Swing Jazz Music, or Easy Listening, or whatever you prefer to call it, is a genre that, while widely respected and nostalgically enjoyed, isn't the most popular these days. Sure, the occasional Idol's Contestant will wow us with a rendition of Frankie's “I did it My Way” And we all recognize the classics. However, in terms of mainstream airplay, Swing jazz is (With all due respect) dead.

Loyiso Bala, Nathan Ro and Graeme Watkins, have other ideas and have embarked on an ambitious project with the aim of adding some old school shique to contemporary South African Music. Personally, the idea sounded incredible and being an old soul myself, I had very few complaints.

As the editor of Zalebs, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of this brand new, exciting project. We were treated to welcome drinks and saucy canapés while the atmosphere was set. Slowly, as the crowd settled, the jazz band began taking their places. It wasn’t long before the main stars hit the stage as Nathan and Graeme entertained the audience with some comedy before breaking out into song.

The trio spent the night alternating between duet combinations before eventually taking the stage as a triadic ensemble and  charming the audience with their renditions of famous classics from “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” to “Straighten up and Fly Right” (My two personal favorite swing jams!) before ending off with the popular “Mack the Knife”

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at just how well this all went down. I had never pictured any of the 3 singers as Jazz musicians, but they pulled it off quite well. The harmonies at some points were incredible, and an absolute delight for listeners.

Without wanting to be a bit of a Grinch, I did feel that last night’s particular performance turned a bit “gimmicky” at times with no real purpose. The cutaways and little dialogues felt rehearsed and put an unnecessary lull in what was an otherwise enjoyable performance.

Swing City Make Massive Impact 

In terms of technical ability, well, there’s not a great deal more I can say other than that they boys were excellent. One or two flat harmonies aside (Which, let’s be honest, is still decent for a live performance) they blended well, knew their music, and were genuinely passionate about their music.

I’m looking forward to hearing more of Swing City. Pop stars in the past have tried dabbing their hands into the swing genre (Robbie Williams’ Swing When You're Winning) With mixed success. I personally feel that in Nathan, Graeme and Loyiso, Swing City has 3 excellent vocal custodians to take on this legendary genre, and I have full confidence they can do so with aplomb.

Lastly, I have to mention the band, who were absolutely outstanding. At many points in the night I had to remind myself “Oh my, this is is a LiVE band, not a studio recording.” They were flawless, energectic and made the crowd swing.

I’m looking forward to a lot more!

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