Arts writer
FRESH from a tour of South Africa and Mozambique, award-winning local pianist Bokani Dyer and his Swiss friends, Matthias Spillmann, Donat Fisch, Norbert Pfammatter and Stephan Kurmann team up for a gig at Guga S’thebe Cultural Centre on Sunday at 2pm. The gig will be complemented by an art exhibition starting from 1pm. Get there early to enjoy lunch from a variety food stalls, while Boeta G plays great jazz tracks from his vinyl collection.
This collaboration was born at The Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel, when Dyer did his residency overseas last year. All four Swiss musicians have South African ties, so collaborating with another young South African musician was a natural progression.
“It has been a great pleasure to know and work with these great musicians, especially Stephan Kurman”, says Feya Faku. “I have known Stephan for more than 10 years, I worked with him and Mr Makhaya Ntshoko in Switzerland and with our band Swiss South African Quintet. I worked with Donat together with the Dominic Egli Quartet and we have recorded a CD called Fufu Tryout. The other guys are my friends as well. Matt is such a great trumpeter and great composer, Norbett is a master drummer that I recorded my 2008 CD with, Hope and Honour. I am very excited that Bokani is working with these musicians.”
Dyer reveals a heritage of diverse influences that embraces his roots. He creates jazz that is soulful and expressive, and the interpretation of his music by these four Swiss greats pays tribute to the long-standing influence of South Africa on the Swiss jazz scene. Audiences can look forward to a sublime music experience with original compositions, a few carefully selected classics and some surprises from Dyer’s upcoming album.
This Sunday’s gig is produced by Jazz in the Native Yards and spon-sored by Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Arts Council.
Alto and tenor sax player Donat Fisch immediately agreed when he was invited to perform with Marcus Wyatt’s Blue Notes Tribute Orkestra in 2012, with Bokani Dyer’s Swiss line-up in May 2014 and, most recently, with Herbie Tsoaeli in November 2014. Fisch made his entry into the world of music via the guitar and rock before John Coltrane’s Love Supreme missive pushed him to study the reeds with the legendary Andy Scherrer.
Today he is one of the most individual voices on the Swiss jazz scene. As a very conscious improviser with a broad vocabulary he creates music that is readily accessible and very often elegant in a way that is not often associated with free jazz.
Matthias Spillmann (trumpet and flugel) visited here with his septet Mats-Up in 2005, an experience that left all band members with deep memories and has had a great impact on their musical development.
Spillmann took up the trumpet at age 11 , receiving classical training and experiencing his revelation through a Miles Davis record at 14.
Next to Miles, he calls Kenny Dorham, Tom Harrell, Gil Evans and Duke Ellington his main influences.
He studied at the Swiss Jazz School in Berne and the New School in New York City. Spillmann has performed at the international jazz festivals of Bern, Montreux, Lugano, Lausanne and Frauenfeld.
Kurmann is known as one of the finest double bass players in Switzerland. His timing and deep sensitivity for musical processes provides each band he plays with special support and a rhythmic basis. Because of this, and due to his innovative solo performances, he has become a much requested artist in Europe. Kurmann’s relationship with South Africa goes back to his formative encounter with the drummer Makaya Ntshoko in the early stages of his career. Kurmann spent several years in Brazil.
He deeply immersed himself in the music of that country and released a number of recordings. Faced with the scarcity of jazz venues he founded The Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel in 1994, which has since become a prominent venue on the European circuit.
Drummer Pfammatter counts among the truly distinct personalities in the world of jazz drum luminaries.
His play is characterised as much by its dynamism as by its attention to detail: with his keen awareness of sound and an extraordinary love of freedom, Pfammatter composes the moment while never neglecting the interaction with his co-players.
He is thus a drummer who is able to put his own stamp on each band he plays with, without crushing its members. Pfammatter studied with Billy Brooks at the Swiss Jazz School in Berne and today has himself become one of the great teachers.
l Doors open at 1pm. Guga S’thebe Cultural Centre is in Washington Avenue Langa. Tickets: R60. www.bokanidyer.com