SAXIT! Saxophone Quartet
June gets off to a jazzy start with a one-off concert by two Cape Town bands at the Sendinggestig Museum, in Long Street’s old Slave Church, on Friday, 2 June at 7pm.
Local favourites Saxit! and The Hot Club of Cape Town will be appearing in a show billed as HOT vs. COOL – a nod to the cool jazz played by Saxit! and the Hot Club of Cape Town’s hot gypsy swing.
Lush harmonies, crazy rhythms
“It has all the ingredients of a great evening out,” says organiser June Knight. “Starting out with the lush harmonies of Saxit!, followed by a couple of numbers with both bands jamming together, and topped off by the crazy rhythm of the Hot Club of Cape Town.”
The Slave Church provides a great environment for the music. “Instead of being in a noisy pub,” she says. “You can sit down and really enjoy the music—although there’s also room to dance, if that takes your fancy!”
The Hot Club of Cape Town
The Hot Club sound emerged from Europe in the 1930s, combining swing jazz with the rippling melodies of Parisian dance-halls, and the distinctive gypsy harmonies of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Hot Club of Cape Town, formed in 2016 by three experienced musicians with a shared love of the style, adds a hint of Cape jazz into the mix. The sound is steeped in tradition, yet contemporary and local at the same time. It’s fun, lively, romantic and, above all, swinging music for all ages and all venues.
Daniel Zachariah Franks is a self-taught jazz violinist. After playing folk and blues guitar during his youth, he studied jazz while at university in Johannesburg. After moving to Cape Town five years ago he picked up the violin and immersed himself in baroque harmony, while studying music at Stellenbosch. He performs with the Hot Club of Cape Town and as a solo looping artist, and as a guest with various other artists, performing with the likes of Pops Mohammed, Mike Perry, Carlo Mombelli and The Brother Moves On.
Elton Goslett is a skilled and versatile guitar player whose style is at the meeting point of jazz, blues & soul. He is a self-taught guitarist, who until recently worked in corporate finance until he made the leap to be a full-time musician and guitar teacher. His first love was the blues, and he still works as an acoustic blues musician. But Elton has developed into an accomplished jazz guitarist who often accompanies singers and fusion band Mixed Roots. He teaches at the Jazz Workshop. His influences include Mike Stern, Charlie Parker and Joe Pass.
Even as a teenage punk rocker Mike Hardaker loved the music of Stéphane Grapelli and Django Reinhardt. Later living in France he immersed himself in the roots of the Hot Club sound. Apart from Stéphane and Django, his musical heroes include the brothers Baro, Matelo and Sarane Ferret, Thelonious Monk, Robert Quine, Charlie Christian and Henri Crolla.
SAXIT! Saxophone Quartet
Since 2012, SAXIT! has been developing their vibrant, diverse sound and pushing the boundaries of the saxophone ensemble, performing a multitude of musical styles without a rhythm section. Following a NAF performance, Cue wrote: “The repertoire ranges from upbeat to melancholy to celebratory. This easy-going band of musicians does themselves proud!”
The band is formed by Joel Benjamin (Alto/Soprano sax), Jade de Waal (Alto sax), Simon Bates (Tenor sax), and Gareth Harvey (Baritone sax). Asked about live performance, Gareth says: “Music to most people runs close their hearts and one of the main things SAXIT! would like people to feel is, firstly, being present in the experience and not distracted by the material world. Secondly, to simply enjoy themselves. Then, our workshops aim at empowering music students with skills in developing their own careers and mastering their instruments.”
SAXIT! have collaborated in animated short film project, Heart and in 2015 released their debut self-titled EP
What: HOT vs. COOL: The Hot Club of Cape Town and Saxit
When: Fri, 2 June, 2017
Where: Slave Church Museum 40 Long Street
Tickets: R100 at the door, cash only
Info: June Knight 079 183 5170, june.knight@gmail.com
Hot Club: Mike Hardaker, 061 449 2382,info@hotclub.co.za
Saxit!: www.facebook.com/Saxit-107023709442869, www.reverbnation.com/saxit
Saxit: Gareth Harvey info@octaveleapmusic.com, 084 525 9443
WS
