Groutville Market Grounds: Saturday 22 July
In association with Concerts SA and The Luthuli Museum, iSupport Music Business presents Nina Mkhize Live in concert at the 50 years Remembrance Concert of Chief Albert Luthuli. Vocalist Mkhize and her band will visit Groutville on Saturday 22 July at 11am where she will grace the stage at The Groutville Market Grounds as part of the 50 years Remembrance Celebrations of The Luthuli Museum. Local poet Let Da Poet will perform alongside her. The concert will be free of charge.
Nina Mkhize is a jazz trained vocalist and composer from Durban and two-time winner of the Old Mutual Jazz Encounters Awards. Her repertoire includes original jazz and African music compositions and renditions of standards. Her contralto voice has been described as breathy and sultry and her music styles range from swing to funk to boss nova.
Mkhize counts the late Bheki Mseleku as one of her greatest influences and in 2004 she performed as a guest singer as part of Mseleku’s communal at the Melody International Festival at the Mmabatho International Convention Centre.
Other performances include fronting up as singer for the Shuttle Band, a wonderful collaboration between an ensemble of South African and Scandinavian musicians which included Ray Phiri, the late Gito Baloi, Concord Nkabinde (SA) and Stien Casternsen, Bendik Hofseth, Ricard Nettermalm (Norway). She has also led the Standard Bank Youth Jazz Band, under the direction of saxophonist Barney Rachabane, at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
Her film work with Dr Sazi Dlamini has seen her contribute her singing and scoring talents on soundtracks for the documentary Bhambayi and movies Sky in Her Eyes and Izulu Lami-a winner of the Djibril Diop Mamberty Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Well-travelled Mkhize has played on an array of stages such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, SA 10th Democracy Celebrations in Brazil, the Indoni Cultural, Joy of Jazz and Unyazi Electrical Music Festivals. She has appeared in concert alongside Nduduzo Makhathini, Herbie Tsoaeli, Ayanda Sikade, trumpeter Feya Faku and famed Malombo sideman percussionist Gabriel Mabi Thobejane.
Mkhize recently featured her voice on the ‘Rhythms Del Mundo’ sessions by the Grammy award winning songwriter and producer Kenny Young, and has appeared as a guest singer on the Warm Days Ensemble, an outfit by DJ and producer QB Smith, which saw her perform alongside composer Thandi Ntuli, bassist Thembinkosi Mavimbela, percussionist El Hadji and house music vocalist Khensy.
Additionally she has recorded with and performed on albums by Busi Mhlongo (Indiza), Ian Henderson (Free Falling) and Nibs Van Der Spuy (Flower in the Rain) while
Mkhize also instructs learners on voice and music theory at Umlazi Comtech.
She hopes to release her album of original music, inspired by a culmination of life experiences in the world, which chronicle her journey through life in the jazz & African music idioms.
The band for this performance is Nina Mkhize on vocals, Mandla Zikalala on bass guitar, Bucco Xaba on drums and Mthobisi Mthalane on piano.
Lethu Nkwanyana is a humble man with an exuberant stage presence who expresses his love for God and creation through a simple way of putting words on paper and turning them into versatile poetry, first realised in 2012 at his local church. Let Da Poet is his stage name, for he believes that God is the ultimate poet so he simply Lets Da Poet Speak.
Nkwanyana uses both English and isiZulu, leaving his audience marvelling at his flamboyant choice of words. This talented young man performs on various platforms e.g. radio stations, Life Changers Awards Concert, Durban Playhouse Theatre, Luthuli Museum, .etc.
This concert is part of the Luthuli Legacy Walk and Half Marathon and the Concerts SA Venue Circuit. The 11,5-km walk will commemorate Chief Luthuli’s final walk to the railway bridge where there was allegedly a train accident that led to his untimely death. The walk will end at The Groutville Market Grounds where the concert will take place.
This Concerts SA Venue Circuit 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.
For more information please visit our website http://concertssa.co.za, follow @ConcertsSA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA.
Events Listing
Groutville Market Grounds
Saturday 22 July – 11am
Entrance: free
