Musical magic on the Fest Fringe
28 June 2006
The music programme for the National Arts Festival Fringe, taking place in Grahamstown from 29 June to 8 July, covers afro-jazz, rhythm and blues, a whole lot of soul, classical recitals, gospel choirs, marimba bands and more.
From new age to new wave, indigenous African instruments to the Japanese Sakuhachi, there's something to satisfy everyone's ear.
At the Old Mutual Acoustic Encounters programme, South Africans such as Gloria Bosman, Robin Auld, Louis Mhlanga and Chris Chameleon will join international musos Michelle Shocked and Lloyd Cole in jam sessions of note.
Tara-Jane Metzler, Donna Africa, Cliffie Kleb, Gino Fabbri and the rest of the Centrestage All-Star Band will celebrate the music of Abba, Jack Johnson, the Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Queen and more at the Bowling Club every day.
Three up-and-coming South African bands are lined up at the Graham Hotel. Spiritual Essence is a multi-cultural experience influenced by African, jazz, and contemporary pop music; Soul Semantics draws from Afro jazz, soul, funk, and rhythm and blues to create their own original sound; and Southpaw (with Newton Stanford and Kurt Diedericks) look to everyday people for inspiration.
At the other end of the musical scale, Gabuka Booi fuses the Bravo Africa Quartet with the award-winning Joy of Africa Choir to produce Opera Highlights, a package of favourite arias and choruses from opera through the ages.
The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra teams up with Daveyton's Khulanathi Youth Jazz Orchestra in a showcase of rampant emerging talent.
The Majawa Opera Ensemble will delight with Donizetti's one-act comic opera Rita - The Battered Husband, sung (in English) by Mandie de Villiers, Jacques le Roux, Jaco Klopper and Waldo
Weyer.
Zanne Stapelberg, the young soprano whose recent performances have been received with acclaim, packs a punch with her new opera-cabaret Zanne, directed by Matthew Wild with accompaniment by Stephan Lombard.
Making a return to South Africa, Dudu Manhenga and Color Blu in Jula (Depth) aim to conquer jazz enthusiasts this side of the Beit Bridge border, while the Ikhwezi Band from Mdantsane, just over the Kei, bring African pride to their original and traditional jazz standards.
Also celebrating their cultural heritage is Mama's Brother's Community Theatre Jazz Band Manje, who incorporate Afro pop and traditional jazz in their new-generation sound.
Celebrating life in the face of HIV, the Novensi Organisation's Intsholo is an inspirational mix of poetry and choral singing, backed by a 20-piece indigenous orchestra.
1 Luv Gathering is an original South African Reggae band featuring Jahnet Tefari, JJ Foundation and Prince Ragga.
The St Stithian's College Boys' Prep Marimba Band, under the direction of renowned marimba composer and arranger Michael Sibanda, goes head to head with the African Dream Marimba Band's Izandi Zakwantu – a vibey mix of new-generation indigenous music – in the battle for African instrumental honours.
Steeling themselves for the convergence is the Makana Community Steel Band, who have left the security of the Studio environment and are bracing themselves for the vagaries of the Fringe.
Christine Geldenhuis will introduce festinos to the sound world of Shakuhachi, a bamboo flute used in Zen meditation practice in a contemplative programme of solo recorder music.
Acoustic guitarists Tony Cox, James Harris and Steve Newman will engage in a battle of finger dexterity in separate solo concerts, while Syd Kichen and Anika Kruger have teamed up for Songs from the Suburbs.
The festival is sponsored by the Eastern Cape government, Standard Bank, the SABC,
the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and the National Arts Council.
Business & Arts South Africa has also made a special grant to the festival this year. The major portion goes to the artists on the festival fringe, the rest to festival newspaper Cue, the Youth Audience Development Project and the Art-Walk Meander Map.
For more information, see the related articles on the right - and visit the National Arts Festival website.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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