Well known Cape Town based band, TopDog SA, will be taking patrons on an indigenous journey with their third instalment of Nama Jazz Series at Artscape Arena from 28 to 30 December 2018.
The group will be drawing music from the ancient well of African music and music instruments, fusing it with modern Cape Jazz traditions and genres. This presentation, known as Nama Jazz III will be underlined with the narrative – “THIS IS WHO WE ARE”.
Speaking on what audiences could expect, TopDog SA’s Camillo Lombard said: “Nama Jazz III will explore deeper into our indigenous roots. Our quest in pushing the indigenous envelope has led us to understanding our genealogical thread as a Southern African people, and in our case, the people from the Western !Xamka (Cape). People will experience musical stories of our journey endorsing our musical geniuses of the past, with fusion a modern jazz context influenced by our visit to the San Park on the West Coast Route !Khwa ttu”.
In the show, TopDog SA will use mouth bows, the Boesmans Klawier (African piano), the talking drum, rice shakers – instruments used by the Cape Khoena. These instruments are the origins of their music which links these indigenous instruments to contemporary sound such as the Accordion, Banjo, Melodica and Flute that will equally feature in the performance.
The band is composed of an all-star cast including Don Vino (Saxophone), Camillo Lombard (keyboard), Charlton Daniels (bass), Mornay Hoffmeester (drums) and Mark Williams (lead guitar).
The band will be performing songs from their album Griqua DNA that was released in March 2016 at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival as well as new songs that were composed for this show.
TopDog SA was established five years ago and has already made a name for themselves as one of South Africa’s premier jazz band having performed with local and international legends.
Nama Jazz is a new term that has given their music unique style and is a fusion between indigenous melodies, rhythms and jazz chord progressions.
This jazz series compliments Artscape’s inclusive transformation policy that seeks to stage previously marginalized art forms as part of centre-stage productions thus creating a cultural institution accessible to all and for all art forms.
Performance Dates:
- Friday, 28 December 2018 at 19:30
- Saturday, 29 December 2018 at 19:30
- Sunday, 30 December 2018 at 16:00
- Sunday, 30 December 2018 at 19:30
Tickets (R80 per person) are available through Artscape Dial-a-Seat (021 421 7839) and Computicket outlets.