Background
On 7 August this year, I was
privileged to be part of a trio concert with two of South Africa’s jazz legends
– Errol Dyers (guitar) and Mervyn Africa (piano). It was held on a Sunday
night, at the Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD) building in Athlone, and
it was well supported. I performed some of my original songs, and I learnt a
lot from the experience of performing with these two fine gentlemen. I had
worked with Errol before, but it was the first time I had worked with
Mervyn. I remember feeling the distinct stirrings of a new energy - that
feeling of some kind of new beginning. I knew that, in time, life would reveal
to me what that was about.
Once all the photos and comments had
been posted on various Facebook pages, someone in Pietermaritzburg, from a
sister organisation of CWD, called PACSA (Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community
Social Action), contacted Andre Marais, in charge of the cultural programme at
CWD, to invite the trio to repeat the concert in KZN (KwaZulu-Natal), another
province in South Africa! We were hired to do a jazz concert, as part of the
2016 Maritzburg Social Justice Film & Arts Festival.
Something I’ve encountered a few
times in my life, is that some of the best (or most profound) things that
happen to one, are often preceded by drama, or adversity of some kind. Without
going into detail, let me say that this was no exception. Eish!
But, all’s well that ends well.
Thursday, 27 October
On Thursday, our party of five
flew to Durban, in great spirits: three musicians, plus two people from CWD. Errol
and I travelled with our guitars – a first for me. Shortly after our arrival in
Durban (King Shaka International Airport), we were collected and driven to Pietermaritzburg.
I felt a bit overwhelmed, as I was experiencing many layers of emotions, and
not just the excitement of the trip and the anticipation of making music as a
trio. Being in Durban took me right back to the four and a half years I’d lived
there as a child, decades before. I remembered the feel of the place, the tropical
heat, the humidity – so very different to Cape Town’s drier climate. I realised something I had almost forgotten –
I loved that climate! I was very happy to be back there. I kept thinking, “I
have to bring my children here!”
Mervyn Africa and Errol Dyers, on our arrival in Durban.
After a drive of more than an
hour, through the lush, rolling hills of KZN, we arrived at our hotel, the
Regal Inn Xpress, in a suburb called Scottsville. It was a five-minute drive from
the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Pietermaritzburg campus, where we were
to perform.
That afternoon, we checked in and
settled into our rooms. Some went for a walk, in search of bunny chows, others
rested. I’d seen a small shopping mall across the road, so I took a short walk
to get a light meal. I was ravenous, and the bunny chow shop sounded far away.
I was happy with my room, which had DSTV (don’t have at home). Later I
discovered there was WIFI in the common areas, which enabled me to stay in
touch with my children and post updates on Facebook. I probably spent way too much time on my
phone, as a result. (Sorry, guys!)
The dining room at the Regal Inn Xpress, in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg
That evening, we had supper at
the hotel, then sat outside, enjoying the beautiful evening; it was nice to
just hang out, talking and relaxing. Travelling with such colourful personalities
guaranteed much laughter. We chatted on
the phone to the organisers, who arranged to pick us up the next day, and eventually
retired to our rooms for our first night in balmy KZN. I was so happy, I wanted
to run around shouting it out loud. I
loved the absence of my usual housework - ever-present, demanding, consuming, brain-numbing,
always preventing me from connecting with my music. I loved having the freedom
to be who I essentially was - a musician. I showered, played guitar till my
eyes started closing, then fell asleep. I
must’ve slept with a smile on my face.
Friday, 28 October
I savoured the luxury of waking
up without an alarm, but my body clock ensured it was not a late sleep. After
my shower, I went downstairs and enjoyed the experience of a hotel
breakfast, with all its options. So
cool! A total mom, I missed my children,
and remembered our trip to Pretoria in 2013, when they’d experienced their
first 5-star hotel breakfast buffet.
Later that morning, we were
fetched by the PACSA staff, whom we met for the first time, and were taken to
the campus, to rehearse. I sat around, enjoying the guys’ rehearsal, then
rehearsed my songs with them. It was really good to get the feel of the venue.
