There are a growing number of music venues in Cape Town that promote a higher level of musical consciousness. Not only with the audience development in listening for appreciation that they promote but also with the space that they provide for musical exploration and live recordings.

At 42 Trill Road in trendy Observatory, one can find a bohemian jazz night club which boasts a small kitchen and lounge upstairs for the chatters.  Tagores is named after the Indian poet and Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. It appeals to the youthful alternative set of locals who allow musicians on stage to explore, improvise and meander, pushing their artistry to the edge. The visionaries behind this jazz exploration are the two ‘Heliocentrics’ who created PASS (Pan African Space Station), Neo Muyanga (composer/arranger) and Ntone Edjabe (founder of Chimurenga magazine).  ‘Not only do we encourage young and emerging musicians to experiment with an appreciative audience, but Tagores also maintains an internet radio station to air South African talents worldwide,’ says Muyanga, proudly drawing on the PASS experiences on Long Street (see Amandla! Issue 11/12, December 2009/January 2010). It is this ‘unique freeform radio station which streams cutting edge music live online’ that makes Tagores so hip and contemporary.  Although small for audience comfort, Tagores provides a ‘shabeen’ vibe and exuberance rarely found in any live club. ‘Acting locally but impacting globally’ is Tagores’s motto. Its kitchen continues to produce tasty tapas and curries for the late-hour munchers. Tagores is an experience not to be missed.

Lee Thompson and Kesivan Naidoo were 15 years old when they played together in the new but growing South African National Youth Jazz Band in the mid-1990s.  Today, they co-own Cape Town’s only exclusive and small but upmarket live jazz venue. Is that living out a dream? Indeed. They call it The Mahogany Room, and it is situated at 79 Buitenkant Street, neighbouring with some of the best (affordable) pizzas in town (Diva’s) and Perseverance Tavern, Cape Town’s oldest pub, and the cosy Book Lounge. That’s half a block’s worth of entertainment!

What’s the philosophy behind this venue?  ‘To honour the fine talents of improvised music.’ How?

1. By providing a platform for musicians to play to appreciative and attentive audiences. It’s a venue run for and by musicians so that they can experiment and exercise creativity through their compositions.
2. By developing acoustic guidelines that offer quality and soundscapes uncluttered by amplification. The smallest of the grand pianos, a Steinway Model O, sits proudly on the stage. Acoustic music is key here; original sounds are heard in an atmosphere of quiet listening. This ‘room’ models some of the world’s greatest jazz clubs, like New York’s The Village Vanguard.

‘Jazz listening has to grow organically,’ says drummer Kesivan. ‘It’s like cleaning a wine barrel without using those machines,’ he compares, so that the original taste is preserved and not ‘chemicalised’ or corrupted by other influences.  ‘Quality control is key,’ says trumpeter Lee, so that the best output from the artists is maintained.

Ibuyambo:  See-hear-feel-taste experience

Cape Town loves its ‘melting pot’ venues for talent and culture, and one star example is this Centre at 11 Bree Street. It fits up to 300 people who can marvel at live visual and audio performances, painting and photography exhibitions and the odd ‘obscure’ Cape Flats artworks.  Various music themes are offered:  acoustic jazz, base reggae, female jazz artists, funky DJ nites, and African traditional music with Dizu Plaatjies of Amampondo fame leading drum and instrumental ensembles.  Besides being an art gallery with a twist, and exposing the large talent pool based in the Western Cape, the centre plans to hold workshops for school bands with the masters. Promoter/owner Justin Dyssell and Dizu’s dreams have come true with this potpourri of visuals and sounds, honouring the need to bring young and talented men and women to the stage. On Thursday nights, Soul Jazz Sisters showcases women artists.  Cultural education is key to Ibuyambo’s philosophy, and this includes daily cultural Ibuyambo Tours.

All three of these venues aim to expose and reward the local South African talent through developing appreciative listening audiences.  The venues are vibey enough to allow for personal interaction with the artists, who can also interact with each other as part of their own educational growth.