Your weekend starts here
IF YOUR appreciation for music is all about the bass, you would do well to head off to Musketeers at the German Club, 7 Barham Road, Westville, next Saturday, October 29, for the second annual Bass Day, featuring varied music performed from 4pm to 11pm by local musicians.
The cost is R50 which includes a raffle ticket offering various prizes, says seasoned Durban bassist Jill Murray Brown, who was instrumental in getting this event established at the same venue last year.
A bonus this year is that there will be live streaming of the event on the DurbanTV website at durbantv.webs.com.
“We will be streaming from start to finish. It will be run, effectively, like a TV production, with the master of ceremonies interviewing people in-between the performances.”
Already confirmed for the event are Johnny Clegg bassist Trevor Donjeany and the widely celebrated Philani Ngidi.
“We also have Kevin Rengasamy (Kevolution), a hot-hot bassist; Dale Wardell of Habit To, who is as much a great bassist as he is a drummer and long-distance runner; and a great double-bass player, Dalisu Ndlazi from uMlazi, who plays a million notes in a second on the electric bass.”
Buckshot bassist Rick de Kok is also on the bill, along with Cape musician Fabian, Brayden Hore of the band 5th Season, Logan Byrne of Durban’s Beat-Route, Neil Ford of Templar Funk, and talented students Megan Axford, Tiaan Meyer and Reece Cooke, who will perform a piece by Shem Mahabeer.
Singer Chloe Clark is also scheduled to perform – alongside two double-bass players.
“There will also be a collective bass number at the end of the show, featuring as many bass players as possible. It will be organised by Trevor Donjeany and will probably be one of his compositions,” adds Murray Brown.
Murray Brown, who over the years has played with acts such as Jody Wayne and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, and spent two years working at Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes in London, is quick to emphasise that Bass Day is sure to be fun for everyone.
“We think the bass deserves serious attention and admiration. Sometimes considered by some to be just a back-up instrument, the bass is a formidable contender to be one of the best stringed instruments of all time,” she says.
“Consider for a moment the magical musical stylings of the late John Entwistle. The man knew what he was doing, for sure … and better yet, he brilliantly displayed the bass’s ability to shine.”
Murray Brown, who has featured in many recent supper shows and showband entertainments in and around Durban, started playing bass in 1962 with the first all-girl group in South Africa, The Amazons.
“My boyfriend at the time was a bass player. He taught me two numbers and lent me his bass to audition for The Amazons. I toured South Africa with the group and also played for shows featuring Adam Faith and Peter & Gordon.”
Murray Brown went on to play bass for Mercia Love, Al Bently and the Hustlers – then joined Jody Wayne and the Guys and Dolls. After time in the UK, she returned to South Africa in 1970 and joined the SABC full time, playing bass for SABC studio band RubberBand.
She also featured in the touring band for Lance James and Min Shaw, did shows with Sonja Herholdt and Bobby Angel, and in 1977 was the bassist for the popular BrickhillBurke Follies shows staged in Durban and Johannesburg.
Murray Brown moved to Durban in 1982 and was a member of Take Five, the resident band at the Edward Hotel, before she joined Mario Monteregge’s popular big band, Music Unlimited.
Murray Brown then became a member of Gordon Jackson’s Salty Dog in 2008 and played with them for five years before joining the Merseyside Swing Band for a couple of years.
She has since played bass for KickstArt’s Cabaret musical and has appeared in numerous musical tribute shows at Hillcrest’s much-missed Heritage Theatre and Durban’s Rhumbelow Theatre.