"Oyi..Oyi, Mavuvu uyajola"........Slow down my brother, slow down....My name is not Mavuvu and angijoli Mina. I however am excited and those were the first lyrics that came to mind.
Why am I excited? ....
I am excited to be back home. I have not been blogging for some time ( approximately two years since my last blog). I am excited because the is a lot that I want to share.....my fingers are itchy....Jo mma we....they really are itching to rattle my PC keyboard and share with you what you missed out on.....as a result of my not so well thought out selfish nature. From today onwards, I promise....I will share my experiences with you as and when they happen......uyeza umoya.
Bye for now
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Day Three - North Sea Jazz Festival: Rotterdam
Today (14 July), we started early. At 5.30 we were watching our first show. The Programme finishes early, that's why. We decided that today, we will watch all the unknowns but after watching the Tingvalli trio, we realized that in this world of Jazz, there are no unknowns. Everybody who is at the festival, has come to Rotterdam to watch their favorite Artist perform. I had a few that I knew an wanted to watch.....so, there are no unknowns.
It has been a great three days and it would only be fair to close it off on a high note. Sting, the English man in New York, did not disappoint. And yes, I was there....I saw him perform and I enjoyed his surprise package.......Brandford Marsalis. Wow.....He played earlier with his band and came to join his buddy to give us a perfect goodbye present.
When I left Ahoy, I took a vow. I vowed that, I am coming back to Rotterdam for the 2014 jazz festival. And this time, I will be prepared and prepared I will be. Goodbye Ahoy.
It has been a great three days and it would only be fair to close it off on a high note. Sting, the English man in New York, did not disappoint. And yes, I was there....I saw him perform and I enjoyed his surprise package.......Brandford Marsalis. Wow.....He played earlier with his band and came to join his buddy to give us a perfect goodbye present.
When I left Ahoy, I took a vow. I vowed that, I am coming back to Rotterdam for the 2014 jazz festival. And this time, I will be prepared and prepared I will be. Goodbye Ahoy.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Day Two.....North Sea Jazz Festival. Rotterdam Version.
It is unavoidable, I must say it.... I must gloat. I have earned the right to gloat, I paid good money to come and stay at the NH Atlanta Rotterdam Hotel. By the day, it is proving to be money well spend. Who would have thought that one day, as I walk into a hotel overseas, I would come across a jazz after party and one of the people having fun would be Anthony Hamilton? Without the groupies.......Yes, he was there. Standing at a corner with one of his countrymen and enjoying his drink. Oh....let me stop before I start sounding like a Groupie. Anyway, I had to share this because in your wildest dreams, you never dream of watching John Legend heat up a stage with his performance, go home and whilst savouring the moment, walk into Anthony.
Yes, I said it. John did light up the stage but not as he did during his last concert in Sun City (South Africa) Phela on that day, in Sun City, he blew the rooftop away and earned himself countless kisses ( blown kisses) from both males and females......Well except from me of course. I don't roll like that. This was the last show I watched yesterday (13 July)
Before John Legend, I had done a bit of stage hoping again. Started of at Hudson and enjoyed Charles LLoyd playing alongside Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland. Charles is truly a maestro. On the night, two instruments that he did not play, the stuff Zakil struts and a guiter. I enjoyed it....one of my traveling companions gave in....his parting shot was..." Ai, I will come back and watch Charles Lloyd when I understand his music"
He madoda, after just Lloyd....guess who I bumped into....Steve Winwood of "higher love"fame. Watched him from one of the many monitors whilst having dinner because I was not about to watch my favorite female Brazillian Artist (Ellaine Elias) on an empty stomach..aikhona. What a show....what a show. I know I did say Diana Krall mesmerized me. No word exists to describe what Ellaine did to me. I certainly am increasing my collection of her CD,s.
