When Martin first mentioned the 2004 year-end bass recital and that it was to take place at St Paul’s Church in Mulbarton, I had visions of approximately 13 members of the Bassplayers Collective sitting in a huge square room belonging to an architecturally dubious place of worship, of the kind that are usually reserved for after-service tea and biscuits, with dreadful acoustics, and applauding hesitantly, all the while thinking, ‘I could have done a better job of that tune’.

Come 29 November and the feeling of disquiet was enhanced by the dismal weather that had been troubling the Gauteng skies all day. Off I was, then, to what was sure to be one of the more forgettable gigs in South Africa’s recent cultural spectrum. Imagine my surprise, then, that the directions were accurate, St Paul’s turned out to be an attractive church conveying a feeling of ‘history’, there were a huge number of cars parked on the church grounds and even parking attendants present. I was sure I’d made a mistake and somehow managed to arrive at the wrong place. (So much for Martin’s directions.) I left my basses in the car and sceptically strolled up to the entrance of the building, where a teenager was welcoming visitors with a pamphlet advertising … no, not the order of service, which hymns were going to be sung etc, but the evening’s musical line-up! The young man also assured me that the venue was, indeed, the actual church, not the tea-&-biscuit chamber next door. And the place was rather generously populated, too.

What can I say? It turned out to be a delightful evening. The acoustics, onstage and inhouse sound were more than satisfactory, the audience was loud and appreciative (it actually did feel like ‘preaching to the converted’) – and the tea and biscuits at the halfway mark were very happening. I felt really warm and fuzzy inside, clapped and cheered – and no, listening to and digging Victor, Concord, Martin, Bert and Dave, I certainly couldn’t have done a better job of the tunes.

Kai Horsthemke

P.S. The evening’s events were recorded and a cd has been burnt. This cd will hopefully be made available once all the legal stuff concerning copyright and composer credits has been sorted out

Martin Simpson