Sankomota is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical bands to come out of the tiny ‘mountain kingdom’ of Lesotho, Sankomota (originally Uhuru) was formed around 1976. It consisted of several members in its earliest years, namely – Frank Leepa (guitarist, vocalist, arranger, composer), Moss Nkofo (drummer), Black Jesus (percussion), Moruti Selate, Tsepo Tsola (lead vocalist, composer), Pitso Sera (guitar), among others.
However, when talking about Sankomota, one name stands out immediately, Tsepo Tsola.
A few years ago, the artist, who is commonly known as “the village pope,” recovered from 17 long years of addiction to both drugs and alcohol.
Not much can be found online about Tsepo Tsola but you can read more on Music.org.za
Tsepo Tsola “The Village Pope” (Pic: Winter Jazz Festival)
The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions # 27: Tsepo Tsola & Sankomota
Over the next few Sundays, Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one (or more) of the musicians and their sounds who have influenced and shaped South African and specifically Cape Town music as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
Some of my greatest memories from Cape Town involve Table Mountain.
As a boy scout back in the days, our troop regularly took part in orienteering competitions at various locations around the mountain.
Later, as a member of my university’s Mountain Club, I had the privilege (several times over) of rock-climbing a couple of routes to the top. A favourite “act of madness” by the fitness-fanatics in the Club was to run up AND down the Mountain via Platteklip Gorge as fast as possible.
In case you were thinking: Yes, we did that stone cold sober!
The best experience, however, was the many nights I spent at the SA Mountain Club’s hut… on the ‘Table Top” as I always like to say. Staying behind while tourists and other visitors are advised that the Upper Cable Station will be closing, as well as seeing the sun rise over the Hottentots Holland mountains while watching from the top of Table Mountain are priceless experiences that few people are privvy to.
Nowadays, as an expat for a decade, my family’s best experience when flying home once a year, is undoubtedly seeing the Mountain as our plane approaches the Mother City.
That is when we feel like we are finally home.
Priceless experiences indeed.
Recently, Table Mountain was named on the shortlist of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.
The Cape icon successfully beat legendary sites such as Mount Everest, K2 and Mount Olympus.
In the meantime, have a look and listen to this clip I made yesterday while listening to Soli Philander & Fiona Furey talking about this campaign on The Taxi:
(We used the picture above in our video clip. Tasaline Pamela Martin informed us via The Taxi that the view in the sketch above was her family’s while growing up and that the picture is by her 16-year old brother, Philipus van Rensburg from Heideveld. Thanks for allowing us to use it, young man.)
My kids love this time of the year. Anything that gives them time off school is good, they reason.
The schoolyear recently resumed after the two-week Christmas/New Year holidays, then after a four-week stint back at school, it’s off to the Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year break they go!
The biggest festival on the Chinese calendar falls between 1 February – 12 February 2011.
Legendary rock band, The Eagles will perform on 18 March 2011 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre as part of their Long Road Out of Eden World Tour.
The band – Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit – will perform songs from their most recent No.1 album, Long Road Out of Eden, as well as classic hits such as Hotel California, Desperado, Take It Easy, One of These Nights, Heartache Tonight and Take It To The Limit. Fans will also be treated to solo hits from band members such as Boys Of Summer, Life In The Fast Lane and Dirty Laundry.
The Eagles have sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, earning five #1 U.S. singles and six GRAMMY® Awards. Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is the best-selling album of all time, exceeding sales of 29 million units. The band’s Hotel California and Their Greatest Hits Volume 2 have sold more than 16 and 11 million albums respectively. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Eagles last performed in Hong Kong in 2004.
Venue: Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre – Hall 5BC
Date: Friday 18 March 2011
It’s taking place a week before The Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens so get your tickets now.
Here at Howzit-HongKong.com we have posted about 16 artists under the “Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions” category and, not taking anything away from the previous 16 artists, this next one is a particularly special one.
Those who know me will know about my penchant with Cape Jazz, especially the genre known as “Ghoema.”
Cape Town, being a port-city, is known for the fact that it took the sounds of all the nations who came calling and fused it’s sounds into a unique genre popularly known as “Ghoema.”
Bands such as this week’s featured artists VJR took this sound and further internationalized it into a sound that was more “acceptable” to foreign ears. However, it was (and is) still a particular Cape Town sound and staunch “Capetonians” like me, no matter where in the world we found ourselves… will forever identify with this special Cape Town sound.
Thanks to outfits like Virual Jazz Reality.
Like me, as a teenager growing up in Cape Town in the 80′s and 90′s, you will be frowned upon if you claimed not to know Ian Smith.
OK, maybe I shouldn’t be as harsh. You will be frowned upon if you claim not to know the bands Concert Boulevard, Pound Seats, MJ-9, The Tony Schilder Quartet, Airborne or Inside Out. If you were a regular at Cape Flats clubs and concerts back in the days, you WILL know these outfits. You WILL also know the trumpeter called Ian Smith.
