Concert Review: Old Mutual Bassline Jazz Club Revisited Emmerentia Dam 01/03/09

Through word of mouth, we had heard that there was going to be some Jazz at Emmerentia on Sunday 01/03/09 starting at noon. So we got all our stuff together and headed out not really knowing what to expect.

 

Upon arrival it started looking a bit worrying. There were no crowds, parking was easy to find and tickets were suspiciously cheap. We found a comfortable spot under some trees and settled down to wait. There was a nice area for the kids to mess around, the sound from the stage (recorded music) sounded good and the weather was looking great (bright sunny skies as only Johannesburg can deliver).

 

Some digging around revealed the setlist (the only copy available taped to an officials desk):

Sam Mtukudzi

Sandile Ziqubu

Paul Hanmer

Oliver Mtukudzi

Vusi Mahlasela.

 

Sam Mtukudzi came on and played a short and enjoyable set as a one man act (voice and guitar). Carrying on the tradition from his dad Oliver, he accompanied himself on guitar singing soulful, beautiful songs. It was apparent at this stage that the sound system made available for this gig was awesome. Lots of people were also starting to arrive.

 

Sandile Ziqubu came on with his tenor saxophone and laid down some great grooves. The mix was, in my opinion, not the greatest, but he got a nice African fusion type of sound going and set the stage for the heavy-weights.

 

Next up was Paul Hanmer the pianist/keyboardist. In his band were the living legends Barry van Zyl, McCoy Mrubata, and Andre Abrahamse. They got straight into two numbers the second of which was ‘Strandloper’, with McCoy stepping in with some of the smoothest and most soulful sax that I have ever heard. For the next few numbers the audience were completely mesmerised by the virtuosity they were experiencing. The band finished off their all too short set with ‘The Life’ which was another revelation. The rhythm section set into a ruthless groove that was taking no prisoners. We saw Mrubata stepping up to the mike to hypnotise the audience and convince them that there was no better place in the world to be at that moment. Paul Hanmer suddenly seemed trapped too, his right hand tapping out what seemed like a frantic morse-code probably begging to be released from the awesome groove being laid down by van Zyl and Abrahamse, while his left hand danced on the keyboard like a dervish. It was over all too soon. By now the venue was pretty full.

 

Following Paul Hanmer was Oliver Mtukudzi, another living legend. He came on with a full band and his usual, strong repertoire. They delivered another fantastic set- what an incredible band! The music was bright and cheery and had the crowd dancing at the front of the stage. To close his set, his son Sam (no not son of Sam) took his guitar mid-song releasing the aging Oliver to bust some moves. One moment he writhed like a cobra as it hypnotises its prey, and the next made  some of the most agile limbed moves that I have seen from a man that age, in celebration of the music they could share across the generation.

 

Last up was Vusi Mahlasela. Mahlasela’s songs are the most recognisable due to generous radio play. This set had the crowd singing along all the way. Some issues came up in terms of the sound in this session, including a complete cut in sound mid-song in the beginning and some mixing problems later on, but it was still an enjoyable set.

 

So, not a bad day out for a sunny Sunday afternoon. The crowd was great. Strictly speaking only Sandile Ziqubu and Paul Hanmer are what I would call jazz, but the rest of the performers were still extremely enjoyable.

It was a true ‘rainbow-nation’ type of audience, and a line-up of musicians that should have every South African and Zimbabwean (for the Mtukudzis) proud of the musical talents that exist in their countries.

 

Great Venue, great organisation, great PA, great weather, great musicians and great performances, what more could one ask for?