Saturday 6th June 2009, 7:30pm
Hailing from the foot of Table Mountain, Cape Town, CueCumber Jazz is deeply rooted in the Rhythm and Harmony synonymous with Jazz. The band's repertoire moves from Swing, to Latin, to Modern Jazz and Funk, encompassing improvisation as a key factor in their music. With a diverse group of talented musicians, CueCumber Jazz blends music styles with unmatched finesse. With Gemayel on drums, Zanelle on trumpet, Merrilou on piano, Deon on Electric Bass/Double Bass and Craig on guitars, this Jazz quintet is guaranteed to get you swinging' at your corporate/private function!
They have played mainly corporate functions but have extended their performance to a more public scene. With a huge successful run of a Show called “all about love” hosted in Pinelands. They were the featured band at the Overberg Wine Route Book launce. Playing songs from George Benson and Ernie Smith to Latin standards. The band were one of the Top bands at the German October Fest this year.
Tickets R50, sold at Greyton Lodge
Here’s a short biography on the extremely talented musicians that make up Cuecumber Jazz.
Craig Victor – Lead Guitar Craig has started to play the Guitar under the tuition and mentorship of Alan Yon at the age of 16 in 2006. Since then, he has ventured into the vast depths of music. Having being poisoned by his Father's love for Jazz as a kid, Craig has developed a taste for fine music - and now he bleeds these untold stories of black slavery, from which Jazz was born. In 2007 Craig initiated the first ever Jazz band at Bellville Technical High School, named Legacy. The name is self-explanatory, and thus they've made history. One year later, and he's half way through the Certificate Programme at The University of Stellenbosch, studying Classical music. Craig has also been elected to be the Jazz Guitarist for The Stellenbosch Youth Jazz Band and has represented the university at the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival held in Grahamstown annually. That's right, only one year later, and he has performed alongside an endless list of Cape Town's young Jazz musicians, as well as legends such as Robbie Jansen. Craig continues to study music and the Guitar, and aspires to experiment with different genres, art forms and artists: teaming up with Joshua Prinsloo and the gang of Green Room Collective to explore Fine Art as a genre of music. With that said, one cannot deny one's roots and Craig wishes to thank Cuecumber Jazz for granting him the opportunity to once again, delve into the vast depths of Jazz from which he, as a Guitarist, was born.
Gemayel Kroukamp – Drums / Manager
Gemayel started his music studies at the age of 4 playing classical guitar and piano. At age 12 he discovered the drums, which he fell in love with.
At the age of sixteen he played drums for major stage productions such as FAME and Grease. During this period he also played for numerous Gospel bands in and around the Overberg region.
During 2005 he started playing Jazz with a number of Big Bands in Cape Town, developing a new love for Jazz. Some of the Jazz performances were with the Austrian Jazz quartet Six Tension on their Cape Town tour. He also performed with various Cape Town musicians such as Jeff Weiner, Mike Laatz and Ed Kirkwood. It was always his dream to play in his own band, This dream was realized with the creation of a hot and exciting new band called Cuecumber Jazz.
Zanelle Stipp –Trumpet / Synth
Zanelle started having music lessons at the age of 5 and over the years tried and tested many different instruments. She eventually found “the one” and fell in love with the trumpet.
In 1998 she pursued her studies at the South African College of Music (UCT). While studying, she became a member of the UCT Big Band under the direction of Prof Mike Campbell, became a member of the National Youth Jazz Band in 2000 and performed at many festivals in and around Cape Town, such as the Grahamstown Jazz Festival and Joy of Jazz Festival. She also performed with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra on many occasions. She completed her BMus and BMus Honours Degrees in trumpet performance at UCT in 2003.
She has developed a great love for Jazz which grows more and more as each second ticks by…and is loving her hot new band!
Deon Kallis - Bass
Deon started the electric bass in 1994 and spent a few months at the Jazz Workshop under the tuition of Spencer Mbadu. He studied clarinet at the Battswood Arts Centre in 1997 and switched to the soprano and tenor saxophones soon after. After a few years playing tenor saxophone in the Athlone Academy of Music’s Big Band, he currently plays bass guitar for the Connelly Big Band and the Fascinationz Band.
For a sneak preview of the band please visit :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CueCumber-Jazz/30072052212
http://www.cuecumberjazz.com/
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