George Werner & Babalwa Mentjies
Thu Mar 28, 21:00 - Thu Mar 28, 23:00
The Athletic Club & Social
ABOUT
George Werner
Band leader, music educator, pianist, composer-arranger, producer
George Werner studied music under Merton Barrow at Cape Town’s Jazz Workshop in the early 1980s before becoming a professional musician in 1983. He has performed and recorded with the likes of Winston Mankunku, Robbie Jansen, Duke and Ezra Ngcukana, Errol and Alvin Dyers, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Sylvia Mdunyelwa, Thandie Klaasen and Don Tshomela and many more. Internationally he has worked in Germany, France, Japan, USA, Bahrain and Brazil and has collaborated with numerous international projects from France, Germany and the UK. He has a producer on various albums.
George started teaching at the Jazz Workshop in 1988 and has since been teaching at institutions and school such as MAPP(Musical Action for People’s Progress), University of the Western Cape, The Grahamstown Youth Jazz Festival, Artscape Theatre and various high schools and community projects in the greater Cape Town.
In 1999, he co-founded the Little Giants Youth ensemble with the late great saxophonist, Ezra Ngcukana. The Little Giants project has mentored 350 plus youth across the broader Cape Town region and is still active today. In 2006, he co-founded The Institute for music and Indigenous Arts Development(IMAD) of which he is still an active director and teacher. IMAD main focus is to make music education accessible in the disadvantage areas of Cape Town and to foster the reach heritage of South African music and Arts
He continues as a professional pianist, music director for various artists in South Africa.
?BABALWA MENTJIES is an accomplished Jazz Vocalist, residing in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. She is a polished songwriter and a great vocal coach/entertainer, a University of Kwazulu Natal School of Music graduate majored in Jazz Performance and also holds Postgraduate qualification in Marketing Management. She is a Music Educator/ Project Manager at IMAD (Khayelitsha Institute for Music and Indigenous Arts Development) and is passionate about community development. Babalwa is currently performing with maestro George Werner (Pianist) who is a Founder Member of IMAD and has shared the stage with many of South Africa’s top jazz musicians, including Feya Faku, Gloria Bosman, Blackie Tempi, Khaya Mahlangu and has performed around South Africa and abroad. Babalwe is a voice teacher in Lansdowne and Khayelitsha.