The rehearsal went well, and I was excited about performing that night. When it
was time to order lunch, I opted for a bunny chow, something I had last eaten
years before. It surpassed my expectations, and now I need to find a Cape Town
place that can match its perfect combination of taste and strength (not too
strong!). Wish me luck.
There wasn’t a lot of time
between the rehearsal and the evening, but it was enough to get back to the
hotel, to shower and prepare for the
evening - and in my case, take a couple of selfies. Ja, ja! Once again, the
PACSA people made sure we got to wherever we needed to be - five people and two
guitars.
The obligatory pre-concert selfie
The concert was great fun. I
loved listening to Errol and Mervyn, and even managed to record some of their
stuff on my phone. We did one set, followed by an interval, during which we
were invited to eat in a huge marquee I’d seen them erecting earlier that day.
Again, yummy food, with a tasty vegetarian option! After the break, we did our
second set, which also went well. My personal opinion is that I sang better
during the rehearsal. The crowd loved our music, and responded
enthusiastically. Such a good feeling!
The crowd's response to Mervyn and Errol's set
In the break, a young lady asked
if she could sing a song with the guys. To my delight, she did a spine-tingling
version of “Ntyilo Ntyilo”, a moving Miriam Makeba song. The vocalist’s name was Thandeka Ntembi, and
I sincerely hope she pursues singing as a career, because she’s got that
X-factor. She’s actually remarkable! We
took a couple of photos together, and I got to meet some of her friends,
including a young lady called Micky. Thandeka and I exchanged contact details
and have been in touch a few times since I got back. I suspect that life will
make sure we meet again.
Thandeka (cap), Micky (black top) and a friend, posing with me
Post-gig adrenalin
As usual, I was so stimmed after
the gig, that I couldn’t sleep. I’m not sure what the others did, but I went to
my room and tried to come down to earth after my exhilarating evening. Like I
had done the night before, I walked over to the ironing room, and ironed my
clothes for the next day, including my gig clothes, just in case we ran out of
time. I showered, watched tv, played my guitar, watched more tv, and eventually
fell asleep. I was thoroughly enjoying my time in KZN, and I started feeling
sad that it would soon be over. My mind raced as I considered the logistics
of coming back to KZN - with my kids.
Saturday 29 October
Woke up without an alarm, but
once again way too early for someone who was finally able to sleep in. I showered and
went down for breakfast, happily connected to the WIFI, and contacted home and
Fb. The guys pitched up, one by one, and I found myself spending a prolonged
time in the dining room, hanging out with them, each of us so different, yet
connected by this really cool experience.
We were fetched by the PACSA
people, and attended some of the activities at the festival. Because of limited
time, I didn’t get to see any of the excellent documentary films, but I managed
to attend the Food Fair, where everything was free of charge, and interesting
people dished up food from their countries, for us to try. I have a very
sensitive stomach, so I avoided anything that looked too outlandish. One thing
I did not want to do was spend any of my precious time over there being sick.
The food fair
And then the second most exciting
part of my trip happened – I attended a ‘’Fees Must Fall’’ discussion forum,
where university students spoke about what had been happening, what was
currently happening, and what they hoped would happen. They spoke about the
brutality of the security personnel, the one-sidedness of most of the media
reports, and the awful experiences some of them had had, in the course of the
student protests – including being shot at, having teargas canisters thrown
into their second-storey hostel rooms and their doors forcibly locked, and
being locked up in prison and deprived of food for more than 40 hours. Even
though my presence at the festival was in my capacity as a musician (that
beautiful, magical part of my life), I felt privileged and grateful to have
attended that meeting, because it put me in touch with the pulse of the
country’s youth. I was moved and impressed by the depth and insight of the
students, and especially by their sophisticated political understanding,
something few people acknowledge, thanks to the diluting of their cause by the
media. They had organised a public meeting for a few days later, where they
would address parents and other members of the public, to present their side of
the Fees Must Fall movement.
