John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Jazz in Africa: Cape Town, Part 14, More Jamming @ Swingers

Cape Town is the best city in Africa for jazz.  Swingers is the best place to hear it.

I've said the same thing many times, in many different ways.  Cape Town's mix of musicians -- mainstream and experimental, African jazz and Cape jazz, smooth jazz and jazz-rock fusion -- is unmatched.  A lot of them -- and visitors, too -- show up at Swingers.

Alvin Dyers, guitar, and Daniel Bloem, congas.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.)

Monday nights at Swingers are classic jam sessions.  You never know what's going to happen, who's going to show up.

You can only be sure that the first set is going to be terrific.  That's when the house band, led by the superb Alvin Dyers, is on stage.

Charlton, vocals, and Nick Williams, bass.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.

I'll admit that there have been some Monday nights when I ended up wishing that I'd left after Alvin and the boys stopped playing.  That's happened maybe twice.  And it certainly didn't happen on the 7th.

Charlton was a hoot -- big voice, big personality.  Swung like a muthafucka.

Mystery guest, recorder, and Nick Williams, bass.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.

A rockin' blues solo, played on the recorder?  Sho 'nuff.  This guy is a serious musician.  I don't know who he is, and neither did any of the Swingers regulars, but he was pretty amazing -- good, solid solos and ensemble playing on both the recorder and electric piano.

Jan Brooks, congas.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.

As if blues recorder wasn't enough, how about a conga-playing university instructor?  No, Jan doesn't teach music.  She's in the Department of Human and Community Development (don't ask me -- I don't know what that means either) at the University of Illinois.  She's the real deal as a percussionist, having studied with some of the finest West African drummers.

Hilton Schilder, rapping, Denver Furness, drumming.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.

Ex Hilton Schilder semper aliquid novi.  [There's always something new from Hilton.]

Alistair Andrews, bass, and Nick Williams, piano.  Swingers, 7 June 2010.

Finally, a shout-out to Alistair Andrews, the rock solid foundation on which the house band builds its grooves.

* * *

Swingers, right off of Wetton Road, in Ottery, Cape Town.  Things get going on Monday nights at about 9:30.  Be there, and don't be square.

Cape Town Winter Blues

Cape Town's winter can wear you down.

 

(All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.  Click directly on any of the images to see larger versions.)

It's the weather, mostly.  Too many days look just like this -- cold, gray, and wet.  (The weather goes a long way toward explaining why so many Captonians spend so much time indoors, hanging out with friends, listening to jazz.)

It can make people grumpy.

Of course, the weather's not the only thing on people's minds.  Sporadic street crime can wear you down, too.

Thank God for the Football World Cup.  It's put everyone in a much better mood.

Including the good folks at Duma's Falling Leaves Jazz Rendezvous.  (That's Duma himself [Gus Ntlokwana], standing second from the left, and my friend Temba Nolutshungu, standing second from the right.)

Viva, Bafana Bafana!  Viva!

Jazz in Africa: Cape Town, Part 13, Orange Marmalade's Friday Night Jazz Jam Sessions

How about that?  The lucky 13th post on Jazz in Africa...

Until a couple of weekends ago, Cape Town's Orange Marmalade restaurant was simply a place to have some fine Cape Malay curry and a nice bottle of wine.  (These Malaysian-, Indonesian-, and African-influenced curries are less hot and a bit sweeter than Indian curries.)  Now, it's also a place to hear great jazz.  On Friday nights, that is, when an assortment of the city's musicians -- young and not so young -- gather to groove.

The Orange Marmalade house band:  Alvin Dyers, guitar; Alistair Andrews, bass; Denver Furness, drums.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.  (Photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.  Click directly on the images to see larger versions.)

Experimenting with a jazz jam session, right now, makes a lot of sense.  After all, South Africa is hosting the Fifa Football (Soccer) World Cup, the world's largest sporting event, and many of the games will be played in Cape Town.  That means that the city is overflowing with visitors who will be looking for something fun to do (and somewhere to eat and drink) before and after the games.

