At last Capetonians have a brand new Jazz venue in the centre of the City! The great news is that The Rainbow Room at Mandela Rhodes Place on St George’s Mall opens on Tuesday 15 December with a superb line up of well known local artists.
Just in time for the festive season and with line ups planned until the end of the year, visitors and residents can enjoy top class jazz in a superb environment that mirrors overseas clubs of the same genre.
Get set for jazz in the City as the inaugural line up features top artists Buddy Wells, Mark Fransman, Charles Lazar and Kesivan Naidoo gigging together as The Tribe for the first time in three years. From 8pm the jamming starts and patrons will enjoy the sounds of opening act The Trio featuring new young talent Amy Campbell and Lorna Payne as they warm the stage for the big boys!
Plan to see Frank Paco and the B.A.T.E. Lounge Project, (Saturday 19 December) Headset Sessions, (Monday 21 and 28 December) Makeson Browne and Akoustik Knot, (Monday 21 December) Alexander Sinton Big Band and Sisterhood ( Wednesday 23 December) Paul Hanmer Trio (Saturday 26 December) and hot young perfomers before the year is out!
With a cover charge of R50 (special discounts for music students and musicians) and this convivial atmosphere whether seated at tables or the bar you can enjoy jazz at it’s very best.
The philosophy of these regular sessions is to feature Cape Town’s top musicians supported by young up and coming musical talent. The brains behind this venture; Alison McCutcheon and business partner Frank Gormley of The Rainbow Experience, Eric Alan of Jazz Rendezvous on Radio 2000 and Aki Khan of Eastern Acoustics have networked and collaborated with musicians and the top acoustic specialists to ensure that this new venue is an optimum performance environment.
Eric Alan, respected jazz fundi, is excited by the prospect of seeing a jazz venue that answers all the musicians’ needs. “Finally we have a professional platform to showcase Cape Town’s and South Africa’s amazing musical talent in an environment where music lovers are going to feel as at home as the musicians. It is also important to give new young talent a stage to perform before a live audience, through The Rainbow Room this vision is to be ultimately realized. The Rainbow Room’s aim is to become the premier serious jazz music listening venue in Cape Town and South Africa, rivaling the best known jazz venues around the world.”
The Rainbow Room will be a true music venue in all senses and acoustically will provide the best that Cape Town has to offer. Aki Khan of Eastern Acoustics has spent many hours fine tuning and developing the venue and says he is proud to be the technical partner of The Rainbow Room. His vision is to assist in empowering musicians, technicians and in growing the music business through quality live recordings. With this in mind all performances will be recorded with the view of releasing “Live At The Rainbow Room” compilations and full CD’s of all concerts. This means there will be a strict “silence during performances” policy in place during the sessions
Research into successful Jazz venues in international cities has shown that creating a space of respect for musicians and the music has resulted in outstanding musical experiences where musicians perform at their optimum.
The format of the sessions is simple: an opening act of one set by student musicians drawn from the music schools of Cape Town, followed by two sets featuring the best jazz musicians from Cape Town. Nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians will be featured when the occasion arises. There is no prescribed play list and the Rainbow Room will encourage the artists to perform their original compositions as well as the well known International and South African jazz standards.
Monday 21 December and 28 December see sessions starting at 6pm allowing you to enjoy a relaxing time after work and beat the evening traffic gridlock. Great food is part of the experience so book early and enjoy some Cape Town soul food: delicious butter chicken, lamb shank with dollops of garlic mash and morogo plus traditional cuisine done the rainbow way! Chef Whaheed Rojan will have daily surprises to keep one coming back for more.
Expect the unusual to be the usual and the Rainbow Room to become the choice venue to visit on a regular basis.
DECEMBER LINE-UP
TUESDAY, 15TH DECEMBER 20H00
Opening Act/ Showcase
The Trio Featuring Vocalists Amy Campbell (Wynberg Girls High) & Lorna Payne Alexander Sinton High)
MAIN ACT
BUDDY WELLS , MARK FRANSMAN, CHARLES LAZAR & KESIVAN NAIDOO
SATURDAY, 19TH DECEMBER 20H00
Opening Act/ Showcase
Suede Funk Jazz (Alexander Sinton High)
FRANK PACO & THE BATE LOUNGE PROJECT
MONDAY, 21ST DECEMBER 18h00
Opening Act/ Showcase
Blake Hellaby Quartet ( Ex SACS, First Year UCT Jazz)
MAIN ACT
HEADSET SESSIONS
MAKESON BROWNE & AKOUSTIK KNOT
WEDNESDAY, 23 DECEMBER 20H00
A CAPE TOWN CHRISTMAS
ALEXANDER SINTON BIG BAND & FRIENDS
SATURDAY, 26 DECEMBER 20H00
Opening Act/ Showcase
Touch (Funk Jazz Bergvliet High)
MAIN ACT
PAUL HANMER TRIO
MONDAY, 28TH DECEMBER 18h00
Opening Act/ Showcase
The Trio featuring Kimberly Samules (Heathfield High) & The Vocal Ensemble led by Denay Willie (Alexander High)
MAIN ACT
HEADSET SESSIONS
Enjoy superb music, delicious ‘soul’ food and great social drinks
Reserve your seats ahead of time for the Jazz evenings at R50.00 cover charge per head
Book your table and order up your drinks ready for your arrival
Snacks are served during performance but all meals are served before and after the main show
THE RAINBOW ROOM, MANDELA RHODES PLACE, CHURCH STREET, CAPE TOWN
Interpark parking off Burg Street with direct access to Mandela Rhodes Place
TELEPHONE (021) 422 1428
EMAIL : events@therainbowexperience.co.za
www.therainbowexperience.co.za
Executive Producer
Alison McCutcheon
Music Director, Eric Alan - Technical Director, Aki Khan