I was fortunate to see both Ian Smith and Sammy Webber in action when I attended the birthday party for the late Robbie Jansen at the G-Spot in Epping (Cape Town) during my annual visit home last year. It was the last time I saw Robbie alive so that night at the G-Spot in Epping is forever etched in my memory.
Trumpeter Ian Smith with the late Boeta Robbie Jansen (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Ian Smith (right) with Sammy Webber (middle) at Boeta Robbie’s birthday jam (Pic: Mike Jansen)
The quartet has built a reputation for refined fusion, performance finesse with razor sharp improvisations and syncopation. Their repertoire includes impressive contemporary jazz originals and inspirational takes on timeless classics such as: John Coletrane’s ‘Naima’ and Eddie Harris’s Freedom’s Jazz Dance, brought to you in true inventive jazz style by the quartet.
Comprising Ian Smith (trumpet, flugalhorn, and vocals), Andrew Ford (keyboards, drums and bass), Sammy Webber (bass and vocals) and Frank Paco (drums and vocals), VJR have impressive individual pedigrees as bandleaders, studio musicians, music educators and performers.
Having played with numerous ensembles of his own creation including: Concert Boulevard, Pound Seats, MJ-9, The Tony Schilder Quartet, Airborne and Inside Out, Ian Smith has acquired the reputation as one of the most sought after studio musicians. His prowess as a trumpet player has also earned him a place as a soloist for the UCT Big Band and for the CAPAB and CTSO orchestras. He was also one of the influential figures, along with Prof Mike Campbell, in the formation of the Cape Jazz Orchestra.
VJR’s Ian Smith pays tribute to Boeta Robbie Jansen (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Andrew Ford has studied piano and percussion, both classical and jazz, for the past sixteen years and in 1980 began performing with the Richmond-Upon-Thames Youth Band in London. Despite having performed extensively with his own trios and groups (Inside Out) as well as a regular with the CAPAB, CTSO and Cape Jazz Orchestras his talents as a producer are extensive. His appointment as musical director for B&S Studios while at the same time running his own successful recording studio the ‘Nuthouse’ bare tribute to this fact.
Andrew Ford in his comfort zone (Pic: Andrew Ford on FaceBook)
Sammy Webber has been playing bass from the impressionable age of 17 and started playing in his first band at only 19. Since then he has played with the successful duo U-Turn with Tony Paulse and is also the bass player for Inside Out and MJ-9. As news of his ability begins to spread he is increasingly in demand as a session musician and is considered a vital contributor by the members of VJR.
Sammy Webber (left) with Robbie Jansen (Pic: Sammy Webber on FaceBook)
Self-taught musician, Frank Paco started playing drums at the age of 16 whilst living in Mozambique. He has performed with Zairian born, French singing sensation Pap Wemba, South African renowned vocalist Miriam Makeba and has toured with Afrojazz band Sakhile. More recently he featured on the FNB and Gold album by Jimmy Dludlu, “Echoes From The Past” and is currently studying music at the UCT College of Music.
Drummer Frank Paco with Samuel L Jackson (Pic: Frank Paco on FaceBook)
Virtual Jazz Reality is innovative and new. Not only are their tracks listenable, but the band also manage to balance cerebral dexterity with emotive fire while at the same time gently surfing gnarly time signatures with ease. Chunky muscular bass tones, delicious piano melodies, distinctive brass runs and fluid like percussive stick work combined with an impressive stage presence make VJR a truly inspiring contemporary jazz outfit catering for the connoisseur and music lovers generally.
Let’s hear from the band themselves in this promotional video:
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
While some of the world’s top golfers were dueling at the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open in Sheung Shui yesterday, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club hosted their Zoke Around the Island race.
Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event got underway in the morning, featuring a packed start line of over 200 boats, a record 15 Outrigger Canoes and one Offshore Rowing Boat.
The sailboat fleet featured all types of sailing boats, with the largest classes being the 29 IRC Cruisers, 45 HKPN Cruisers and 17 Hobie 16’s, with a notable fleet of 14 Impala heading the list of one-design keelboats.
Mr Lui Rui Jin, Chairman of ZOKE, fired the 0825hrs warning signal to get the start sequences underway on both inner and outer start lines, with start sequences culminating with the F18 fleet at 0950hrs.
The sight of over 200 sailboats heading East to Lei Yue Mun never fails to impress, even in a slight haze, however the paddlers mounted an impressive display to reach the Convention Centre in Victoria Harbour by the time the boats had disappeared to the East.
The RHKYC’s Around the Island Race (Pic: ZOKE / Fragrant Harbour)
In the Mixed Division, Hong Kong Outrigger Canoe Club (HKOCC) won in 4hrs 08m 45s, while in the Women’s Division, Hong Kong Island Paddling Club (HKIPC) took the title in 4 hrs 30m 23s. The blue riband event saw the Men’s trophy lifted by HKIPC ‘A’ crew in 3hrs 44m 40s.
