Bassist’s benefit struck a moving note

SONGS for Sammy, the musical benefit project for bass guitarist Sammy Webber, was an aural feast for the packed Artscape Theatre.

Produced by Alistair Izobell with musical direction by maestro Camillo Lombard, it treated the audience to a superb show, with the stage adorned by 19 of the Cape’s best musical talents.

Izobell stated emphatically that it was not a charitable show, but instead, a celebration of artists who have performed with Webber over the past four decades.

The energy in the theatre was electric and the trio of guitarists rendering the George Benson classic Breezin, led by Richard Ceasars, had the hungry audience on its feet.

Izobell singled out a word of gratitude for Artscape chief executive Marlene le Roux for her ongoing contribution to advancing local talent and providing a platform for the melting pot of diverse multicultural offerings which the Artscape offers. SA Idols 2005 winner Karin Kortje and The Voice 2016 finalist Robin Pieters’s rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was a nostalgic highlight.

Master of ceremonies Izobell was left dumbfounded, utterly at a loss for words, after the latter.

Webber explained that he was diagnosed in 2010 with debilitating motor neuron disease.

He was overwhelmed by the musical delight, and we pray that his medical condition, posing a threat to the well-loved musician’s career, will be stabilised.

Sammy, thank you for the music. COUNCILLOR MARK RH KLEINSCHMIDT Kenwyn