Belhar band prepares to rock out at Artscape Edujazz concert
THE BELHAR band is tackling tunes from Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire to polish up their performance for the Sekunjalo Edujazz concert at the Artscape on June 4.
Music director Keith Tabisher started the Belhar Music Collective (BMC) in 2003, with his son and a group of the boy’s friends. Those members have since gone on to lead their own careers, and the BMC reformed in 2010 with Keith’s daughter, Jodie Tabisher, and a group of her friends.
Drawing from Jodie’s musical friends at Settlers High School in Bellville as well as the All Saints Anglican church in Belhar, Keith put together a rhythm section along with vocals, trumpet and saxophone.
Jodie, who plays the alto sax, said the performance would be a symbolic one as the band came full circle from their beginnings.
“It’s funny because the reason why we formed the band was to play a gig at the Artscape,” she said.
“This group is getting quite mature now. They have all finished school, and many are in tertiary studies,” he said. “We’re probably going to be regrouping and starting with another chapter soon.”
Watching his previous band members excel is what makes it all worth it for Keith.
“Music is its own reward,” he said. “Seeing the kids grow and start forging their own careers and tracking their achievements… what the members of the previous band have gone on to achieve is phenomenal. That’s it for me.”
Keith’s passion for youth development has led him to nurture young musical talents in his community in Belhar. The current band has played at the National Youth Jazz festival in Grahamstown, as well as many social events and private bookings, in their signature style.
Jodie said that the band had been struggling to find time to rehearse together over the years, as each of the seven members grew up, left school and went their separate ways.But the Edujazz gig has given them a reason to reunite.
Being a community band, practice always takes place at one of the members’ homes in Belhar. This time it’s at Keith’s place, where they are tackling some new material with a tricky horn part that is putting Jodie and her sax through their paces.
“Being in the band has shown a lot of us what it’s like to have music as a job in a way, not just a hobby,” she said. “It’s taken us from playing in school to being a band that’s more serious and professional.”
Catch the Belhar Music Collective in action with the Edujazz Big Band and Jimmy Nevis at the 16th annual Sekunjalo Edujazz concert at the Artscape on June 4. Tickets available at Computicket for R95.