Celebrating all that jazz
Food, wine, fashion jazz at Opera House
SUNDAY night will see the PE Opera House grooving over food, wine, jazz and fashion to celebrate International Jazz Day on April 30.
The young creative who is organising the night, Nozuko Ngcizela – the designer behind the Ergo Zen fashion label – has invited Cape Town’s Tune Recreational Committee, Bay band the Temba Ncetani Quartet and Bottom Line from George to play.
“Ergo Zen is hosting International Jazz Day at the Barn in an effort to make this an annual event celebrated in Nelson Mandela Bay as in the rest of the world,” Ngcizela said.
International Jazz Day is celebrated in 196 countries. The UN designated the day in 2012 with the idea being to educate one another on the heritage of jazz and its positive influence on societies.
Havana is this year’s global host city and Unesco will live stream a concert at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, featuring musicians from around the world paying tribute to the art form.
This year Port Elizabeth will be part of this musical avalanche, thanks to Ngcizela.
“I love jazz, I grew up listening to it and we’ll focus on the common values shared by jazz culture such as reciprocity, living the best example and being true to yourself,” Ngcizela said.
The night includes pre-show finger snacks from Labelles Mobile Kitchen and wine and beer before the show. Patrons can buy more food and drinks in one of the two programme breaks.
Gerard Killian of Labelles said the idea was to “take it back to where so many jazz artists started”, so he would be creating two snacks with a New Orleans theme and two with a South African flavour.
Although there will not be a fashion show, the waiting staff on the night will wear – and model – Ergo Zen designs.
On the music front, the TRC features Mark Fransman on tenor sax and accordian, Nicholas Williams on bass, Mandla Mlangeni on trumpet, Clement Benny on drums and Keenan Ahrends on guitar.
It has been described as the “playground for the interrogation, assimilation and extended extemporisation from the canon of South African jazz heritage”.
Port Elizabeth’s Temba Ncetani Quartet is one of the two support acts, led by double bass player Ncetani and including Mtho Mabuza on piano, Joash Soobramoney on saxophone and Sakhi Nompozolo on the drums. George band Bottom Line fills up the line-up.
Tickets are R250 and the show starts at 6.30pm. Tickets, and more information, from Ngcizela, ngcizelan@gmail.com, (041) 582-1093.