Music is crossing borders in every way in southern Africa, and on Tuesday 8 June at 9pm, The Mannenberg in Harare welcomes Cape Town-based jazz group BABU, a fascinating fusion of the complexity and vibrancy of jazz with the long-standing improvisational practices of Indian classical music.

Babu comprises Kesivan Naidoo (drums & cymbals), Reza Khota (guitar), Shane Cooper (bass), Ronan Skillen (tabla, extended percussion & didgeridoo).  Babu believe in the value of intra-cultural exposure and the power of music in providing a platform of cultural exchange, artistic expression and questioning debate.

 

The band are on a SADC tour funded my MMINO (a South African-Norwegian music cooperation), which includes performances in Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, with a short stopover in Johannesburg and Harare.

BABU said “There is an extensive history of spirituality in Indian music, and this fusion with jazz of two streams of musical expression taps into the more complex realms of human experience - the subconscious, perhaps mystical world - through the medium of four experienced, diverse, technically-impressive musicians. With great faith, love and a willing audience, the performance occasion can bring our minds together to test the depth of ecstasy in music and leave the room charged with exhilaration, respect and love for all life”.

While providing a fresh perspective in their compositions Babu reflect on the work of great fusion bands like Weather Report, Shakti and Mahavishnu Orchestra. 

The band has made a strong impression amongst listeners of different age groups and backgrounds throughout South Africa.  Fresh from performing at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March 2008 to an enthralled audience, Babu launched their much anticipated album entitled "Up Roots" in May 2008. They undertook a very successful national tour early in 2009, and received a standing ovation at the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown in July 2009, featuring Kesivan Naidoo as the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year 2009.  Since then Babu have embarked on a short tour to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya in October 2009.

 

For the 2010 SADC tour, Babu would like to extend their reach within the communities in each region. They will carry out a Workshop at The Mannenberg on the afternoon of the show, which will focus on the styles of music that the band reflects: Jazz, Indian and Western classical music as well as influences from other contemporary styles. The band will also elucidate the techniques that are employed in improvisation, composition and interpretation. 

 

BABU on Saturday 8 June are the latest of several recent cultural exchanges for the enjoyment of Harare audiences at The Mannenberg, presented by arts organisations Pamberi Trust (Zimbabwe) and African Synergy Trust (SA) under the African Tour Circuit.  It has seen the exchange of many artists already including Etran Finatawa from Niger, Mozambican stars Mingas, Chicco and Moreira, and just days before at The Mannenberg, the FLAME! Regional tour with top women artists of the region. 

Similarly several Zimbabwean artists have been featured in South African and other regional collaborations, festivals and increasing events at The Mannenberg’s counterpart in Johannesburg, the famous Bassline in Newtown.

The ethos of the African Tour Circuit is that creative industries will realize growth and prosperity when driven from within the continent, using home-grown ideas and resources.  African Tour Circuit facilitates a network of promoters, venues, artists and festivals to sustain a workable ‘tour circuit’ to facilitate tours and contacts for African artists in Africa, stimulate information about African art within Africa, and nurture artistic ideas and innovation across boundaries in Africa.

 

The African Tour Circuit is becoming well established in the region now, with firm partners and venues in Maputo, Mbabane, Johannesburg and Harare, and a huge network of artists in Africa.