Broken promises as Moriz plays to his own tune at concert

I WAS part of a nearly sell-out crowd of mostly “older folks”, attending a concert by singer Ike Moriz, at Oude Libertas, on Saturday December 5. The concert was advertised by the promoters as, “Love Swings; Sinatra & Buble”.

As a big fan of both Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble, and with their names, as “hooks”, I believed this concert would be a tribute to these two popular singers. So, I gladly plunked down my R180 admission fee and made the long drive to Stellenbosch. However, once the show began, it didn’t take long for me to realise I’d been scammed.

My first inkling that something was amiss, came with singer Moriz’s opening number, Hello Dolly; a song, not remotely connected to either Sinatra or Buble. However, when Moriz followed up with Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me,I thought, “Things are going to be okay”. Not so.

As it turned out, the concert wasn’t about Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble at all. In fact, during his entire performance,Moriz mentioned the name, “Sinatra” only once and “Michael Buble”, never! (Moriz twice, referred to Buble as, “That other American”; clear evidence that he had no clue, that Michael Buble was a Canadian!)

Let’s face it; This concert was a not-so-cleverly-disguised opportunity for Moriz to launch his latest CD; predictably enough, entitled, Love Swings. The CD contains several of Moriz’s own compositions, (which, as expected, he enthusiastically presented to the audience, receiving only mild applause).

In-between performing several more of his own compositions, from other CDs, (with only an occasional Sinatra/Buble number), Moriz presented the audience with rambling, often disjointed accounts of his overseas travels; dropping country names here and there, without referring to anything of particular importance.

To his credit, Moriz is a very competent singer, but as a veteran of the business, his stage presence and particularly, his audience “patter”, leave much to be desired. Also, he needs to do something with his hair, either have it glued down or cut shorter. Throughout the performance, he was constantly brushing his hair back over his ears. (sadly, to no avail, for it continued to fall back over his forehead, awaiting another sweep, backward).

Singer Moriz was fortunate to have been well-supported onstage, by five of Cape Town’s most experienced and wellknown musicians – Amanda Tiffin, piano; Willie van Zyl, sax and clarinet; Darryl Andrews, guitar; Wesley Rustin, double bass; Ivan Bell, drums. However, it was apparent at times, that the ensemble could have benefited from an additional rehearsal.

Several of Moriz’s starts and stops seemed a bit ragged. Amanda Tiffin, an experienced and accomplished Jazz songstress and pianist, was thankfully, well on top of things—tempo-wise and otherwise, helping Moriz find his way, through a few ragged patches.

I left the concert, disappointed. Considering his stature and experience, Moriz did not deliver a “tight performance”. I wondered, during the drive back to Cape Town, just how many of the evening’s concert-goers, would have made the long drive to Stellenbosch, to attend a concert billed as, “Love Swings; The Launch of Ike Moriz’s new CD”?

Clearly, it was the star power and promise of “Sinatra and Buble” that brought me to Oude Libertas, Saturday evening. Unfortunately, Moriz didn’t deliver what was promised.