Fresh off a highly acclaimed Canadian tour in June, the Kyle Shepherd Trio will embark on a Southern African tour this month that will see them perform in Mozambique, Botswana and in major cities across South Africa, including Durban, Johannesburg, East London and Cape Town.

The Southern African tour was made possible by the generous support of the Concerts SA Mobility Fund – a funding mechanism which offers opportunities for South African musicians to undertake live music tours, administered by Concerts SA, a joint South African/Norwegian project. The performance in Botswana is supported by the Gaborone International Music and Culture Week.

Featuring band leader, Kyle Shepherd on piano, Shane Cooper on bass and Jonno Sweetman on drums, this inspiring and inventive trio have already captivated audiences across South Africa, Canada, Switzerland and China. They perform compositions from Shepherd’s rich and evocative repertoire of recorded and new unreleased original compositions.

“A proud South African, Shepherd is also a striving musician with ears attuned to the cutting-edge, globe-spanning music made by influences such as Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran and Craig Taborn. Much of Shepherd’s concert found him, bassist Shane Cooper and drummer Jonno Sweetman exploring a more craggy and contemporary musical turf, and successfully so,” said Peter Hum, The Ottawa Citizen, Canada.

The award-winning Shepherd, recipient of the coveted UNISA National Piano Competition Award [2015] and the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award [2014] in the jazz category, and arguably one of South Africa’s leading progressive pianists and composers of his generation, is fast gaining international recognition for his distinctive compositional style and performances.

The 28-year-old virtuoso pianist, who has a well-established record of celebrated performances in South Africa, Europe, Asia and the USA, has already released five  critically acclaimed albums: fineART [2009], A Portrait of Home [2010], South African History !X [2012], Dream State [2014] – all South African Music Award-nominated albums – and Into Darkness [2014].

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, September 2 at  6 pm: University of KwaZulu-Natal (UZKN), Howard College campus, Centre for Jazz and Popular Music. Tickets R50; [R15 for students and R30 for pensioners] at the door. Inquiries: www.music.ukzn.ac.za

Friday, September 4 at 8 pm: Wits Great Hall, Johannesburg. Tickets are R110 (R80 students and pensioners) via Webtickets and at Pick ‘n Pay Stores or R120 at the door (R90 concessions). Booking Info: www.Webtickets.co.za

Sunday, September 6 at 7 pm: Gaborone International Music and Culture Week. Gaborone, Botswana. Website: www.gimc.co.bw

Thursday, September 10 at  7 pm: Centro Cultural Franco Mocambicano Auditorium, Maputo, Mozambique. Website:  www.ccfmoz.com

Saturday, September 19 at 8 pm: Stirling High School Auditorium, East London. Tickets: R100 (R20 for students and R50 for pensioners) at the door. Website: www.stirlinghsmusic.co.za

Thursday & Friday, October 8 & 9 at 8.30 pm and 10 pm: Straight No Chaser, Cape Town. Tickets R80 per show or R140 for both shows [students pay R50 per showor R80 for both]. Booking Info: Call/sms 076 679 2697 or email bookings@straightnochaser.co.za Website: www.straightnochaserclub.wordpress.com