Conversing with blues

Published Nov 23, 2014

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The Table Mountain Blues Summit returns to Hillcrest Quarry on

December 6 and 7.Twenty of the

most respected bluesmen and

woman in the country will entertain,

backed by 30 000 watts of power.

Festival organiser RICHARD PRYOR

expands on the line-up.

WHAT makes the blues special?

It’s a great melting pot of music. It

really is the glue that brings all the

genres together. Blues has it’s historical

roots and has a particular

style that dictates how classic blues

should be played. But just like anything

with such strong roots it

grows into something much bigger

and intertwines itself like a creeper

into all forms of music.

It is a place where jazz, rock,

folk and many other styles can

come together in conversation. It

is a potjie of different musical

styles all speaking the same language.

It’s ironic because blues is

about pain, misery and loss, but

the music actually transcends this

message and uplifts the listener

on all levels. So if you got the

blues and you’re feeling real

down, don’t go to the doctor, get

yourself down to the Summit and

rock your blues away!

What’s different about this year?

Well for the very first time we

are having the festival on a Saturday

and Sunday. History has

shown that Sunday is a great day

for the blues and we have heeded

that call.

Women also feature on the bill?

Adding very special flavour is

The Natasha Meister Band. She

will be belting out the soul blues.

Ann Jangle deserves special mention

and she flows with a gypsy

spirit. She has a very natural

soulful style and she adds dark

undertones of folk blues with a

theatrical groove. This is storytelling

at it’s best. Black South

Easter’s singer Nhoza Sitsholwana

will also guest with Boulevard

Blues. Man does she have some

vocal pipes on her and when she

sings the blues it stays sung for a

long time after the show has

ended. Charlie King will also be

down from Johannesburg – you

can look forward to her tones

singing praise to influences such

as Etta James and Janis Joplin.

What does each act bring?

A lot of talent comes together

at the summit like a large extended

family does once a year. Some

of the artists make up the meat

and potatoes of the Summit since

it began. Right at the top of the

heap at the

moment must be

Dan Patlansky

who has just

returned from a

great European

tour. An explosive

guitarist he

always wows the

crowd with a

menagerie of

world class

guitar playing,

general guitar

abuse and killer

rocking tunes.

The Blues Broers are the

longest running blues band in

South Africa and one of the most

influential. They bring years of

experience. They put blues on the

map with national hits, most

notably Lifes a Melodrama.

Boulevard Blues are my

extended family and have provided

me with a great home to

explore. I joined them 15 years ago

and today we’re still playing with

even more passion.

Gerald Clark can really work

that low down acoustic blues and

strut his stuff with magnificent

vocals to boot. He is king of the

acoustic blues. With the electric

band he often takes his music into

more complex territory and adds

an air of sophistication, sometimes

even borrowing elements of

jazz.

Harmonica player Dave

Ferguson is a complete show all

on his own. He brings alive some

of the early components and sucks

you in as his harp, voice and loop

pedals unfold to tell an exciting

story of old meets new. Expect to

see him in full electric action with

Mean Black Mamba, who’ll

provide a swampy backdrop to the

alligator harp cries of Ferguson.

Guy Collins on guitar has some

great mojo.

The Albert Frost Trio is my

favourite incantation of all

Mr Frost’s ensembles. Here he

really gets to shine even brighter.

There’s a real freedom as the

songs blow hard and soft gripping

you and dragging you into a

dramatic blues thriller. Expect

some great band interplay with

Schalk Joubert and Kevin Gibson.

On the younger side we find

Crimson House Blues who have a

great energy on stage and a highly

entertaining show. This is a 5

piece band rooted in the blues,

coated in gypsy undertones,

blended with modern rock and

then triple fuelled by roaring

guitars, shredding banjos and soul

sweeping harmonica’s. Not for the

faint hearted.

Also offering a different spin

are The Parlor Vinyls, a garage

band mixing rhythmic drum

grooves with raw, dirty, pulsating

guitar tones with honky vocals.

Taking inspiration from acoustic

blues greats such as Blind Willie

McTell up to modern bands such

as The Black Keys and the White

Stripes they create old sounds

with a twist of something new to

give a signature sound that

attracts a wide variety of audiences

from young to old

Story-teller Piet Botha teams

up with Akkedis and together they

weave their own personal

accounts, bring bilingual coming

together in English and

Afrikaans.

The Wayne Pauli Trio delivers

a great set of standard and original

blues. Wayne offers nods to the

greats in the style of SRV and

Hendrix. Sven Blumer will open

the show with hints of Robben

Ford.

What else is in store besides the

mainstay bands?

Well, presenting the Rockier

side of the blues is my original

band Pebbleman. We have two

albums out now and have even

been signed to New York Record

Label Grooveyard Records.

With over two hours of original

blues rock on our menu we’re

hoping to get even the most jaded

blues lover off of their seat and

rocking the wag back into their

tail.

Jesse Jordan on vocals is a

pocket rocket on stage and he’s

gonna get the juice flowing. I

I’m really enjoying getting my

original music out there and these

guys are delivering it exactly like I

hear it in my head.

You can expect a rocking good

set of classic 70’s inspired rock

with a good dose of blues sauce to

boot. Either way it’s gonna hit you

hard in the sonic plexus.

Also adding to the rocking side

of the menu are is Basson

Laubscher & the Violent Free

Piece, Patrick Canovi’s Kiss the

Sky and The Fake Leather Blues

band from Pretoria. These guys

are well and truly polished.

Kiss the Sky are expected to

feature a full seven piece classic

blues rock ensemble that is bound

to close down the Summit good

and solid. Expect these acts to

land hard.

What about camping?

Camping will again be an

option. We have more camping

space with ablutions and hot

showers. It’s an extra R150.

. Tickets: R200 to R340, 0861

9158000, www.computicket.com

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