Meanwhile, back on the race track, Race Officer Jimmy Farquhar was making a considered decision to shorten the course at Green Island , to spare boats the pain of landing in several holes in the area of Western. This proved to be an astute decision, as the breeze fluctuated between 0 – 6 knots all afternoon in the area between Cyberport and Sheung Wan.
There was a close-run finish on the water, with Mark Thornburrow taking the line honours gun in 3h 42m 32s with his F18 Hobie Tiger, just ahead of the Isler/Taylor owned Mills 41 ‘Ambush’, who took monohull line honours.
It was definitely a day to suit the Dinghies, with the Flying Fifteens taking the first four places on corrected time, ahead of 470, Ruffian and Etchells. Provisional results show that at the poolside Prizegiving tomorrow night (Monday) the La Cigale Trophy for the overall winner will be lifted by David Chow, with Hillary King receiving the Lady Godiva Trophy for first lady helm.
The Canny Man‘s posters all read “An oasis in WanChai” but I personally like the one I saw on a video today:
“A football-free zone.”
OK, so South Africa just recently hosted a very successful football World Cup but man… a month of football is probably as much football as I can take! Truth be told, I’ve probably seen enough round-ball “action” to last me till the next World Cup. Which is probably a good thing, what with the RUGBY WORLD CUP in Zealand looming in 2011.
I am currently teaching a bridging course for new Secondary 1 students in Lok Fu and one of my colleagues is none other than the former Hong Kong rugby captain Semi Iafeta. Apologies to Semi, but I didn’t recognise him until I did a bit of “research” online today. However, in my defense Semi, your hair used to be a lot longer! Like most international rugby boys here in Hong Kong, Semi Iafeta is a semi-professional who makes his living teaching in Hong Kong.
Semi Iafeta with ball in hand, playing for Hong Kong
It seems that the big Number 8 is also quite the video producer, having produced the video about The Canny Man I mentioned earlier:
Hongkongers can sometimes get rather “emotional” about small non-issues.
In recent months, there have been several incidents that have captured the local imagination, so much so that somebody even set up a website dedicated to the now infamous “Bus Uncle.”
Just to give you some perspective: HongKongers, especially the older folk, sometimes speak on their mobile phones as if they’re the only ones around. LOUD, and often on public transport. The Bus Uncle did so on a bus and was asked by a youngster to tone it down.
Talking about incidents, you may have seen the viral YouTube clip about the woman who throws this moerse tantrum after missing her flight (6,442,730 views):
Then of course, there’s (yet another woman) going into a fit when told there’s no sharkfin soup available (1,169,777 views):
I think the latest “video star” created on YouTube is the now famous Bus Uncle video clip (1,034,411 views):
(Do read the sub-titles… they’re hilarious!)
However, I just picked up on the following “MTR uncle” trying to mouth off to a gweilo (foreigner) on the MTR train line. It is not clear what led up to this incident, but the clip shows the foreigner briefly fiddling with the uncle’s bag. The altercation escalates when the uncle touches the foreigner’s face.
Watch the uncle narrowly escaping being thoroughly bliksem-ed by clicking here
From where I am typing this, if I turn my head slightly to the right, I can see the Hong Kong Coliseum. For those who don’t know what happens over here on the “dark side” (as Hong Kong Islanders apparently refer to Kowloon) the Coliseum is where many of the indoor sports events during the East Asian Games took place. It also hosts most of the local and international pop concerts. The Coliseum is situated directly opposite the Hung Hom MTR station.
Whenever I pass the diamond-shaped building, I can always tell when a famous person is about to have a concert or a big event is about to take place. The groupies hanging about the service entrance or the ritual suckling pig offering before the event is always a dead (pun intended) giveaway.
The Hong Kong Coliseum lit up during the daily Symphony of Light (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Yesterday was no different as the offering ceremony took place just as my bus passed the Coliseum. The groupies were also in place a suitable distance from the celebs.
The ceremony I witnessed happened to be part of the preparations for the Miss Hong Kong 2010 pageant that took place last night. According to the official Miss Hong Kong 2010 website: “The 15 contestants will compete (for) the winning, first and second-runner up titles as well as the Miss Photogenic and Miss International Goodwill awards.”
So without any wasting any more time, Hong Kongers…. here is your Queen also known as Miss International Goodwill 2010:
Miss Hong Kong 2010 Toby Chan
(The air-conditioning must have been on full-blast inside the Coliseum, because last I checked, it is summer outside.)
Here’s the 1st runner-up, Sammi Cheung (22) who will represent HK at the Miss International 2010 pageant:
And just for balance, 2nd runner-up is Lisa Ch’ng (23)
