Drum Duet / Me I Know Him – Myele Manzanza & the Eclectic
The son of a Congolese master percussionist, it would be fair to say the sounds of a drum beat through Myele Manzanza’s veins. The New Zealander has grown up steeped in traditional African rhythms, before picking up formal jazz training and then catching the music world by storm as one third of soul act Electric Wire Hustle. With the 2013 release of his debut solo album, called One, Manzanza tied together his diverse musical passions, and threw in some classic hip-hop and R&B grooves for good measure. Joining Manzanza onstage when he plays the Spiegeltent on 16 September will be his new afro-soul ensemble, the Eclectic – including his father and afrobeat maestro Sam Manzanza.
Simone Young discussing Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and Symphony No 6
This year the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simone Young, will play Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and Symphony No 6 at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s Concert Hall on 12 September. The last movement of the symphony is 30 minutes long, and according to Young, it tells the story of a hero hit with the “hammer blow of fate”. The original version had three hammer blows, the third of which kills the hero, after which the piece disintegrates and ends. At the time of composition Mahler himself had experienced two terrible hammer blows of fate: losing his position as head of the Vienna Philharmonic and one of his daughters died from illness. “He was very superstitious and removed the final hammer blow from the piece, believing it would herald his end as well,” said Young. “But I laugh in the face of superstition and I took the original.”
Chanteuse Superstar – Lady Rizo
Lady Rizo is an American singer who kicked off her career playing to the blue-rinse crowd on cruise ships, before moving to New York. She describes herself as “the product of a night of unrestrained indulgence between Peggy Lee, Mel Brooks, Nina Simone, Dean Martin and Janis Joplin”. It’s little surprise to discover she flips through music’s history books for inspiration – her act glitters with old school glamour, and the kind of razor-sharp barbs that recall the Golden Age of Hollywood. When she takes to the Spiegeltent on 12 September, and two shows on the 13 September, expect vivid tellings of often tender and funny stories, interspersed between utterly transformed covers from the songbook of American classics.
Grace – Jeff Buckley
Both the lives of folk artist Tim Buckley and his son, Jeff, were cut tragically short: Tim in 1975, when he was just 28 from a heroin overdose, and two decades later Jeff drowned in the Mississippi River at age 30. The two had apparently met just a handful of times, but through their stirring music will forever remain connected. Honouring that legacy on 25 and 26 September at the Concert Hall of Queensland Performing Arts Centre will be Martha Wainwright, Casper Clausen (Efterklang), Willy Mason, Camille O’Sullivan, Steve Kilbey (the Church) and Cold Specks led by guitarist/producer Gary Lucas with his band Gods and Monsters. Clearly the songs of both men continue to make a deep impression on the musical world.
My Heart Is A Wheel – Megan Washington
2014 was a big year for Megan Washington. She took to the TedX stage in Sydney and opened up to a live audience about her tendency to stutter, then released a highly confessional, romance-stirred album There There. When Guardian Australia last spoke to her she had decided to lay off the music-as-therapy. “My art doesn’t have to play that role any more and probably my next record will be a disco record about trying to find a car park.” With her two sold-out shows at the Spiegeltent on 5 and 20 September, Washington is playing on home ground. For those who’ve missed out on a ticket, perhaps the audience can suggest she DJ at an after party – just look for the nearest car park.
