Why Read Classical Literature?
Mike Lambert explaining why there is a statue of the Greek goddess Athena in the city of Pietermaritzburg.
It’s over two and a half millennia since Homer died, and he lived over four thousand miles away, so what could he possibly still have to say to us, living at the bottom of Africa in 2011? Ask best-selling author, JK Rowling, lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, or Nobel Prize winner, Nelson Mandela, who all studied the classics. And if you can’t ask them then come ask Mike Lambert, on Saturday 12 November, as he speaks on why we should still be reading Classical literature. Mike Lambert is a Classics lecturer at UKZN.
Date: 12 November
Time: 2.30 to 4pm
Venue: Royal Asia, Rear 241 Victoria Road (Behind LandMark, opposite FoodPak)
RSVP: Sam Groves on 0832579059 or 033-3868009
Click here for a map
Easter Live Jazz 2011 Review.
Natalie Rungan backed by the Bruce Baker Quartet. Images by Dave Larsen/Africa Media Online.
“It’s wonderful to perform in front of an audience that listens,” Natalie Rungan told the 150-strong group of music lovers at Abound’s second Easter Live Jazz Concert. Used to performing in the background, the Jazz musos relished the whoops, claps and calls for encore that this Pietermaritzburg audience served up.
Rungan was backed by the Bruce Baker Quartet made up of Bruce Baker on drums, Burton Naidoo on piano, Llewelyn Chetty on bass and Dane Francis on electric guitar.
Pulling together such talented and well disciplined musicians, and letting them loose on a stage, is bound to produce stimulating sounds- and it did! Some old jazz standards were played, and taken to new levels, along with some of Rungan’s own compositions, including tracks featured on her soon-to-be released album.
Once again, it was a great night of superb jazz. All those who attended were in awe of the talent that South Africa has produced over the years. Abound seeks to keep bringing this local talent, to Pietermaritzburg audiences, at affordable prices.
Watch press for next year’s Abound Easter Festival.
Exclusive Natalie Rungan interview.
Durban’s Jazz Queen, Natalie Rungan (left), features on vocals in Abound’s Live Jazz Concert this Easter Weekend. Sarah Groves interviewed her, The Witness published it, and you can read it here.
Live Jazz 2011- bigger and better!
Abound’s annual Easter live Jazz concert is bigger and better this year- featuring The Bruce Baker Quartet and starring Natalie Rungan on vocals.
The venue is room DSLT at UKZN. Don’t know where that is? No problem. View the Google Map here.
Tickets are available from www.ticketbreak.co.za at R50 per person or R25 per student/scholar. The show starts at 7pm.
Butterflies & Blackjacks launch- what you missed.
I had the honour of opening the launch of Clive Lawrance’s latest poetry book, Butterflies & Blackjacks. This is what I said:
“I only read 3 poets. And I am related by marriage to two of them. Does that disqualify me from opening a Poetry Book Launch? Not according to the third poet I read. Ted Kooser, who was the 13th Poet Laureate for the United States said that poetry used to be for the common man to enjoy, but now increasingly it’s just for other poets: “Poets have decided to write for each other. And because poets are sophisticated readers you can get by with more if you are writing for them than if you are writing for a guy at the gas station on the corner.” But Kooser believes that poetry can really do things for all people, really enhance their lives; that poetry can make our ordinary world look more interesting to everyone. And so to make sure that his poetry remained accessible Kooser would give the first draft of his poem to his secretary to read and whatever she couldn’t understand he would go back and make clearer.
Now it’s this exact quality that I admire in Clive’s poetry: it’s simple, it’s accessible and it makes you say: “Aha, that is just what life is like! That is just what our ordinary world is like – I couldn’t have said it better. That is how a bird looks at me! That is what a spider’s walk reminds me of! And that is the typical attitude of locusts these days!
Clive’s book is published by Abound, which is an NPO started by Church on the Ridge. Abound’s aim is to bring beauty to the city of PMB through the medium of the arts. And so it’s our hope that Clive’s poetry, accompanied by Stidy’s drawing will bring you much simple pleasure so that you can also say: Aha that is just what life is like! That is just what is so good about our ordinary world.”
Clive Lawrance (author) thanked all those involved in the project and read a few of his poems. John Roff and Jeremiah Von Kuhn made some fine music. And then we all enjoyed some good food and wine in Clive’s quirky garden.
Podcast #1- Interview with Clive Lawrance.
Clive Lawrance (left), author of Butterflies and Blackjacks, speaks to Sam Groves about why we should waste our time reading and writing poetry. Clive also reveals who he’s reading and why. And he even gives advice to aspiring poets. You can hear it all here.
Butterflies & Blackjacks by Clive Lawrance
Abound is proud to announce the publication of our
first book of poetry! Poems are by Clive Lawrance and illustrations are by cartoonist, Stidy. We are having a book launch on 2nd October at 4.30p.m. For more details contact Sam or Sarah on 033-3868009 or 0832579059. Also, soon to follow is a podcast featuring an interview with the author, Clive Lawrance.
‘They were swinging…’
On Sunday the 4th April, four of South Africa’s finest jazz musicians were in full swing. Performing at the first ‘Abound’ presented event, Bruce Baker on drums, Melvyn Peters on piano, Debbie Mari on vocals and Logan Byrne on upright bass came together as the Bruce Baker Quartet. The audience moved from a bit of humming, to a lot of clapping, to a standing ovation. Peters, beaming from the response to their performance, said that the Pietermaritzburg audience is the most appreciative in the country. Besides a bit of bad lighting and a crackly bass cable in the first set, it was a great night of superb jazz. There was even a guest appearance by a field mouse- who managed to steer clear of Bruce’s pumping left foot, on the high-hat cymbal pedal.
Top Left: Bruce Baker. Top Middle: Logan Byrnes. Top Right: The Bruce Baker Quartet. Bottom: Melvyn Peters. Images supplied by John Robinson (john@ihloimages.co.za)
Live Jazz- the Bruce Baker Quartet.
There is an article in The Witness on Bruce Baker, the drummer who features in our first jazz concert. You can read it here.
Live Jazz, 4 April, Pietermaritzburg
Tired of listening to Hannah Montana? Join us for some real music, in our first Abound-hosted event: Live Jazz with the Bruce Baker Quartet. On the 4th of April, the Bruce Baker Quartet, featuring Melvin Peters on piano, Debbie Mari on vocals, Logan Byrne on double bass and Bruce Baker on drums, will be making sweet music, on the campus of UKZN, Pietermaritzburg.
Peters, who has been performing as a jazz pianist since the early 80’s, has shared the stage with many of South Africa’s jazz legends. Mari has featured as a vocalist on a number of albums, including George Mari’s, My Mecca and Darius Brubeck’s, Before It’s Too Late. Byrne has free-lanced as a double-bass player for a number of musical groups, including the Durban City Orchestra. And Baker, who grew up in Pietermaritzburg, free-lances as a jazz drummer in Durban, whilst lecturing at UKZN School of Jazz. He has performed alongside jazz stars Feya Faku, Winston Makuku, Darius Brubeck and many others.
It is guaranteed to be top class entertainment.
The venue is A1 of the New Arts Block on the UKZN campus. Park in the Hexagon Theatre car-park and follow the signs to A1. To book tickets contact Sam on 0832579059 or (033) 3868009. Refreshments will be sold during the interval.
