September 29, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE 2006 Arts Alive International Festival comes to an end this weekend, and what better way to close the month-long programme of music, dance and theatre than to groove to the music of the legendary Juan De Marcos Gonzalez of Afro Cuban All Stars and the funky Mr Scruff.
Gonzalez and his group will be performing in the marquee at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown on Friday, 29 September and Saturday, 30 September, while Mr Scruff will be spinning the vinyl across the square at Carfax on Friday.
Speaking at a media conference at the Bassline, Gonzalez said he was excited to be in South Africa. "Cuban music is not very different from African music because there are a lot of similarities in tempo and beat. Cuban music actually borrowed a lot from African music, despite leaning heavily on European styles."
He said he loved South African music and had once shared a stage with one of South Africa's gospel queens, Rebecca Malope. The brains behind the Buena Vista Social Club, a members-only music club in Havana, Cuba, Gonzalez leads the All Stars, a 13-piece band comprising of four generations of Cuba's finest musicians.
The All Stars were established as a backing band for Gonzalez's heroes, the legendary singers of the 1950s, seen as the golden age of Cuban music. The list of lead vocalists in the band is a who's who of the greatest Cuban soneros, or singers. There is the 80-year-old Pio Leyva, Raul Planas, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea and Ibrahim Ferrer, who have been joined by the rising stars of a younger generation.
Regarded as a visionary musician, Gonzalez has been a key figure on the international scene. He teamed up with Nick Gold at the British record company, World Circuit, in 1997 to recreate the sound of the 1950s golden age of Cuban music.
In celebration of the diversity of Cuban music, All Stars presents a great range of styles, including Danzon, Son-Montuno, Guaguanco, Mozambique, Afro, Mambo and Guajira.
A master of a completely different musical genre, is Mr Scruff. Looking cool in a simple T-shirt, the British dance music maestro said coming to South Africa was an experience. Confessing that he knew relatively little about South African music, he said he would take some local sounds back to Manchester, his hometown.
"I know South African musicians like Miriam Makeba and I am very excited that I was able to find space in my hectic schedule to perform in the country. My music has been doing well in South Africa and I hope my live show will prove as popular."
Mr Scruff broke into the local dance music scene with his hit tune, Get a move on, which soon became a club favourite and enjoyed constant air time on radio station YFM. He says he started mixing music as a 12-year-old in late 1984. Then he met Barney Doodlebug, a DJ from Bristol, in south-western England, who gave him his first Manchester gig.
On the recording side, Mr Scruff has released singles as well as recordings for Echo Drop, Grand Central and Cup of Tea. He has also ventured into radio as a guest on popular shows, eventually joining forces with Treva Whateva to present the Hot Pot Show on the national Student Broadcast Network. The show moved to Manchester's Key 103 in 2002 and at present is broadcast on Brighton's Juice 107.2.
Mr Scruff's Carfax show kicks off at 9pm, with South Africa's own Blunted Stuntman. Tickets for the show go for R80 at Computicket or at the door. The Afro Cuban All Star show starts at 8.30pm at the marquee and the group will share the stage with Uju and Tlale Makhene, both from South Africa. Tickets for this show are also R80.
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