PASS in Paris profile: Ray Lema
Ray Lema is a widely-revered composer, pianist and guitarist. His life in music has taken him from Kinshasa-Washington DC-Paris, moving from Gérard Kazembe’s orchestra to playing with Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Joseph Kabassele, as well as leading a variety of his own bands. In recent years, Lema has referenced Herbie Hancock in his album V.N.S.P. (Very Special New Production), and performed a tribute to Aimé Césaire with his Nzimbu project.
Ray Lema will join us at the PASS Pop-UP in Paris (Sept 17-19) at Fondation Cartier.
Neo Muyanga
A once-off: Chief Dr. Prof. Neo Muyanga drops his shembe baton and pulls out the toys – and this man takes his games seriously. Muyanga was born in Soweto, into a long line of traditional composers and makers of the timbila (a Mozambican tuned wood percussion instrument). He studied the Italian madrigal tradition with choral maestro, Piero Poclen, in Trieste, Italy. Neo composes works for choir, chamber and large ensemble and continues to tour widely as a solo performer and …
Spha Mdlalose
Jazz vocalist Spha Mdlalose moves from rough-hewn shebeen-styled jazz through souful gospel grooves to Sarah Vaughan-like sophistication and Ella-edged beboppers. Since graduating Mdlalose has performed alongside Jimmy Dludlu, Zamajobe and Sbongile Khumalo. PASS people will know her from Bheki Khoza’s War Chorale, her sets with Lwanda Gogwana and the Plantation Miners at Tagore’s and her recent performance in Neo Muyanga’s Flower of Shembe.
Johnny Cradle
Fusing the intricate head-nodding beats of hip-hop legends Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and with the other-worldly Xhosa harmonies of his native Eastern Cape, Johnny Cradle is something of an enigma. Describing his sound as roots electronica fitting “right between Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the nerd scoring virtual bleeps on the computer screen,” Cradle is a beat technician with the dexterity of a turntablist, a punk with the bleeding heart of a soul star and a rapper with the vision of a poet. …
Angels & Demons at Play
Reza Khota
Eastern rhythms collide with jazzy improvisation… Guitarist and composer Reza Khota mines the musical links that criss-cross the Mediterranean and Indian oceans. More on Reza here.
Category: Pass Blog, Pass Radio
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This week live on PASS
This week, live on PASS radio [ broadcasting from Tagore’s, 42 Trill Road, Observatory, Cape Town ]: Wed 5 Sept: Reza Khota – pan-global jazz that mines the musical links criss-crossing the Mediterranean and Indian oceans. Thurs 6 Sept: Angels and Demons at Play Friday 7 Sept: Johnny Cradle – tangled roots electronica Sat 8 Sept: Spha Mdlalose – jazz vocals – from shebeen-styled fire through souful gospel grooves to Sarah Vaughan-like sophistication and Ella-edged beboppers. Music starts at 9.30pm …
Category: News, Pass Blog
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Adamu da Silva quartet
Angolan singer song writer and musician Adamu da Silva is a musical nomad, a mistral who has called Congo, DR Congo Gabon, Cameroon and Namibia and South Africa home. Along the way he’s shared stages with African giants Manu Dibango, Salif Keita, Ismael Lo, and has supported Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Tracy Chapmen on tour. His trio captures this wandering spirit fusing Afro-Latin with high-energy Semba, kwasa kwasa, afro-beat, jazz and more into a pan-global sound.