Jamie Cullum and the Roots were the last Acts I watched. I must say, I am not a rock and roll fan but that Jamie Cullum is surely finding his way into my collection. Roots bona, ai Dankie. The only reason why I sat in during their show was because I needed to secure my " bum on seat" for the John Legend show which you already know about.
I must say, through and through, crowd behavior was excellent. I saw a lot of scenes that could have beel well placed eOrlando Stadium or ko Ellis Park the night when Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs caused the deaths of 24 ( I think) soccer mad fans. But no stampede. Anyway, enough for today.....let me go get a haircut. I discovered a barbershop right next to my Hotel. I need to look like a gentleman tonite when I watch Sting.....maybe I could also get lucky. Who knows.
Yes, I said it. John did light up the stage but not as he did during his last concert in Sun City (South Africa) Phela on that day, in Sun City, he blew the rooftop away and earned himself countless kisses ( blown kisses) from both males and females......Well except from me of course. I don't roll like that. This was the last show I watched yesterday (13 July)
Before John Legend, I had done a bit of stage hoping again. Started of at Hudson and enjoyed Charles LLoyd playing alongside Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland. Charles is truly a maestro. On the night, two instruments that he did not play, the stuff Zakil struts and a guiter. I enjoyed it....one of my traveling companions gave in....his parting shot was..." Ai, I will come back and watch Charles Lloyd when I understand his music"
He madoda, after just Lloyd....guess who I bumped into....Steve Winwood of "higher love"fame. Watched him from one of the many monitors whilst having dinner because I was not about to watch my favorite female Brazillian Artist (Ellaine Elias) on an empty stomach..aikhona. What a show....what a show. I know I did say Diana Krall mesmerized me. No word exists to describe what Ellaine did to me. I certainly am increasing my collection of her CD,s.
Jamie Cullum and the Roots were the last Acts I watched. I must say, I am not a rock and roll fan but that Jamie Cullum is surely finding his way into my collection. Roots bona, ai Dankie. The only reason why I sat in during their show was because I needed to secure my " bum on seat" for the John Legend show which you already know about.
I must say, through and through, crowd behavior was excellent. I saw a lot of scenes that could have beel well placed eOrlando Stadium or ko Ellis Park the night when Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs caused the deaths of 24 ( I think) soccer mad fans. But no stampede. Anyway, enough for today.....let me go get a haircut. I discovered a barbershop right next to my Hotel. I need to look like a gentleman tonite when I watch Sting.....maybe I could also get lucky. Who knows.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
North Sea Jazz Festival. The Rotterdam version.
It all started with a telecon conversation that took place around December between myself and my traveling partner, Tshepo Sibeko. He was asking whether I was going to attend the Cape Town Jazz Festival, to which I responded....."no baba, I would rather save for the real deal....Rotterdam". The seed was planted. In the history of the Cape Town jazz festival, which incidentally started of as the North Sea Jazz Festival (Cape Town), I probably missed two and I thought I was ripe for the real deal. Hence my response to Sibeko.
I am glad I made that decision. It's a different ball game. Well worth la-mathousand i am chowing. First of all, you have to content with with 13 jazz venues. By the time you get back to your hotel, you have walked about 5km, shuffling from venue to venue because there is so much to watch within an 8 hour time period allocated. I hope I am right....Phela iMaths was not my strong point eSkolweni.
Be that as it may, I was happy to watch 7 out of the 52 acts that performed yesterday night (11 July 2013). The only disappointment was Doug Hammond. I suppose one can discount him because of his age. We all agreed ( me and my crew) he should just go on pension. What,s worse, is that earlier in the day I met this old man in a lift ( hotel lift) who introduced himself as Doug Hammond and personally asked me to come watch his show at 7:30 ( Madeira Stage). When we were deciding on what acts to watch, I put his name into the magic hat that Sibeko was wearing and we agreed to watch him. Tjo.....after four songs we left. It was actually the fourth song that convinced us to leave.....his quintet fumbled around with lyrics and on four occasions, had to re-start the song. I was so embarrassed.....mhlaba vuleka ngingene type scenario. Hayi, this was the only blacksport for the Night.
