terrific.

Darren English has just returned to Cape Town after several months of study in Europe.  He's been a jam session fixture since he was in his mid-teens.

 

Alistair Andrew's technique is fearsome, but it's always there to serve the music.

That's my friend Christopher Harris, an excellent photographer who's worked with many Cape Town musicians.  Some of his photos adorn the walls at Swingers.

Tech note:  I gave up on the my Canon G10 (I used it at Swingers last week) and rented a Nikon D700 from the cool folks at Photo Hire--Pieter, Lauren, Zelda, and Calvin.  I've done business with them several times in the past.  Pricing, equipment, service--all superb.  So's the D700.  It's a great low light camera.  Big, bright viewfinder.  Snappy autofocus.  And good looking files, even at ISO 3200.

Comments

[redsaid]

Wow, STUNNING photographs! I'm a huge jazz fan myself. Was lucky enough to live in the States for nine years. Went to Blues Alley in D.C., Jazz at Pearl's in San Fran, etc. I can almost hear the music in these pics. Beautiful!

[John Edwin Mason]

@redsaid

"I can almost hear the music in these pics."

Thanks very much. I wish that I'd recorded the evening. It was spectacular.

--John

[sasha]

Nice)