UKZN, Pietermaritzburg Campus
I left there wanting to put KZN
students in touch with students from my province, so that there could be greater
cooperation and understanding, on a national level, and greater solidarity, in
the face of the kinds of brutality, both physical and systemic, that the
students had been experiencing. I felt outraged that authorities were treating
the problem on a campus-by-campus basis, when it was in fact a national crisis,
and not just an educational matter. The country was in crisis, and it was
conveniently being side-lined as a protest by lazy students. These students
have more understanding and courage than many adults I know. If only they were
afforded the respect and audience to have their concerns and demands heard.
It disturbs me deeply that people
who themselves were marginalised and treated as sub-human, not so long ago, can
do the same to others, once their own nests have been feathered. Brings to mind
George Orwell’s book, ‘’1984”. What was
that classic commandment? ‘’All animals are equal, but some animals are more
equal than others.’’
Saturday evening
With very little time between the
afternoon’s activities and the evening performance, we nevertheless were ready
in time and were once again fetched by the friendly PACSA staff. By this time,
I was used to the sudden thunderstorms, and loved the fact that rain didn’t automatically mean cold, as it did in Cape Town.
The second evening was a poetry
evening, and the trio was to play a bit of music here and there. As it turned
out, there was such a big response to the open mic poetry session, that very little
music was played, and I didn’t even get to sing. Still, I was happy to have
been there, to have heard Errol and Mervyn make their magic, and to experience
a night of student poetry.
The stage at the Colin Webb Hall, at UKZN
Language has always fascinated
me, and that night was no exception. Even though most of the poets spoke in
isiZulu, I could follow the emotions and essence of what they were saying, and
the audience’s response was contagious. I
loved the intensity of the poets, I loved the rhythm and cadence of their
voices, and was mesmerised by their obvious passion. These people, the youth of
today, inspire me. I have the utmost
confidence in their ability to put this country back on the right track, given the space to do so.
We once again had delicious food
served in the marquee, during the interval, and I tried to take photos of the
thunderstorm, but it seemed the lightning was playing a game with me,
disappearing everytime I clicked. Anyway, it was exciting standing in the rain
and watching the storm. I felt alive.
The best of the lightning pics I took.
And then it was time to say our
goodbyes. Mervyn Abrahams, the Director of PACSA, took us out for drinks, to say thank you
and goodbye - a nice way to round off our time there. I think I flopped into
bed after 1am, after packing my case and making a list of last-minute things to
do the next morning. Before I knew it, it was time to get up again. This time I
used my alarm, as we were being fetched for the airport at 9, and there was one last brekkie to be had. And WIFI.
Sunday, 30 October
We ate our last breakfast
together, and all the time I was aware of the time constraints. I felt slightly
sad, when we handed in our keys and said our goodbyes to the staff. The drive
to the airport was long and melancholic. Every now and then, I became aware of the
others in the taxi, and noticed they were also quiet. Maybe they were feeling
like I was. I stared outside the window, and took a few pics, trying to squeeze
as much of KZN into my psyche as I could.
The green, rolling hills of KZN
At King Shaka International Airport,
we offloaded our bags, took our leave of the driver, and went through the
formalities, before boarding the plane. Errol took his guitar on board, but I
left mine with the prams, relieved that this time they put a tag on it and gave
me a counterfoil.
The flight back to Cape Town was
strange. I loved the excitement of being in the air, and of course that
wonderful feeling of going home to one’s loved ones, but part of me wished I’d
been able to spend more time in KZN, especially to visit my childhood friends
in Durban.
Maybe next time.
This weekend opened my eyes and
made me question many things, about my own life choices, as well as about my country.
I am deeply grateful to the wonderful people at PACSA for inviting
us to perform as part of the 2016 Maritzburg Social Justice Film and Arts Festival,
for flying us over, accommodating us, providing all our meals and shuttles, and
for treating us with so much kindness and respect.
I’m sure many people reading this are frequent flyers, and might think that taking a two-hour flight somewhere is no
big deal, but to me this weekend was special, and I will never forget
it.
Till we meet again.
Peace
