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TRIBUNE CRITIC Print E-mail
News - The Mannenberg
Friday, 05 March 2010 07:39


When Chicago jazz pianist Ryan Cohan toured Africa two years ago, he expected a fascinating journey. He did not anticipate a transformative one.

But his travels through Rwanda, Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe fundamentally altered his perception of a distant continent and its struggling and heroically resilient people.

The odyssey also deepened Cohan’s understanding of the African cultural roots of American jazz.

That much was apparent through much of Cohan’s epic suite “The River,” which received its world-premiere performances last week, culminating with a concert Friday night at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest. Based on this impressive rendition of “The River,” the piece could mark a turning point in Cohan’s art, for it attains a depth of expression and pictorial luster beyond Cohan’s earlier works. And though “The River” surely has its minor flaws — most notably a surprisingly deflated finish — its greatest passages be ar repeated listening.

Essentially, Cohan has designed “The River” as a series of ensemble tone poems, each movement punctuated by an extended instrumental solo. The solos represent the meandering course of a river; the ensemble pieces portray stops along the way.

For the most part, this unusual structure works surprisingly well, mostly thanks to the ingenuity of Cohan’s overall conception. Each movement is followed by a solo that blossoms organically from the music that preceded it.

So the “Storm Rising” section, which portrays the horrors of Rwandan genocide, expresses violent clashes via volatile rhythms and surging instrumental textures. When Tito Carrillo’s trumpet solo follows, the profundity of his crying lines not only sums up the anguish of “Storm Rising” but prepares listeners for the dirge-like music that opens the next movement, “Forsaken.”

Not that “The River” dwells entirely in darkness and sorrow.

In the “Brother Fifi” movement, Cohan and his septet evoke the soulful rhythmic sway of African folkloric music, imbuing it with the deepest shades of blue. In “Domboshava,” the transparent front-line work of John Wojciechowski on flute, Carrillo on flugelhorn and Geof Bradfield on bass clarinet draws a dusky portrait of the Zimbabwean landscape.

But then Cohan paints himself into a corner.

The final big movement of the piece, “Last Night at the Mannenberg,” brilliantly depicts an ebullient nightclub scene in Harare, Zimbabwe. With the band attaining extraordinary rhythmic momentum, the suite reaches an exultant finale — only to be followed by one more solo (from Cohan) and a footnote of a coda.

In so doing, Cohan has provided an anticlimactic closer; he needs to figure how to end this ambitious suite more satisfyingly.

Once he does, “The River” likely will stand as his strongest work to date and, perhaps, a gateway to important music yet to come.

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Nice to be mentioned in  Chicago
 
Elizabeth Nugent
 
‘CONGO FEVER’ with DJ BEN MONTRÉSOR (France) and THE REAL SOUNDS Print E-mail
News - The Mannenberg
Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:04

The Mannenberg,
Friday 12 March, 9.30pm
 
THE DANCEFLOOR IS OPEN at The Mannenberg on Friday 12 March, when the popular Fife Avenue venue opens its doors for its first-ever west-African dance-off, ‘CONGO FEVER!’ welcoming French DJ BEN MONTRÉSOR, hot off Jozi turntables, back-to-back with one of the most popular rhumba outfits in Zimbabwe today - THE REAL SOUNDS.
 
DJ Ben Montresor is a French "young Old School" DJ who worked for several years in worldwide acclaimed Paris-based radio station Radio Nova.  He landed in South Africa a few years ago with almost 100 kg of vinyl records in his bags... and since then, the volume has doubled!  Drum, Jazz, Blues, Afro Traditional, Funk, Soul, Afro Grooves, Reggae, Hip Hop, House, Jungle, Techno... Ben Montrésor can rock every style.
 
DJ BEN’s Harare gigs will be mixing blazing classic rumbas with the freshest kwassa kwassa tunes from the Congolese capital, adding spices from West Africa and  a couple of Afrobeat chillies - and, together with the live sounds of THE REAL SOUNDS - it promises to be a special, memorable dish to be savoured on the dancefloor!
 
A special menu will also be cooking up in The Mannenberg restaurant, under the close supervision of new venue managers Grace Rukure and Themba Sigauke, bringing new life, fresh ideas and a tasty selection of African dishes to the programme.
 
