Silence Aloud

Visiting Cape Town is like walking into the past and the present all at once. This is the city where so many cultures of the world have been negotiating histories for a long time, and the complexity of events has resulted in a very interesting cultural landscape. Besides its status as a major city, with all the attractions, and wonderful Cape Town hotels as well, there are other reasons for visiting besides the usual tourist draws.

It’s very difficult to think of Cape Town without considering the vast musical history here. One evening in the city will always reveal why. It’s not only the nightclubs that are playing music that people can dance to, and in fact, music comes from every corner. It’s certainly nothing new, but there’s also nothing old about it either. Cape Town Jazz does include some traditional rhythms in its musical soup, but traditional here is something that’s always evolving into a future that’s just up the road a little ways.

Mac Mackenzie is just one of many professionals in Cape Town who can move through the complex levels of the city, and still speak about the history in a very personal way. He saw many of the changes of the past century, and his own guitar playing have taken the ride as well. The jazz he plays would more aptly be called goemma, blending the styles of at least three cultures at any given time, and it’s still just on the verge of another renaissance.

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