| All that jazz... When
The Commodores came to town
By MIKE OSAGIE, South Africa
Saturday, April
9, 2005
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Commodore
Photos: Sun News Publishing
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The Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which features
some of the world's top artists, held recently in the tourist
haven of Cape Town. MIKE OSAGIE who reports that it went off
well further capture the thrills.
Artists included Roberta Flack (above), Lionel Richie's former
band - the Commodores, the African Jazz All Stars, Latin jazz
vocalist Cesaria Evora, Dave Holland, and Morris Goldberg
& Ojoyo.
Festival director Rashid Lombard said the turnout was “pretty
close” to last year’s, when 15, 000 people attended
each night.
This year's festival was the first under the new name. Five
years after its establishment, the North Sea Jazz Festival
Cape Town changed its name to the Cape Town International
Jazz Festival.
The Commodores shook the roof
When Rashid Lompard,the "gentle lion" of ESP AFRIC
- a frontline events marketing organisation - announced that
US soul giants, The Commodores, had been confirmed as headliners
for the then upcoming Cape Town International Jazz Festival,
many thought it was a huge joke.
The sixth staging of the annual jazz festival, held at the
Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on the 26th
and 27th of March may have come and gone, as they say, but
the memories will no doubt linger for a long, long time to
come.
The Commodores did not only come, they were able to effectively
capture the hearts and soul of every one that stepped into
South Africa from across the world to witness the Jazz ritual.
The Commodores became the icing of the festival cake. The
legendary group was joined by new names on the bill, like
the two South African acts, vocalist Ernie Smith, and the
jazz group Voice.
The Commodores brought back memories of the groovy 70s with
their string of soul-funk crossover hits like Machine Gun,
Sweet Love, Easy, Brick House, Three Times A Lady, Still,
and Sail On. For the audience, it was a break from the noise
of today’s music scene.
Back from the dead
The Commodores who rocked the parties and ruled the airwaves
in the 70s and 80s had gone on to launch the solo career of
their lead singer, Lionel Ritchie, who left the group in 1982
to become one of the biggest male solo stars and songwriters
of the 80s.
The Commodores regrouped with a new singer, J.D. Nicholas,
and had one of their biggest hits ever with Night Shift, their
musical tribute to Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, and other deceased
soul greats. The group still performs and tours internationally
as a threesome consisting of Walter Orange, J.D. Nicholas,
and William King.
The other acts
Durban (South Africa)-born vocalist, ERNIE SMITH, who was
made to team up with Commodores has in no small way experienced
a meteoric rise to national musical prominence since the release
of his debut album, Child Of The Light, in 2000. A Kora and
SAMA Award winner, Ernie Smith has developed a style of playing
and singing that is a mixture of Jazz, African and R&B
references. His very popular music, which is influenced by
the work of artists like Jonathan Butler, Sandile Shange,
and Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, is always a sure thriller.
VOICE is a South African quartet that features some of the
finest jazz musicians in the country, resulting in the group
quickly developing a reputation for exceptional traditional
avant-garde jazz . On their albums the group perform both
their own compositions, mixed in with new treatments of classic
South African standards by artists like Kippie Moeketsi and
Allen Kwela. The members of Voice are Andile Yenana (piano),
Marcus Wyatt (trumpet), Herbie Tsoaeli (bass), Morabo Morojele
(drums), and Sydney Mnisi (tenor sax).
..And all the jazz
The jazz festival is one celebration that has over the years
emerged as one of Africa’s grandest show-piece. Formerly
known as THE NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL, The Cape Town International
Jazz Festival features over 40 acts in total, comprising the
traditional 50/50 split between African and International
artists, spread across the festivals 5 stages.
Ticket prices for the 2005 festival did not come cheap. And
they went on sale since December. The demand, from both South
African and international jazz fans, for tickets, trains,
flights, accommodation, and travel packages for the sell-out
festival was out of this world.
The organisers had worked with (South African Airlines) SAA
to make a large variety of travel packages available. Due
to the large demand, SAA had to schedule additional flights
to Cape Town and details of these were available from SAA
website since December.
The Gold sponsors for the festival, once again, were MTN,
SAA, SABC and Standard Bank.
The Silver sponsors for the 2005 event are Brandhouse (Johnnie
Walker) and SA Tourism.
Other sponsors include: Siemens, South African Port Operations
and Telkom.
Governmental Contributors and other included the Department
of Arts and Culture, the Western Cape Government, the City
of Cape Town, Cape Town Partnership, Cape Town Routes Unlimited,
Ambassade Van Het Koninkrijk Der Nederlanden, Swedish Jazz
Foundation and Pro Helvetia.
Eyeing Nigeria
Meanwhile, Commodores have expresssed their desire to one
day come and play for Nigeria's premier club, NITESHIFT"We
hear a lot of people tell us a club in Nigeria always sing
our song-NITESHIFT, it will be fun to see how they do it"William
King, a long survivor of the group told us during the festival.
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