IN THE NICK OF TIME
Guitarmaestro Pitman’s album features original tracks with a seven-piece band. It’s an impressive collection of jazz talent I would definitely watch live. By Andrea Nagel
One of may favourite comedies is Sweet and Lowdown, written and directed by the great, though somewhat tarnished, American auteur Woody Allen. In it, Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) plays a fictional guitarist plagued by the genius of real-life musician, Django Reinhardt (who he considers the best jazz guitarist in the world).
Ray counts himself “the second-best jazz guitarist in the world”, and seems like a bystander in his own life, held captive by his superlative guitar playing — though he pretty much fails at everything else — and the fact that he believes in, though never stops trying to surpass, the talents of Reinhardt. Ray’s life is a mess, but when he plays the guitar there’s magic in his fingers.
I mention this movie in the context of Nick Pitman, South Africa’s own answer to Reinhardt, because he’s an excellent player of the composer’s compositions.
Jazz guitarist Frank Vignola said that nearly every major popular music guitarist in the world has been influenced by Reinhardt, and Pitman admits he’s no exception. When I met Pitman to talk about his music, I know he’d love the Woody Allen musical/comedy.
Pitman, a Durban-based musician, producer and music teacher with over 10 years experience, recently released his first album Nick Pitman’s Juice Box, a fusion of original compositions spanning the last five years, and selections from his university days.
He describes his sound as “a fusion of jazz, funk, rock and Afrobeat”. Pitman’s band includes Ntokozo Nsibande on trumpet, Siyalo Zulu on trombone, Burton Naidoo on piano and synths, Braydon Hore on bass guitar and Bruce Baker on drums. All from Durban.
The band plays pretty often at The Chairman in
Mahatma Gandhi Road, formerly Point Road, a beautiful, jazzy, cigar lounge bar and live music venue created by architect and entrepreneur Ndabo Langa. It has become a Durban institution.
“There’s a Latin feel on some of the tracks on the new album too, like Litchi Juice,” says Pitman, who was recently in Joburg to scope out live music venues that would appreciate his masterful band, exceptional compositions and esoteric blend of musical styles.
Pitman is also hoping to find a performance spot in some of the great jazz festivals around the country. He studied a BMus at Durban University of Technology, but started playing guitar when he was 12 years old, teaching himself how to play from internet tutorials until he was 15, when he began taking formal lessons.
“They were just at the back of the music store where I bought my guitars,” he says. “For a while after school I played in pubs and restaurants, but I knew that I wanted to take music seriously as a career and decided to study it full time.”
Now Pitman has released an album of original tracks with a seven-piece band.
He lists his musical inspiration as jazz greats like
Wes Montgomery, an American jazz guitarist who was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb, and Charlie Christian, who was among the first electric guitarists and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz.
Pitman also rates the music of George Benson, Mozambique-born Jimmy Dludlu, who combined traditional and modern elements of jazz, and Louis Mhlanga, SA-based Zimbabwean guitarist and producer. And there’s also Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and of course, Reinhardt.
“I played in South African trumpeter Nhlanhla Brian Thusi’s band for a while. He was also a big influence, as well as South African saxophonist McCoy Mrubata. The way they wrote their compositions taught me a lot.”
There’s a lot of jazzy funk on the album, with most tracks centring around Pitman’s expert guitar playing. Tracks like Rollercoaster, The Washmaster 3000 (featuring drummer Mandla Matsha) and Fifi’s Bounce (featuring violinist Refiloe Olifant) are upbeat and full of energy, exemplifying the musicians’ mastery and their obvious love of playing.
Semenya has a more African jazz feel with vocals by Annalyzer, and Mr Thusi has a mellow jazz feel.
All in all, the album is an impressive collection of jazz talent I wouldn’t think twice about watching live.
You can access Nick Pitman’s Juice Box on the online audio distribution platform Bandcamp, stream the tracks on Spotify or buy a physical CD at his next gig.