ALL THAT JAZZ

‘A work in progress,’ a prominent jazz commentator was heard muttering as he left the Spier auditorium last Thursday following a mammoth set from the little known The Blue Heads.

It wasn’t spat out in disgust, but rather with mild irritation. Like the other aficionados in the room that night, he knew he was witnessing the birth of something truly great. But like all good things, it will only come to those who wait.

As a new ensemble The Blue Heads are still rookies on the stage, so it’s understandable that they are not in the same world class league as the weekend’s headliners Vusi Mahlasela and Judith Sephuma.

But that wasn’t really the point of the evening hosted in perfect Cape winelands weather under the banner of the BMW Jazz Club in a typically stunning Spier setting.

Rather it was to unveil a remarkable project that BMG, with typical jazz nous, have found impossible to resist.

A nine-piece Johannesburg based ensemble made up of seasoned musos from South Africa and beyond, The Blue Heads owe their existence to South African artist Gerard Sekota and his biographer and biggest fan, Barbara Lindop.

For those not too familiar with the art world, the late Sekota - who died in Paris in 1993 - was an artist widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the development of South African contemporary art. His achievements are widely acknowledged globally and his works hang in galleries and collections around the world.

Lindop published a lauded biography of Sekota in 1988 that largely helped re-establish his profile and reputation in South Africa. In 2002 she was researching a new book on Sekoto in the archives of the South African National Gallery when she unearthed 26 of the artist’s musical compositions.

In essence, they are a living, breathing testament to Sekota’s life in Paris, which was his home from 1947 until his death in 1993. Originally written for solo piano, which Sekota played to eke out a living in tough post-war Paris, his compositions have been lovingly restored for an ensemble by The Blue Heads.

Thanks to their efforts, you can almost taste the Left Bank bistros and clubs that Sekota played during the Forties, Fifties and Sixties. So much so, that it was hard not to imagine on Thursday night that this show has the legs to travel, not just locally but overseas as well.

The other abiding impression that lingered long after Thursday night’s emotive 23-song set, is that The Blue Heads don’t need to include any jazz standards in their performance. They’re fortunate enough to be the caretakers of a body of work that contains several hits in the making that could become every bit as popular as ‘Meadowlands’ or ‘Pata Pata’.

What’s kind of fairytale in a way about Sekota’s music – and this just adds to the magic of The Blue Heads project which BMG will very soon be committing to CD - is that music of this class has lain dormant for so long. This alone should make their debut disc, backed by a TV documentary and Market Theatre musical later in 2004, a surefire seller!

Talking about surefire sellers, woe betide those who have not yet caught on to Vusi Mahlasela...

It’s been apparent ever since he opened his glorious pipes several decades ago, that Vusi is a global star in the making. But since his return from performing in the US - where he has just released a debut compilation of his work - it’s become so obvious that it hurts.

As he and his aptly titled Proud People band demonstrated to a packed Spier amphitheatre on a glorious Friday night, they have hit their straps like a champion thoroughbred in the home straight. Although any fan of Vusi knows that he will continue to push the performance envelope, it’s hard to imagine that he and his band can get any better.

Okay, so the audience were partisan. But Vusi had them eating out of his hand for longer than a Super 12 match. And that in anyone’s book takes some doing.

The best way to describe Friday evening’s performance is that it was like a night of multi-orgasmic sex. Opening seductively with just Vusi on stage, the show unravelled with measured seductiveness as Vusi’s comrades in music joined him on stage song by song, one by one. And once the foreplay was over the audience were treated to one shuddering climax after the other.

On display were songs off all five of Vusi’s albums as well as a couple of new pieces that fitted so seamlessly into his set that only the diehards would’ve noticed that were pieces yet to be recorded.

It’s not just the music that holds people transfixed. Vusi’s stage direction and understated interplay with his colleagues is such that you never get tired watching his seven-piece band even though many of them don’t move around much. And when he and backing vocalist Queen do get down for the occasional shindig, there’s enough audience pandemonium to lift even a well secured roof.

To top it all, Vusi has got his stage patter down to a T, which is rare for an artist who has a much social and political integrity as he does. All in all, Vusi is the complete package who sooner rather than later is going to go global!

Following a night of uninhibited passion, it was fitting that BMG followed it up with the accompanying post-coital afterglow in the form of jazz diva divine, Judith Sephuma.

As we all know the lady has a reputation to deliver sets that put you in the mood, chillout style. And she did just that and then some on Saturday and Sunday night at Spier.

Gliding through a beautifully paced selection of songs from her acclaimed debut album ‘A Cry, A Smile, A Dance’ sprinkled with standards and new pieces, she too had her audiences eating out of her hand.

-- Mike Behr, March 2004