QUEEN OF THE STAGE . . . is making youngsters Shine
POST takes you behind the scenes and into the homes of some wellknown personalities. This week we’re At Home With . . . songstress and songwriter Natalie Rungan, known as the Queen of Jazz. CHANELLE LUTCHMAN reports.
HAVING someone who understands the demands of working at the weekend and supporting you is heaven sent. So says songbird Natalie Rungan, who spends her weekends at all kinds of gigs with her husband of four years, Bruce Baker.
The couple, who live in Musgrave, Durban, are musicians and often work together on new compositions but if they need time out, they can be found chilling at home.
Rungan prefers being at her piano overlooking a busy main road.
With five albums under her belt, it’s no wonder the singer, who is working on a new song, Liquid First, is so popular.
But when it comes to choosing between a night in and painting the town red, she prefers the comfort of her home.
Why wouldn’t she. Her two-bedroom flat is warm, welcoming, tidy and spacious.
“There’s so much of space here that it sometimes feels more like a house than a flat. We both fell in love with it the moment we saw it and it has been our home for a year.”
Pointing at a bookshelf, the welcoming hostess said: “Bruce and I are avid readers. I enjoy reading about business or psychology. I’m not a fiction person. I guess I read a lot of fiction when I was younger and now I’m a thinker, so I’m always looking for books that will help me grow. If I could describe this place, I would use the words simple and minimalist.”
As a little girl, Rungan confidently belted out hymns in church and it became evident her star would shine bright.
Over the years, she has performed alongside local and international heavyweights and her songs were background music for the soapie Isidingo and the series, The Wild.
Rungan is now striving to showcase young musical talent.
“My desire is to give students a platform and build further awareness and support of live music in the province,” said Rungan, the director of music at the Chris Seabrooke Music Centre at Durban High School.
She started an initiative, called Shine, aimed at giving youngsters an opportunity to perform at concerts.
“I come from a musical background,” she added.
“Both my father and grandfather were musicians and they were my two earliest musical influences.”
Her mother, she said, often filled their home with the sweetest sounds – singing church songs in the morning, while busy with her chores in the kitchen.
“I studied music in school and in university. I excelled in my vocal performance and graduated at UKZN with a bachelor’s degree, specialising in performance and composition. If I didn’t get into the music field, I would definitely have been a veterinarian.”
After graduating, she pursued her Master’s degree in jazz performance, composition and arranging.
“I also taught jazz vocals at the university,” added Rungan, who was named best jazz vocalist in an Old Mutual national jazz encounters competition.
Since then, the songbird has written, arranged and recorded her own music starting with her first album Love Is in 2008, and has performed with renowned saxophonist Gerald Albright, PJ Powers, Danny K, Loyiso Bala and Yvonne Chaka Chaka. But the performance which she holds most dear was at the official memorial service of Nelson Mandela in Soweto.
As we tour her home, she then talks about her love of animals, especially dogs.
The next moment she introduces this reporter to a stuffed animal named Doggy, which is her favourite.
“I’ve always wanted a dog but since we live in a flat, I could not get one. So here’s Doggy,” she smiled.
Their walls are filled with photographs of the couple’s wedding and sentimental items sit in nooks and crannies like the teddy bears gifted to her by Baker.
Her best space, she admits, is their music room. There’s the piano, mixers and guitars.
“Although we share this space, he is not allowed to touch my piano because it’s mine,” she teased.
Baker is also not allowed to meddle with her animal-family doll house, which she adores.
When Rungan needs to unwind, she heads for the kitchen to cook up a storm.
“Most weekends people get to spend with their families and we, as entertainers, spend it away from home. So for us home is where we unwind and escape from the spotlight,” she said. “We entertain all the time so having a huge place like this to come home to after and unwind is amazing.”