The 2021 Jazz and Classical Encounters Festival Vol 3 @ Spier Amphitheatre will feature some of the best South African jazz and classical artists in a feast of contemporary music. It takes place on Saturday 4 December 2021.
The one-day festival will begin at 12.30 pm and will showcase a mix of jazz and classical icons for eight hours. This special edition of the third must-see event, will pay tribute to a number of artists who have passed on in the last 12 months, honoring in particular the legendary soprano Mam Sibongile Khumalo and renowned Cape Town pianist Andre Petersen. The event includes refreshment breaks.
The show will open with SAMA 2019 winner pianist Bokani Dyer and his trio (pictured above), who will present “Neo Native” with Sphelelo Mazibuko on drums and Romy Brauteseth on bass. Dyer, multi-award-winning Motswana-South African pianist, composer and producer, graduated with distinction from UCT and was awarded two international scholarships facilitating training and masterclasses with world-renowned musicians. He has recorded four jazz albums to critical acclaim and won numerous awards. Alongside his jazz career, he also explores various other genres including electronic music. During his training he studied classical piano and played in a salsa band. These various influences have made him aware of the versatility of the piano as an instrument. “In my own compositions, I have consciously allowed all of the music which I have encountered to flow into my music to create a new idea of ‘world music’ where there is music with no borders,” he explains. This led to an interest in exploring traditional styles of music from Africa, particularly percussion rhythms.
Zandile Mzazi
Bokani Dyer will be followed by the soprano Zandile Mzazi accompanied by pianist Juan Burgess. Together they will present work deeply connected with Mam Sibongile Khumalo’s illustrious career. Over and above getting recognition by local musical bodies, Mzazi has won numerous competitions and awards in places such as Austria, Germany, Italy and the USA. Mzazi contends that despite coming from a musical family and having been fortunate to be introduced to oratorio music as a child, she still had to put in a lot of hard work. Her mother was her biggest influence.
Elinor Speirs
Next up will be one of the foremost violinists in improvised music, Elinor Speirs. She is a sought-after performer in New York and Boston’s jazz and avant-garde scenes. Originally from South Africa, Elinor began her career as a classical violinist in London, quickly realising that a life in interpreted music was not a good fit for her explosive creative energy. It was only upon moving to New York, and later Boston, that she discovered her improvisational and compositional voice within the rigorous rhythmic and harmonic frameworks of contemporary and avant-garde jazz. Speirs will perform with her Quintet featuring Brydon Bolton on bass, Brathew van Schalkwyk on piano, Jonno Sweetman on drums and Mark Fransman on tenor saxophone. Inspired by John Coltrane’s multi-movement album, A Love Supreme, Elinor Speirs’ Suite for Jazz Quintet consists of four self-contained movements, Throwback, Bounce, Twelve Apostles and Four. Each is an original composition that strives to combine classical, jazz and avant-garde jazz idioms in new and fresh ways.
Kathleen Tagg
The fourth act is New York based South African born pianist, composer and producer Kathleen Tagg. A 2014 South African Music Awards nominee for best classical album, she has performed on four continents with a host of leading musicians, and the breadth of her collaborations defines her multifaceted career. In the past decade, Tagg’s work has focused on identity, ideas of connection and sound exploration. She created her own unique language at the piano, made up of techniques she developed and experimented with to expand the piano into a full electro-acoustic orchestra. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the 92nd St Y and Symphony Space in New York, but is equally at home in non-conventional spaces and theatrical settings. She will present a solo set of her “piano orchestra”: grand piano augmented with many layers of loops and samples all created from the body of the piano to create a giant orchestral texture. The program centers around paying homage to her duo partner and dear friend, the great South African jazz pianist and composer Andre Petersen and his spirit of exploration, openness and deep curiosity.
Feya Faku
The festival will end on a high note with the return to the stage after two years absence, legendary New Brighton born trumpeter Feya Faku. Faku started playing music informally at a young age and got help from local musicians. He then enrolled at the University of Natal to study with Darius Brubeck. He, together with Zim Ngqawana, Melvin Peters and Lex Futshane formed a band that supported South African musicians who came to perform at the Rainbow Jazz Club and restaurant. In the late 80s, Faku started touring the world with artists such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku, Mankunku Ngozi, Sylvia Mdunyelwa and many more. He has recorded six albums under his name as leader and has featured on many others with artists around the world.
2021 Jazz and Classical Encounters Festival Vol 3 schedule:
Doors open at 12:00
1st Act – 12.30 pm (Bokani Dyer trio) 1st break – 1.30 pm (for 45 minutes)
2nd Act – 2.15pm (Soprano Zandile Mzazi and piano) 2nd break – 3.15 pm (for 45 minutes)
3rd Act – 4 to 5 pm (Elinor Spiers Quintet) 3rd break – 5pm (for 45 minutes)
4th Act – 5.45pm (Kathleen Tagg) 4th break – 6.45pm (for 60 minutes)
5th Act – 7.45pm (Feya Faku 4tet) Event Ends: 8.45pm.
What: The 2021 Jazz and Classical Encounters Festival Vol 3
Where and when: Spier Amphitheatre, Stellenbosch on 4 December 2021
Tickets: Quicket
WS