DJ Ben Montrésor is brought to Harare by a collaboration between Alliance Francaise and Pamberi Trust, a creative partnership between two cultural organisations which has already hosted diverse musicians of the world since the arrival of Alliance Francaise director Charles Houdart in 2009 - Salque & Periani (France) in October and Chico Antonio (Mozambique) in December 2009.

The Mannenberg will be rearranged for space to welcome those who love to dance, who are called by the rhythm, who have to dance!  Come out and get down!
 
END

By Penny Yon
 
COLOR BLU celebrate ZIMBABWE TOWNSHIP JAZZ Print E-mail
News - The Mannenberg
Sunday, 22 November 2009 11:56



The Mannenberg

Thursday 26 November 2009

from 9.30pm

 

Picture Attached: Dudu Manhenga

Photo by Jekesai

 

In a series showcasing the work of some of Africa’s best-loved afrojazz artists, on Thursday 26 November DUDU MANHENGA and COLOR BLU celebrate Zimbabwe Township Jazz, with a lively repertoire including all-time favourites by legendary musicians of days gone by - Faith Dauti, Jane Chenjerai, Susan Mapfumo  performed by dynamic young singers of today, DUDU MANHENGA and uZANELE.

 

The Mannenberg in Fife Avenue, home to some of Zimbabwe’s top jazz groups since 2000, welcomes these gifted young jazzists who have proved themselves worthy of the title, and who have shown respect for their predecessors, while going their own musical way also.  Color Blu will also be delivering some new-age township jazz – that certain something that will keep feet tapping all over the country and down through the years.

 

Formed in 2001, Color Blu has been advancing steadily and today deliver a highly professional, tight performance by a gifted band of artists – the core band being Blessing Muparutsa (drums), Nick Nare (keyb), Enoch Piroro (bass).  Their music has been accurately described as 'an afro jazz adventure' -  a fusion of genres: afro, contemporary, Zimbabwe traditional, township, jazz, Latino, and a cultural cross-section of Zimbabwe's Manica, Mashona and Matabele rhythms and melodies, with energetic stage work, and sizzling vocals.

The group have performed widely in Zimbabwe, in big demand for both high-profile public and exclusive private performances, participating in winter, summer, local and national jazz festivals, and in the last few years have spread their wings even further into  the region and the world – South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Germany and Denmark.

Along the way they have shared stages with a wide variety of some of Southern Africa’s top artists – including among many others Dorothy Masuka, Judith Sephuma, Ray Phiri, Jimmy Dludlu and the late Jabu Khanyile of South Africa, and locally with Oliver Mtukudzi, Victor Kunonga, The Cool Crooners, Prudence Katomene and  Kudzai Sevenzo.  In May 2009 Dudu and Color Blu began a dazzling artistic collaboration with Mozambique’s top-selling female artist ‘Mingas’, which has led to a warm friendship between these  two women artists of the region, and joint performances in South Africa and Mozambique scheduled for September and October this year.

The band have three albums under their belts, ‘Out of the Blu’ (2003), ‘Jula’ (2007) and the outstanding new double CD ‘Towards Alignment’, which was launched in Harare earlier this month, to much acclaim.

DUDU MANHENGA is the dynamic young Zimbabwean singer/songwriter who leads and fronts Color Blu.  Her style is influenced by great African and jazz singers, and the dignity of her delivery is a credit to herself and her country, wherever she goes.  Performing professionally since the age of 16, Dudu has emerged has a leading figure on the local scene, both with Color Blu and independently.  She has earned the respect of the music community and audiences alike, and is active in working for the rights of artists and women.

Along with guest artists uZANELE - another up&coming vocalist who is emerging as a powerful lead singer of the same persuasion, and JIMMY BUZUZI guitarist of note from the band The Other Four, Dudu & Color Blu will pay tribute to the great music that has come out of Zimbabwean townships over the decades, popularly known as ‘Township Jazz’.

The show on Thursday 26 November is bound to be enjoyable and entertaining and will certainly help to keep such music alive.

Pamberi Trust, a Harare-based arts organisation which claimed first place in the recent internet-based Zimbojam Top Ten Promoters list based on sheer scope of activities, runs the Jazz Appreciation Society, a project dedicated to promoting appreciation and development of jazz in Zimbabwe, and is proud to be working with Color Blu.
 

The show starts at 9.30pm at the Fife Avenue venue, with upstairs parking giving easy access to a wonderful evening’s entertainment

 

ENDS

By Penny Yon

For Pamberi Trust
 
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