All that jazz
AFTER award nominations and major breakthroughs in the music industry last year, Peddieborn soul and jazz vocalist Dumza Maswana is embarking on an isiXhosa acoustic tour around the Eastern Cape.
The tour, kicking off on April 4, will see him performing in Port Elizabeth, Peddie, King William’s Town, Grahamstown and East London.
Maswana’s album Molo, released last year, saw him receive a South African Music Awards (Sama) nomination for the best African adult album.
He also won the best jazz song at the Mzansi Jazz Awards and was honoured by the Ngqushwa Municipality for his work as an ambassador of the town through his music.
With the help of the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) Foundation’s Mobility Fund – Concerts SA, the independent artist will be visiting five towns in the Eastern Cape to perform for audiences in an intimate setup, accompanied by double bassist Thembinkosi Mavimbela and Port Elizabeth guitarist Bongani Tulwana.
Speaking about his upcoming tour, Maswana said it had always been his dream to have an acoustic tour and he could not have thought of a better place to have it than back in his home province.
“This will also be a way of bringing awareness about the album because a lot of people know my music but they do not know me,” he said.
He also added that this was a build-up to his first DVD recording, in June at the Guild Theatre.
“We will be documenting these intimate isiXhosa Acoustic shows and make a documentary. Currently there isn’t much quality stuff online about me. This will take people on a journey,” he said.
The singer is currently working on his third album with the award-winning jazz artist, pianist and producer, Nduduzo Makhathini.
“2017 was such a great year for me personally and I have even bigger plans for 2018. I plan on releasing my third studio album that I am currently producing with Nduduzo Makhathini and there is also the recording of my first live DVD,” he said, adding that he would also be playing at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland (UK) later in the year with the Mzansi Music Ensemble.
“Before all of this, I feel it is important that I do not leave my Eastern Cape small town people behind as I progress. It is important that I go back and play my Molo album for them before I focus on the new material, these are the people that first knew about me before the rest of South Africa and have been supporting me since,” he said, adding that he still has a pending song to record with award-winning Black Coffee.
In Port Elizabeth, Maswana will be performing at the Shisa Africa Restaurant, in Peddie he will be at the Ngqushwa Art Centre and in King William’s Town, at the Steve Biko Centre.
He will also make an appearance at the Rhodes University Box Theatre before making his way to The Square Africa in Station Street, East London, on April 8. For bookings e-mail: dumzabooking@
mahusiano.co.za. Tickets will also be available at the doors for R100. —