My imaginary girlfriend wanted to watch Anthony Hamilton, so I went. That man is dynamite. I was a bit disappointed because he didn't sing the Woo song. From there, I went to visit my best for the night. Carlos Santana....he is the reason why I am taking guiter lessons. I want to be able to play " make somebody happy" like he does. He really rocked and his venue was packed to the rafters.
Nje ngabo Darkie ba se lokshin, the night would not have been complete without a bit of exclusivity. We then went and attended a side show ka Diana Krall. Red carpet and all.....ayi dlala Neo. I will never forget this experience. Different from watching her on my Plasma Screen. This girl from British Columbia rocks. It was also nice to see a couple of boMjozana in the crowd. Tim Dolla, Banzi Malinga and oBra Peter Tladi.
Then it was time to go smoke a bit of Zol. Monty Alexander and Roy Hargrove provided the Zol. Great shows. Angazi ukutshi ngingathini.....I really enjoyed their sets. Terrence Blanchard yena, just reminded me of my CD collection which survived my divorce settlement drama. I promised myself that when I get back home, I am dusting of the cobwebs from my collection and do what I do best, listen to good Jazz. It's been sometime and I thank you North Sea Jazz for reigniting that light which was slowly ebbing away.
Like i said. This is a totally different ball game....everybody goes there with one mindset...listen to good jazz and have a blast. Nobody is here to watch and see ukutshi mang o tsamaya Le mang. Mang o apere eng? Mang o robala kae. Aikhona. As to whether I will be doing CApe Town Jazz Festival anytime soon, I doubt....
Tonite (13 July) is going to be another eventful night.....John Legend, Ssteve Winwood, Chick Corea, McCoy Turner, Brecker Brothers here I come..
Eish, let me go find Doug Hammond and tell him what I thought of his set. Sharp, Sharp
I am glad I made that decision. It's a different ball game. Well worth la-mathousand i am chowing. First of all, you have to content with with 13 jazz venues. By the time you get back to your hotel, you have walked about 5km, shuffling from venue to venue because there is so much to watch within an 8 hour time period allocated. I hope I am right....Phela iMaths was not my strong point eSkolweni.
Be that as it may, I was happy to watch 7 out of the 52 acts that performed yesterday night (11 July 2013). The only disappointment was Doug Hammond. I suppose one can discount him because of his age. We all agreed ( me and my crew) he should just go on pension. What,s worse, is that earlier in the day I met this old man in a lift ( hotel lift) who introduced himself as Doug Hammond and personally asked me to come watch his show at 7:30 ( Madeira Stage). When we were deciding on what acts to watch, I put his name into the magic hat that Sibeko was wearing and we agreed to watch him. Tjo.....after four songs we left. It was actually the fourth song that convinced us to leave.....his quintet fumbled around with lyrics and on four occasions, had to re-start the song. I was so embarrassed.....mhlaba vuleka ngingene type scenario. Hayi, this was the only blacksport for the Night.
My imaginary girlfriend wanted to watch Anthony Hamilton, so I went. That man is dynamite. I was a bit disappointed because he didn't sing the Woo song. From there, I went to visit my best for the night. Carlos Santana....he is the reason why I am taking guiter lessons. I want to be able to play " make somebody happy" like he does. He really rocked and his venue was packed to the rafters.
Nje ngabo Darkie ba se lokshin, the night would not have been complete without a bit of exclusivity. We then went and attended a side show ka Diana Krall. Red carpet and all.....ayi dlala Neo. I will never forget this experience. Different from watching her on my Plasma Screen. This girl from British Columbia rocks. It was also nice to see a couple of boMjozana in the crowd. Tim Dolla, Banzi Malinga and oBra Peter Tladi.