Basil, a student at the University of Cape Town's South African College of Music, joins in.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

More importantly, for the success of this particular experiment, Cape Town is home to far more than its fair share of superb musicians.  In part, this is thanks to the success of the South African College of Music's jazz program (which I've written about here and here).

Maurice Gawronsky sits in with Alistair Andrews and Alvin Dyers.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

The city's abundance of strong jazz players is also the result of its history.  Cape Town's jazz scene emerged in the late '40s and early 50's and has produced a staggering number of internationally famous musicians, including Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), Chris McGregor, Louis Moholo, and Winston Mankunku, to name just a few.

Maurice Gawronsky (above) has never become a household name, but he had a long jazz-making career in Europe, after leaving Cape Town, playing with the likes of Stan Getz.

My friends Cecilie and Suli hanging out between sets.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

A jam session needs an audience, of course.  You can't see it in this photo, so you'll have to take my word for it -- the joint was jumpin'.

Alvin Dyers doing his best George Benson imitation.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

I've known Alvin for several years and have heard him play scores of times, in dozens of venues.  Ask me, and I'll tell you that he's a seriously good straight-ahead guitarist in the Kenny Burrell tradition.

Turns out that he does a damn good George Benson imitation, too.

Leslie Kleinsmith, vocals, with Denver Furness, Alistair Andrews, and Alvin Dyers.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

When Leslie Kleinsmth showed up, he pretty much took over.  He's an old pro who knows how grab onto an audience and never let go.  As a singer, he sounds like the love child of Nat "King" Cole and Johnny Mathis.  That makes no sense whatsoever, but you get my point.

Leslie Kleinsmith, vocals, with Alistair Andrews and Alvin Dyers.  Cape Town, 4 June 2010.

The World Cup opened last Friday, the 11th, with the game between South Africa and Mexico.  I watched it with friends in Bridgetown (running out into the street with my vuvuzela -- just like everyone else -- when Bafana Bafana scored the first goal of the tournament).

After the game, I drove into the city to check out the jam session.  The music was cooking, but the scene was dead.  That didn't last long.  Everyone else had been watching the game, too.  Soon enough, the place was packed.

With a little luck, this jam will join the long-running Swingers Monday night sessions as a Cape Town tradition.

Exhibition: "Ghoema & Glitter" @ Iziko, the Museums of Cape Town

Ghoema & Glitter:  New Year's Carnival in Cape Town, a terrific new exhibition, opened last Saturday at the Castle of Good Hope, the ancient Dutch East India Company fort that's pride and joy of Iziko, the Museums of Cape Town.

A "board," in the style of those carried by Cape Town's Carnival troupes, is seen in the courtyard of the Castle, during the opening of Iziko's new exhibition, "Ghoema & Glitter."  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.  Click directly on the images to see larger versions.)

The exhibition is a comprehensive look at the New Year's Carnival, using costumes, musical instruments, video displays, and many, many photos.  As the Iziko says, it "showcases a part of history and culture unique to Cape Town and South Africa.  It focuses on how carnival participation has been passed on from generation to generation, while tracing the carnival’s roots and its transformation over the centuries.  ...social life, politics, identity, popular culture, ritual and day-to-day life all come together in the celebration of carnival and in the performances of the Malay choirs, Christmas bands and klopse [minstrel] troupes."

 

Members of the District Six Hanover Street Minstrels entertain the crowd, during the opening of Iziko's new exhibition, "Ghoema & Glitter."  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

The day began -- very appropriately -- with musical performances.  The District Six Hanover Street Minstrels represented Cape Town's many Carnival troupes (the subjects of my new book, One Love, Ghoema Beat:  Inside the Cape Town Carnival.

