Arts writer
CAMILLO Lombard and Basil Appollis have teamed up to salute and celebrate the music of some of Cape Town’s legendary musicians. Co-produced by Artscape and Micallo Music Productions, the Our Legends Passing the Baton show, will be staged at the Artscape Theatre on Saturday at 7.30pm, where local legends will “pass the baton” on to aspiring artists.
The production was built on two pillars: humanity and heritage, and it aims to highlight stories of courage, perseverance and hope. It does so by using an array of dynamic musical genres – Cape jazz, cabaret, big band, pop, African traditional and spirited goema, which will all hopefully take the audience on a musical journey from the 1980’s up until today.
Our Legends Passing the Baton was born out of a need to showcase the stories and work of some of our icons, with a special focus on passing on knowledge and expertise to a younger generation.
“Each of the legends we pay tribute to warrants a whole show of their own”, says Appollis. “And while there were many names to choose from, our list was also determined by those artists who had a relationship with Artscape over the years”.
“The show is as much about recognising the old guard, as it is about nurturing new talent in our communities, and the young artists “receiving the baton” have had the opportunity to walk a journey with the chosen legends as their mentors”.
Audio visual material will further help articulate the influence and impact these musicians have had on the local professional music industry.
Top jazz trumpeter and band leader, Ian Smith will pass his baton on to young trumpeter Lorenzo Blignaut and vocalist Adelia Douw, while vocalist Sylvia Mdunyelwa will pass hers on to Xoliswa Tom. All-round entertainer and costume diva, Sophia Foster’s baton will go to Abigail Bagley.
The Micallo Music Productions team hope that this will be an inaugural event that will lead to many more opportunities to focus on other influential music names. The show will see Lombard’s band Top Dog, giving the music of legends a new treatment. Foster will bring back her first ever hit single, Too Hot to Handle; while Smith and Blignaut will perform Rise and Smith and Douw will replay Love Dance. Mdunyelwa’s offering will be Where are the Children.
The bandstand features Donveno Prins on sax, Morne Hoffmeester on drums and Charlton Daniels on bass. They’ll be joined for this performance by guitarist Angelo Syster.
Comedian Mel Jones will hold everything together as narrator and MC.
Appollis is tight-lipped about the show, but says audiences can expect the element of surprise. “It’s not often that you work in a theatre with all the mechanics and staging possibilities at hand. I am going to have a field day,” he said.
l Tickets: R100. Book: Artscape Dial-a-Seat, 021 421 7695, Computicket 0861 915 8000.