Musicians hypnotize audience with their blues performances  at Joburg Theatre

Performances especially by Luyolo Lenga and Tumi Mogorosi  and Gabi Motuba were outstanding, and so was the comedy moments from the MC.

By Edward Tsumele

If your idea of having a good time was to attend a mini-festival featuring blues/jazz artists,, then you should definitely have at the Kulture Blues Festival at Joburg Theatre on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

The musicians that I watched before unfortunately dashing out for another commitment were simply good. The company was good too, and you could tell this was a crowd that was out to watch good performances and not simply hang out as sometimes is often the case at many a concert or music festival in this country.

The crowd on Saturday was a musically discerning lot, who listened in silence, taking in the performances, and yet applauded at the right moments without disturbing the flow of the performances, but rather to encourage the artists when they gave a good account of themselves.

Before leaving, I watched great performances by Luyolo Lenga and Tumi Mogorosi  Gabi Motuba, but unfortunately had to leave before Malcolm Jiyane’s performance.

Gabi is simply gifted when it comes to her vocal abilities and her stage presence doe s not only exude charisma, it is infectious too. You could tell that this is a musician who takes her craft seriously, and will soon go places If she remains on that musical trajectory. It was my first time to watch her in performance as she collaborated with hugely gifted percussionist Mogorosi. Their collaboration came together quite nicely, in a natural sort of way, and you could tell that the two musicians respect each other’s artistry.

Mogorosi did not only show leadership on stage, but his performance as usual was quite educated, impressive and animated.

The way he plays the percussions is simply out of this world, and has no rivals. If you listened to the texture of the sound he produced on the percussions, you could tell that such sound could only be produced by a musician who is measured, intentionally specific and precise. At times it felt like one was hearing the soft, distant current of a river flowing somewhere in a surreal rural environment. 

Then as you start getting used to that rhythm of the flow of the music, seemingly from nowhere, Mogorosi  jolts you back into reality by playing the same notes repeatedly,  creating a wave like sound with the percussions as he animatedly and almost meditatively played his instrument of choice and training with such calculation, it almost achieved scientific precision when it came to its impact on the audience’s sense of hearing.

The audience was moved and they applauded him, appreciating Mogorosi’s skill. In fact it would be not an exaggeration to even suggest that when Mogorosi, at the right moments during the show, repeatedly, rapidly, but softly pounced on the drums the effect carried the audience into a state of  free flow as they responded positively to the act. They were hyptonized.

There is no doubt that in Mogorosi there is immense talent that still needs to mature and reach its full potential.