After a very well received tour last year, the Swiss-South African jazz collaboration The Rainmakers return to perform at Cape Town International Jazz Festival and tour South Africa and Mauritius.  With Swiss bassist Baenz Oester at the helm The Rainmakers will be performing at  the Cape Town International Jazz Festival on March 28, 2015, followed by performances in East London, Durban, Johannesburg and Mauritius.  For the second concurrent year, the band is, supported by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss arts council.

Considered as one of Europe’s foremost double bassists, Oester has been active on the Swiss and international jazz scene since the early eighties.  He has performed and recorded with numerous musicians, as well as recording his debut solo album, Blosperment Suite, in 2007. Oester is joined by fellow Swiss jazz artist Ganesh Geymeier on tenor saxophone and South Africans Afrika Mkhize on piano and Ayanda Sikade on drums.

Their shared musical philosophy has seen this collaboration result in collaborative performances both here and in Switzerland and the release of an album, Playing at the Bird’s Eye, recorded live at the Basel jazz club in 2012. The band first toured Southern African in 2014.

Coloured by the band’s varying backgrounds and musical traditions, the quartet’s eclectic style is a unique combination of jazz and blues, African polyrhythms and Swiss and Bulgarian folk tunes. Dubbed the group as “music of intention” it has been described by the media as joyful and energetic.

Following the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, The Rainmakers head to East London performing at the Sterling Auditorium on March 29 and then to The Jazzy Rainbow, in Durban, on March 31.

The second part of tour takes place in Mauritius with a studio performance at MBC Studios, Reduit on April 2. This performance will be broadcast live on national radio. The Rainmakers will then be performing at the Francois Mitterrand National Conservatory for Music, in Quatre Borne, on April 3.

The tour concludes with two performances in Johannesburg, the first at Winnie’s Soul and Jazz Club on April 4 and the second at The Orbit on April 5.

Times and booking information:

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Issued by JT Communication Solutions on Behalf of Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Arts Council - www.prohelvetia.org.za

Notes to Editor:

More about the Musicians:

Baenz Oester

Bandleader Baenz Oester has been active in the Swiss and international improvised jazz music scene since the early eighties, either on his own or as part of a collective and has collaborated on numerous projects. Currently he leads the quartet; Baenz Oester & The Rainmakers, and he plays with the WHO-Trio with Gerry Hemingway and Michel Wintsch, in Duo with vocal artist Andreas Schaerer, and as sideman with the Donat Fisch Trio/Quartet, Marcus Wyatt Quartet and others.

Ganesh Geymeier

Tenor saxophone player Ganesh Geymeier is living in Vevey, Switzerland. He is one of the most popular Swiss sax players of the younger generation. He is member of the collective „Holunderblüten“ and also plays with numerous Swiss and French musicians including Matthieu Michel, Marc Méan, Emil Spanyi, Marcel Papaux, Malcolm Braff, Pierre Audetat, François Jeanneau, Glenn Ferris, Joe Quitzke and Sylvia Versini.

Afrika Mkhize

South African pianist Afrika Mkhize is currently living in Johannesburg. His distinctive style has cemented his reputation in South Africa and abroad. He is also a versatile producer and musical director and was the bandleader and musical director for the legendary Miriam Makeba Band.  He has worked with many notable African, European and American artists.

Ayanda Sikade

Drummer Ayanda Sikade is currently living in Johannesburg. He plays with many South-African musicians including Feya Faku, Bheki Mseleku, Robbie Jansen, Barney Rachabane, Darius Brubeck. He was also a member of legendary saxophonist Zim Ngqawana’s band.

What the Swiss press have said about Baenz Oester and the Rainmakers:

• The musicians’ passionate interplay can grow from lyrically rapturous moments to true fireworks. The four rainmakers have chosen their name well – their music is prolific and full of joy, leaving you wanting more. – Basellandschaftliche Zeitung

• What the Rainmakers have to offer is certainly breathtaking: their show is brilliant and animated, lithe and powerful, exuberant and coherent in equal measure. Oscillating between ecstasy and intimacy, the performance of Bernese bassist Bänz Oester’s new quartet inspires from beginning to end. – Der Bund

• From the first note this music draws highly varied grooves, leaving the audience spellbound. Cultural and musical boundaries disintegrate, jazz tradition is respectfully but decisively broken and a new soundscape is slotted together. The whole exudes tremendous energy and a zest for life, inflaming everyone and leaving one powerless to escape its effect. – Donaukurier

• The quartet creates a sparkling sound energy. Intensity and tension are there from the outset. Class! – Jazz Podium

Pro Helvetia Johannesburg:

Pro Helvetia Johannesburg facilitates exchange and collaboration between artists, projects and organizations in Southern Africa and Switzerland, through residencies and collaborative projects between the two contexts.  Through an agreement with the SADC regional office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) we also support transnational collaboration, mobility of artists and work, and network development within the SADC region.