Those of you who are regular readers of Howzit-HongKong.com (and BlitzBokke.com) will know of my profound love affair with jazz and especially the genre called Cape Jazz.

This interest of mine is what moved me to start the Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions here on Howzit-HongKong.com (we should re-start that feature soon!).

The weekly feature showcased some of the Cape Town/South African/International music and musicians that I love and associate with home and that I like to play in my apartment here in Hong Kong, especially at sunset.

I have featured the likes of (my kids’ tick tock lady) Tina Schouw, Sankomota, Lesley Kleinsmith, Dave Grusin, Sadao Watanabe, to name but a few.

This past weekend, I had to visit my regular IT mall in Sham Shui Po because I had to upgrade my WiFi network in the apartment.  I also went around to one of the stalls selling DVDs and as always I picked up 2 real DVD GEMS! (For HK$30/R30 each nogal!) You guessed it: both jazz and both groups have a connection with Cape Town.

The Fourplay DVD was recorded Live at the Cape Town International Convention Centre while Incognito (a British acid jazz band that was started 32 years ago) is a favourite among Capetonians of my generation.

The FourPlay concert, as I mentioned, was recorded live in Cape Town and it was a real treat to hear and see how my compatriots responded when the band played classics like 101 Eastbound (below) by Bob James (keyboards) Nathan East (bass) Larry Carlton (guitar) and Harvey Mason (drums):

I should visit Sham Shui Po more often.

FourPlay Live in Cape Town

Incognito - 30th Anniversary

————————————————————————————————————————————————Howzit-HongKong.com listens to the best Jazz with Eric Alan on The Detour only on The Taxi

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I was at my regular computer-hardware wholesaler in Sham Shui Po the other day when my attention was drawn to a commotion at one of the stalls.  Turned out that the wholesaler was unpacking it’s quota of iPad2′s.

I didn’t have a camera with me at the time, but caught a story in last week’s edition of the Junior Standard.

While the iPad2 went on sale in the US about 2 weeks ago, no OFFICIAL release date for Hong Kong has been announced yet.  However, some iPad2′s have found it’s way here by way of parallel importing, some hitting the city’s shelves 3 days after going on sale in the States.

Wikipedia defined parallel imports as:

A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner. Parallel imports are often referred to as grey product…

Impatient iPad2 fans jostle for the parallel imported gadget in Hong Kong (Pic: Sing Tao Daily)

A well-known computer center in Mongkok called Sincere Podium has more than 20 shops selling the iPad2.  However, while the gadget retails in the US for between US$499 (HK$3,892) and US$829 (HK$6,466) depending on the model, due to it’s uniqueness (at this stage) expect to pay top dollar to get you hands on a unit ahead of the official release. 

While prices at Sincere Podium vary, a basic 16GB model with wi-fi sells between HK7,000 and HK$9,000.  A 64GB model with 3G features sells for around HK$14,000.

Sellers also expect pre-release prices to increase even more as local stocks decrease.

I know some disappointed folks at the Marco Polo Hotel in Canton Road who had their sights set on picking up an iPad2 this week.

Yes, it’s here but at that price?!

I’ll wait thank you very much. 

Note: Sincere Podium, also known as the Sing Tat Shopping Centre, is in Mongkok.  Almost anything related to mobile phones and devices are available here.  There are also shops selling second-hand devices.

The Golden Computer Centre is located across Exit …… of the Sham Shui Po MTR on the Red line.  The centre is especially popular with gamers especially those into Nintendo, X-Box, etc.  However, it also has many stalls selling computer hardware, computer comsumables as well as camera equipment.