The Loud Minority

in response to article in People's Post, 7 November 2006I found Melissa Papier’s article “Thanks for the Music” very interesting and I’m glad that she has stopped judging artists whose music sounds weird, and its probably the result of growing up on diet of music that has been force fed upon her by top 40 radio stations, and MTV.Now that she has stopped judging she should begin her journey of discovery of just what music is happening in our communities...

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Nic Le Roux

Saxophonist, Nic Le Roux passed away on Tuesday, 07 November 2006.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On behalf of the staff and students at UCT's College of Music I extend our deepest sympathies to the family and close friends of Nic le Roux.Nic's passing is a very sad loss for the music scene in Cape Town and the wider South Africa. Nic's music and his saxophone style embodied the true spirit of Cape Town and South African Jazz, while remaining...

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A Flute for Gary

The Monday night jazz jam on Monday 30 October 2006 will probably be one of the jams that jazz elder Gary Van Dyk will never forget. It was on this day that jazz musician and academic and very good friend of the jazz fraternity in Cape Town, Arne Hiorth from Norway presented Gary with a brand new flute. In this way Arne acknowledged Gary's contribution for promoting jazz.Well done Gary! Mr Van Dyk could not wait to dig deep into the jam - his first...

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Beyond Table Mountain

Beyond the ever popular Table Mountain there are plenty of other exciting routes in the Cape Peninsula which have never been explored by native Capetonians - they don't know what they have been missing. The extended mountain ranges in the peninsula offer excellent facilities for climbers, hikers, cyclists and runners( for some it offer a place of sanctification).Best of all is that the start and end points of some of these hiking routes are within...

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Kopano...Jazz Gathering

In Sotho the word "kopano" means gathering. The gathering by the jazz ensemble Kopano on Saturday 26 August 2006 in the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg was surely worthwhile and inspiring.I could not believe it when I arrived(a few minutes late) at the concert that there was no more tickets available. Sold out jazz concert in Muizenberg? If it was not for the organiser, Ruwayda spotting me at the door, I would have missed this one and would have been...

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Artscape Youth Jazz Festival 2006 - Mentoring For Success

Mentoring the youth is a sure way of nation building. What the mentees get out of this is confidence, encouragement, advice and for sure, hands on experience. The success of the Artscape Youth Jazz Festival 2006 is truly evident of this.A big thank you for this years mentors: Melanie Scholtz, Camillo Lombard, Kevin Gibson and Alvin Dyers.The successful bands that were selected for this years festival are The Turfjamp Youth Jazz Band, The Levites,...

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From Martinique in the Caribbean to Cape Town, South Africa to Tokyo, Japan - Swingers Jazz Jam

We are not just connected by the seaLast night, initially looking at the few patrons, I thought that it was going to be a quiet night at the jazz jam at Swingers. This was not to be. Guitarist, Alvin Dyers' resident band (Kyle Shephard - keyboards, Denver Furness - drums, Nic Le Roux - saxophone, Alistair Andrews - bass) started of the night as usual with their unique interpretations of some jazz standards and some South African jazz tunes.Amongst...

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Be impressed... Jazz Impressions

The John Coltrane composition, "Impressions" is definitely a tune that every serious jazz instrumentalist wants to master. This is such a unique tune, that once heard, it will stick to your mind. Certainly this is the idea with the Jazz Impressions sessions at the Green Dolphin. For the pass few years this is one of those winter warmers not to be missed. This year the Jazz Impressions started on 5 July. It happens every Wednesday evening just after...

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