Swingers Jam Sesssion: SAJE Edition

The Monday night jam sessions at Swingers are a Cape Town institution.  The club, which is located among factories and warehouses in the Cape Town suburb of Ottery, attracts a crowd that's made up mostly of locals.  But the jams also draw foreigners and South Africans from elsewhere in the country, who have come to play or, like me, to listen.

This is sixth or seventh time that I've written about Swingers (click on the link in Categories, over on the right, to see the others).  I usually make the point that you're never sure exactly what to expect, but that you know it'll be jazz and it'll be good.  I'm calling this post the South African Association for Jazz Education [SAJE] edition.  Most of the visitors, including me, were there because they had attended the SAJE workshops and festival at the University of Cape Town the previous weekend.

 

 

Darrren English (trumpet) and Denver Furness (drums).  [All photos copyright John Edwin Mason 2011.  Click directly on any image to see a larger version.]

Darren English, who has been a member of Swingers' house band for a couple of years, is the first SAJE connection.  His band -- Darren English and Avianna -- performed a set of beautiful original songs at the SAJE festival on Friday night.

 

 

Alistair Andrews (bass) and Nicholas Williams (keyboards).

Alistair Andrews and Nicholas Williams are our second and third SAJE connections.  Alistair led a workshop on music and technology, and Nicholas was a member of Darren's band.

 

 

Alvin Dyers (guitar).

I've sung Alvin Dyers' praises many times in the past, and I'll sing them again.  I love his technically stunning and deeply soulful guitar playing, and I admire his leadership of the house band, which is a nicely judged balance of strength and generosity.  Alvin's a member of the faculty at the University of Cape Town's South African College of Music, which hosted the SAJE.

 

 

Joe Schaffers (master of ceremonies) and Alistair Andrews.

Joe Schaffers is the perfect MC.  He's funny, he doesn't talk too much, and he keeps things moving along.  On occasion, he sings -- very well.

 

 

Mike Rossi (sax), Gordon Vernick (trumpet, and Nicholas Williams (bass).

We're deep into SAJE territory, here.  Mike Rossi, who teaches at the South African College of Music, is the association's president.  Gordon Vernick, who's on the music faculty at Georgia State University, in Atlanta, was in town to perform at the SAJE festival and conduct workshops at local high schools and the College of Music.  (As you can see, Nicholas Williams has switched to bass.  That's Darrren English back there on drums.  Cape Town is the land of doublers.)

 

 

Mike Rossi and John Baboian (guitar).

Not every visitor at the jam was there for the SAJE events.  John Baboian (that's him lurking in the shadows) is in town in connection with both the SAJE and this weekend's Cape Town International Jazz Festival.  Among other things, he brought much needed musical supplies over from the US.  They be distributed to disadvantaged schools and students.  He's also holding auditions for the Berklee College of Music, the Juillard of Jazz.

 

 

John Baboian.

It's worth pointing out that Mike, John, and Gordon are major players.  Each has appeared on a long list of albums and CDs and performs all over the world.

 

 

John Baboian, Mike Rossi, Gordon Vernick, and Darren English.

Gordon invited Darren to join the old men with trumpet (it's his main instrument).  The kid held his own.

 

 

Alvin Dyers.

You can't really tell from this photo, but, trust me, Alvin is liking what he's hearing.

 

 

Jesse Mogale.

 Jesse Mogale, who's one of the better bassists you're ever going to hear, brought two distinct groups to the SAJE festival -- the Odd Meter Ensemble and the CAFCA Big Band, both of which are part of Committed Artists for Cultural Advancement [CAFCA].  Jesse founded CAFCA to bring music to disadvantaged youth in Mamelodi, a sprawling township outside of Pretoria, South Africa's capital.  It provides instruments and lessons, instruction in music theory, and the chance to play in bands and orchestras.

I heard both the Odd Meter Ensemble and the big band at the SAJE festival.  They were terrific -- wonderfully musical -- and the kids were clearly having fun.  (I'll have more to say about them and other groups that appeared at the SAJE festival in a few days.) 

 

 

Moss Mogale.

Jesse's elder brother, Moss Mogale, has been an important part of the South African jazz scene for many years.  He plays Miles, Monk, mbaqanga, and marabi with equal authority.

 

 

Siya Charles, a student at the South African College of Music.

The last two photos show a couple youngsters jamming with the Mogale brothers.  It was music making at a very high level.  And a lot of fun to hear.

 

 

A member of the CAFCA ensembles.

The Swingers jam sessions have achieved a nearly legendary status in South African jazz circles.  Now you know why.

Comments

[Dan Shout]

Hey John!

Great blog! Thanks for spreading the word about the Swingers Jam Session! It was great to have you in Cape Town for the week. Interestingly, Swingers has been running for 17 years on a Monday night (if I'm not mistaken). Quite an institution indeed!

I also blog on my site, www.danshout.co.za so check it out if you get a chance.

Warm Regards,

Dan Shout
www.danshout.co.za

[Diane Rossi]

Dear John,
Thank you for spreading the word about SWINGERS and about SAJE - your photographs are wonderful. It was great to finally meet you and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
Safe travels and thank you for an excellent blog.
Kind regards,
Diane Rossi
www.saje.org.za

[Morris Goldberg]

Very heartening to see that the music scene is alive and well in Cape Town.
Hopefully I will be invited back to my home town to do something soon. My best to all the musicians I know, and the ones I don't, regards, Morris Goldberg

[Niklas Zimmer]

Great work John! Thank you for this writing and your photos. You are really contributing to positive change here.

[John]

Dan, Diane, Morris, and Niklas,

Thanks very much for the comments. Writing about (and photographing) Cape Town musicians is a real joy.

Morris, it's a shame that you are invited back to Cape Town more often. The Cape Town International Jazz Festival did a reasonably good job of including local musicians, this year. But, as you know, the few slots available hardly make a dent in the list of people who deserve to be on stage.

By the way, Morris, I'm still working on the book on Cape Town jazz. It was on the back burner, while I finished "One Love, Ghoema Beat: Inside the Cape Town Carnival." But it's now my number one priority.