Then it was time to go smoke a bit of Zol. Monty Alexander and Roy Hargrove provided the Zol. Great shows. Angazi ukutshi ngingathini.....I really enjoyed their sets. Terrence Blanchard yena, just reminded me of my CD collection which survived my divorce settlement drama. I promised myself that when I get back home, I am dusting of the cobwebs from my collection and do what I do best, listen to good Jazz. It's been sometime and I thank you North Sea Jazz for reigniting that light which was slowly ebbing away.
Like i said. This is a totally different ball game....everybody goes there with one mindset...listen to good jazz and have a blast. Nobody is here to watch and see ukutshi mang o tsamaya Le mang. Mang o apere eng? Mang o robala kae. Aikhona. As to whether I will be doing CApe Town Jazz Festival anytime soon, I doubt....
Tonite (13 July) is going to be another eventful night.....John Legend, Ssteve Winwood, Chick Corea, McCoy Turner, Brecker Brothers here I come..
Eish, let me go find Doug Hammond and tell him what I thought of his set. Sharp, Sharp
Saturday, June 15, 2013
16 June 1976.
Every year, around this time, people will ask. Where were you Ka June 16. Well, let me give you my unsolicited answer.
I was a standard 5 student at Teboho higher primary in White City and on the day, we were writing our midterm exams. Mr Takalo was our head master at the time. Remind me to tell you a story or two about my beloved headmaster.
The subject was Geography. We were disturbed by students who were congregated by elderly students from Morris Isaacson where it all started. We ran out of class and joined the march. We, that is me and my friend Theophilus Motsepe, followed the march up until where Hector Peterson was shot. Yes we were young , however, not running aimlessly. We were in the company of Tshike, Theo's elder brother who was also a student at Morris Isaacson at the time. He told us the reason why were we behaving in a manner that would berate most parents. So, we were clued up. The singing and the songs were like a drug. Inyaope nogal. They surged us on and on and on. And on and on we marched.
When the march progressed, we did not only witness the shooting of HP, we also witnessed the killing of one white Dr who ran practice close to duba-duba ko Dube. As my mother puts it...."This one could have also died if it were not for Bra Sam." Yes, Sam Nzima. The same one that captured the famous HP picture. Amidst the confusion that followed HP,s shooting, he recognized me ( son of his colleague and friend Lucas Molete) and bundled me into his car and we drove out of that mayhem.
it was indeed a sad day for South Africa....but on a lighter note...sadla amagwinya namachips ase Duba-Duba mahala that day.
So stop asking me about my whereabouts that day, I know where I was.
I was a standard 5 student at Teboho higher primary in White City and on the day, we were writing our midterm exams. Mr Takalo was our head master at the time. Remind me to tell you a story or two about my beloved headmaster.
The subject was Geography. We were disturbed by students who were congregated by elderly students from Morris Isaacson where it all started. We ran out of class and joined the march. We, that is me and my friend Theophilus Motsepe, followed the march up until where Hector Peterson was shot. Yes we were young , however, not running aimlessly. We were in the company of Tshike, Theo's elder brother who was also a student at Morris Isaacson at the time. He told us the reason why were we behaving in a manner that would berate most parents. So, we were clued up. The singing and the songs were like a drug. Inyaope nogal. They surged us on and on and on. And on and on we marched.
When the march progressed, we did not only witness the shooting of HP, we also witnessed the killing of one white Dr who ran practice close to duba-duba ko Dube. As my mother puts it...."This one could have also died if it were not for Bra Sam." Yes, Sam Nzima. The same one that captured the famous HP picture. Amidst the confusion that followed HP,s shooting, he recognized me ( son of his colleague and friend Lucas Molete) and bundled me into his car and we drove out of that mayhem.
it was indeed a sad day for South Africa....but on a lighter note...sadla amagwinya namachips ase Duba-Duba mahala that day.
So stop asking me about my whereabouts that day, I know where I was.
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