SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ PIANIST SOOTHES GREENWICH RESIDENTS...

According to the Oxford Dictionary...diverse means various, sundry, miscellaneous, mixed, dissimilar... 

When terrorists struck Woolwich, on May 22nd, 2013, one of their sick aims was to create chaos and make different races and Londoners bicker and fight and hate. London is one of those few places on earth where diversity is the order of the day. Diverse food, diverse cultures, 300 languages spoken here, etc.

That is exactly what Global Fusion Music and Arts is all about. Diversity, variance and divergence. Yes indeed,  GFMA  did promote a diversity night of music on Thursday 20th June, 2013.

Amongst the acts were Tamil Dancers from Sri Lanka, Jewish Jazz band (headlined) and South African Jazz pianist, Mervyn Africa...whose style and tones are beyond words. You had to be there to experience it. But if you could  not. Try to think of Keith Jarett and Abdullah Ibrahim...but don't stop yet.

Mervyn Africa deserves a smile afterwards...he made us happy.

What I specifically liked about Mervyn's set was the "diverse" (that word again) chops, from fast and wild  almost insane and abstract to sudden slow calculated bluesy notes,  to a typical Mbaqanga like groove. He allowed space but also scattered his lines to chaotic melodies and held you spellbound. 

That is why music is such a good mirror of identity and cultures. Listening to Mervyn Africa makes you think you are about to hear a repetition of Keith Jarret, then no, it is  Johannesburg and Soweto, perhaps Abdullah Ibrahim; then you soon realise these are mere  references. He has his own punctuation, his own stops, tinctures and colours. Fantastic signature. I specifically loved this tune he dedicated to the legendary Dudu Pukwana...another South African great who passed away in 1990:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=w6DA_gVXRCo

  

Mission accomplished. Time to reflect before heading off. Here the star stands with one of GFMA volunteers, Frances Cumming...

Louisa Le Marchand who hosted the evening told us Mervyn has a new CD and an expected tour with his band. Watch this space!

THOUSANDS ENJOY RUGBY TWICKENHAM FEATURING AFRICAN DRUMS TOO...

Queues everywhere; as far as the I eye can see. Wheew the pulse  pulsates here.

Folks of all ages and colour and gender...Folks in queues.

Queues from and to the trains, queues get in and  out; queues to toilets and bars; queues for food and drinks and eating chips and  sweets and fried meat and walk into the Twickenham Stadium whose capacity is 82, 000.

Wheew...

Lots and lots and loads of people; dressed and decked up in monkey and gorilla costumes and well some, bring Teletubies to mind; it is all part of the fun- Rugby fun.

Then there is the music.

Well, beside the muscular players on the field that is- both entertainers of this Saturday May 11th, 2013.

 Music from various bands including ACD Arts (pictured below) employed by Marriotts Hotels- featuring master musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, Mali , Burkina Faso, Italy- drumming and rocking and boom boom dadan  and drumming Africa.

Music and food and cheering all to soak into the Seven Series that has South Africans, Kenyans alongside New Zealand, Australia, United States, Canada  and of course the hosts- England.