Argentina and South Africa meet musically in duo concert

In association with Concerts SA, bassist Ariel Zamonsky and vocalist Juana Pires Rafael will be touring the Eastern and Western Capes offering a dozen of scintillating performances of Latin American folk tunes (most of them Argentinian), jazz standards and their own original compositions .

Ariel Zamonsky is an Argentinean born bass player who relocated to South Africa in 2005, completing his studies in Jazz and Popular music at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). In 2012 he had a regular gig for seven months backing Standard Bank Jazz award winner, pianist Andile Yenana.

Ariel says: ‘I started playing electric bass at the age of thirteen. My grandfather was a bass player and I was named after him. Some years ago, while playing with master pianist Andile Yenana, I decided to switch to double bass. It was a rather difficult task but it allowed me to play with even more people. Over the last few years, I have been blessed to share music with great musicians, from whom I’ve learned so much and enjoyed playing their music.’

He has played with some of South Africa´s greatest jazz musicians such as Ayanda Sikade, Kesivan Naidoo, Buddy Wells, Andre Petersen, Marcus Wyatt, Pops Mohamed, Afrika Mhkize, Feya Faku, Sidney Mavundla, Andile Yenana, Louis Moholo, Nduduzo Makhathini, Project Elo, Amandla Freedom Ensemble, amongst others. He’s also played with Afrika Mhkize’s big band tribute to Bheki Mseleku, The Zoolake bowling club big band and The Orbit Big Band.

His touring Includes South African jazz festivals: Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, National Arts Festival Grahamstown Jazz festival, HIFA (Zimbabwe), Jazz at the Lake, Eldos Jazz Festival, Music Festivals: cities like Port Elizabeth, Durban, East London and Cape Town, and also southern African countries like Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius and Mozambique. In 2015 he participated in the African operetta Song of Nongoma at the Soweto Theatre, and he recorded on SAMA’s Best Jazz album nominee Mother Tongue, by Nduduzo Makhathini.

Juana Pires Rafael introduces herself: ‘ I’m a 28 year old singer. I’ve arrived in South Africa in February 2016. I was born and grew up in Argentina, most specifically from Patagonia, where I’ve performed and studied with local musicians. Since my arrival in South Africa I’ve performed with Yonela Mnana, Tumi Mogorosi and Ariel Zamonsky at some of the jazz venues in Johannesburg, such as the Afrikan Freedom Station, The Orbit, and Che.’

Ariel Zamonsky and Juana Pires Rafael tour is supported by the Music Mobility Fund, a funding mechanism administered by Concerts SA which offers opportunities for South African musicians to undertake live music tours.

Concerts SA is a joint South African/Norwegian live music development project housed within the SAMRO Foundation. Concerts SA receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO, the SAMRO Foundation and Concerts Norway. Working with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, and providing support to the sector through research and skills development for music professionals, the project aims to build a vibrant and viable live music circuit in southern Africa. It also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.

For more information please visit our website http://concertssa.co.za, follow @ConcertsSA on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA.

Events Listing

East London – Bucanneers

Thursday 23^rd & Friday 24^th June– xpm – Free entry

Address: 1 Tranrack Road, Quigney, East London

Bookings: 0437343012 / buccaneers@cintsa.com

Coffee Bay – Sugarloaf

Saturday 25^th & Sunday 26^th June– 5pm – Price tbc

Address: 1 Coffee Bay Beach Road, Coffee Bay

Bookings: 079 183 5274 / bookings@sugarloafbackpackers.com

Coffee Bay – Coffeeshack

Monday 27^th & Tuesday 28^th June– xpm – R x