Kaatjie Davids leads the Continentals Male Choir in a performance, during the opening of Ghoema & Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

The Continental Male Choir stood in for the many all-male Malay Choirs that are an important part of the New Year's Carnival.  Dressed in colorful track suits (and called nag troepe), they parade through the streets of Cape Town on New Year's Eve.  In blazers, ties, and fezzes, they're Malay Choirs.  Their fiercely competitive singing contests are the subject of the award-winning documentary Silver Fez.  (Kaatjie Davids and the Continentals are featured in the film.)

The Continentals perform a moppie (a comic song), during the opening of Ghoema & Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

By the way, it's no accident that you're seeing lots of banjos in these photos.  The instrument arrived in Cape Town in the nineteenth century.  It came via traveling American minstrel shows, which were hugely popular in South Africa and strongly influenced the traditional music of the Carnival.  (Interestingly enough, the banjo has roots in Africa.

Spectators at the opening of Ghoema & Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

Everyone of the hundreds of people who attended Saturday's event seemed to be having fun.  Many are connected to the Carnival, and all the comments that I heard about the exhibition were very positive.

Children stand in front of a video projection at the opening of Ghoema & Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

Ghoema and Glitter is cleverly put together.  There's enough substance to satisfy adults and more than enough eye candy to keep kids happy.

A spectator views one of the exhibits at Ghoema and Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

Several of my Carnival photos are on display in the exhibition.  The woman above is looking at one of them, an image of a troupe that dresses as "American Indians."

Visitors sit in front of a photo of a Carnival choir at the opening of Ghoema & Glitter.  Cape Town, 5 June 2010.

This photo of a Carnival troupe's choir in competing in a soccer stadium is also mine.  I have to admit that I was floored (and, yes, very pleased) to see one of my photos printed 15 feet across.

Ghoema & Glitter runs until 31 January 2011.  The Castle is open daily, and, conveniently for World Cup visitors, it's in the heart of central Cape Town, near City Hall.

Jazz in Africa: Cape Town, Part 12, Swingers Jam Sesssion, World Cup Edition

A few days ago, it was back to Swingers Restaurant and Pub (in the Cape Town suburb of Ottery) for the soon-to-be legendary Monday night jam session.  I've written about these jam sessions several times (here, here, and here) and usually end up saying something along the lines of "you never know what will happen, but the music will always be terrific."

Darren English keeps his cool with a TV camera in his face.  Swingers Jam Session, 31 May 2010.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.  Click directly on any of the images to see larger versions.)

Sure enough, last Monday the musicians were blowing beautifully, and the unexpected treat was the presence of a German TV crew, who were shooting the session for a program on Cape Town that will be broadcast during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which (in case you've been living under a stone) begins, in South Africa, this week.

Alistair Andrews tries his best to ignore the camera.  Swingers Jam Session, 31 May 2010.

Just a few years ago, the jam session was a strictly local affair.  No longer.  Due, in large part, to the fierce house band, led by guitarist Alvin Dyers, and to the quality of the musicians who drop by -- South African and international --  it's now in all the guide books to Cape Town.

Alvin Dyers, guitar, and Denver Furness, drums, watch as Darren English solos.  Swingers Jam Session, 31 May 2010.

Once the TV cameras left, Alvin and the boys got down to the serious business of making cool jazz.  Their sound blends the best of American mainstream jazz and the Cape Town variant of of African jazz -- lilting melodies and gentle, funky grooves.  It can't be beat.

Mark Fransman, flute, and Jonathan Rubain, bass.  Swingers Jam Session, 31 May 2010.

You can't really plan a great jam session.  Sometimes things just happen.  For instance, Mark Fransman, best known as a pianist and sax player, did a set on flute with Jonathan Rubain, who reminds folks in Cape Town of a young Mac Mckenzie, which is high praise indeed.  Sure, you're thinking that flute and bass sounds weird.  Trust me on this.  In the hands of musicians like Mark and Jonathan, it's magic.

If you like music and you're going to be in Cape Town for the World Cup or for anything else, drop on by.  Swingers is easy to find.  Just off of Wetton Road in Ottery.  The music starts at about 9:30.  Be prepared to stay up late.