In association with Concerts SA and Luthuli Museum, iSupport Music Business presents two duos at Luthuli Museum in Groutville on Friday 28 September 2018. Headliner singer-songwriter Madala Kunene will be backed by Njabulo Shabalala on percussions and opening for him will be guitarist Nick Pitman with drummer Riley Giandhari. The doors open at 6pm and tickets are available for R30 at the door.
“The last time I performed in Groutville was in 1968 with a band called iZanusi. People should expect what they are not used to, the Madalaline Music.” says Kunene about the performance.
Bafo Madala Kunene was born in 1951 in Mkhumbane (Cato Manor), a vibrant mixed community just outside of inner Durban. The son of a carpenter, Kunene was raised by his grandmother, a staunch academic who wanted him to be something of a bookworm. At the age of eight, in 1959, Kunene and some members of his extended family were trucked off by the Apartheid government to go live in the then relatively new township of KwaMashu.
As a meditation on his history, Kunene recently released his latest album 1959. The first album he’s recorded in South Africa in over 20 years. It explores dense and often melancholic subject matter, especially Kunene’s own history as a victim of forced removal. “I’ve never spoken about those experiences in my music in an earnest way. I wanted to recall them and, most importantly, make a personal album that was looking internally at my personal history rather than looking out,” says Kunene. 1959 is a blues album with slightly more muscle—a personal catharsis and an attempt to exercise the muscle of memory through music. Insistent and unrelenting, 1959 is Kunene’s urban war cry. It is a portrait of the artist as a not-so-young man of faith, a sonic investigation that tries to make sense of the gradual process of sanitizing history—how the real past is purged for the sake of a historical sound bite.
Nick Pitman is Durban guitarist currently enrolled for a BMus degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. What began as a passion is now his profession. Nick has been playing guitar for more than 10 years, during which time he has explored the rock, blues and jazz genres and he has earned himself a reputation among local artists, fans and the wider South African musical community. He was selected for the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band 2016 and 2017, toured the country with artists such as Sibusiso Mashileone, Vanessa Moodley and Blvck Crystals, and played at the Oslo Jazz Festival in Norway
Riley Joseph Giandhari (RileyG) was born in Durban. He started playing drums at the age of 3 and was passionate about taking it further. At the age of 15 he started playing the drums at church and with a few gospel bands. Although he has considered degrees in other fields of study, Riley has always been drawn back to music and therefore enrolled to study Jazz at UKZN in 2013. Apart from studying music, Riley is currently a session drummer who records and performs with various musicians and artists at corporate functions, weddings and jazz venues. He also teaches drums, basic piano and music theory.
The host of this event, The Luthuli Museum, is a national cultural institution charged with conserving, upholding, promoting and propagating the life, values, philosophies, and legacy of the late Chief Albert Luthuli.
This concert is part of the Concerts SA Venue Circuit that aims to foster a love and support for live music in our communities, as well as anchor small and medium-sized venues in urban and rural Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.
Concerts SA is a joint South African/Norwegian live music development project housed within the SAMRO Foundation. Concerts SA receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO, the SAMRO Foundation and Concerts Norway. Working with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, and providing support to the sector through research and skills development for music professionals, the project aims to build a vibrant and viable live music circuit in southern Africa. It also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.
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Event listing:
Friday 28 September
Luthuli Museum, Groutville
Doors: 6pm
Tickets: R30 at the door
More information: 0833372518
