Dyer meets Wyatt on the Sof’town jazz stage
SOPHIATOWN – Two jazz styles will merge as one at Sophiatown the Mix.
Jazz trumpeter Marcus Wyatt and jazz piano prodigy, Bokani Dyer, will be paying Sophiatown the Mix at the Trevor Huddleston Centre a visit this month.
Wyatt, the Sama (South African Music Awards) award-winning trumpeter, composer and producer, was born in Port Elizabeth in 1971 and was introduced to music at a young age.
He was mostly exposed to folk and blues as his father was chairman of the local folk club.
By age 11, he had started playing the trumpet and playing in his school band where he also learnt to read music. Wyatt later studied classical music at the University of Cape Town’s College of Music where he majored in composition and arrangement.
Wyatt, together with the ZAR Orchestra, won the Best Jazz Album at the 22nd South African Music Awards held last year. The album, One Night in the Sun, features some of the best young jazz talents in South Africa including Siya Makuzeni, 2016 Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year winner.
He has also performed with the likes of Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Dyer like Wyatt was introduced to music at a very early age. He was born in Gaborone, Botswana where many exiled South African musicians lived during the apartheid era including his father, musician Steve Dyer.
He took up the piano formally at 14 and was later accepted into a jazz programme at the University of Cape Town. Since completing his studies with distinction, Dyer, a piano prodigy, has won scholarships, multiple awards, and has toured many parts of the world.
His latest album, World Music (2015), was a local success and received very welcomed international acclaim. It was also nominated for the Best Jazz Album in the 2016 Sama awards.
The duo will be performing compilations of their best songs at the Mix and it promises to be one not to be missed.
Organisers of the event invite the audience to bring their own snacks and drinks. The centre will provide glasses and ice for drinks.
Details
Venue: Trevor Huddleston Centre
Date: 10 November
Time: 8pm
Tickets: Contact 083 550 7130/ 011 477 3490
