Odegand

On September 16, the Festival of Flanders will electrify Ghent again during the cultural season opener OdeGand. After only three editions, it is already a must for every culture and music lover throughout Flanders: a whole day of listening to unique concerts and enjoying the musical entertainment on streets and squares. You put together your own program, but one thing is certain: it is best not to plan an early return, because the evening spectacle on the water with fireworks is not to be missed. More information at www.odegand.be. In the Handelsbeurs you can enjoy 3 top performers: Koen de Cauter, Mikhail Bezverkhny and Sam Tshabalala.

Koen De Cauter

Koen de Briefly introduce Cauter? 35 years of music, founded the famous Waso quartet in '75 which led to the revival of Hot-Club music in the Low Countries, acclaimed Brassens interpreter, projects and recordings around Guido Gezelle, Sydney Bechet, the Manouche Gypsies, New Orleans Jazz, musette, Hungarian gypsy music…

And he passed on 'the trade' to his children. What started as an occasional ensemble with some sporadic performances, grew after some time into the center of this family's activities. Meanwhile, Waso, Vigdis Dajo and Myrddin are firmly in their musical shoes after more than 15 years of stage experience with all kinds of formations and projects.

Where Koen mixed Hot-Club and swing jazz with all kinds of other styles such as musette, chanson and tsigane, these were further influenced by everyone's tastes and preferences: flamenco, classical, 'modern' jazz, folk music...

However, all these styles are presented in such a natural way that they merge into a common language that is mainly characterized by the close bond between the different family members.

Mikhail Bezverkhny

During OdeGand, the De Cauters will create a new challenge. The confrontation with classical music and especially with Mikhail Bezverkhny, the master violinist from Russia who won the Queen Elizabeth Competition in 1976. He is assisted by two acclaimed talents: violist Kathelijne Onsia and cellist Marijke Gonissen. Together they search for new shades of color in the unique voice of the De Cauter family.

The strength of their musical interplay lies above all in contrasts: melancholic or biting, light-hearted but expressive, serious but never without humor, new arrangements and then again improvisation: the thought versus the moment...

Sam Tshabalala Acoustics

With his eight-piece formation Sabeka, South African Sam Tshabalala regularly performs at major festivals. However, he does not fail to regularly treat his audience to the smaller acoustic version: the Sam Tshabalala Acoustic.

The most important and remarkable event for the Sam Tshabalala Acoustic was a concert for Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who, by the way, is one of the old friends of Sam's music.

Sam Tshabalala Acoustic brings beautiful South African melodies and harmonic a cappella. All musicians are solid soloists and each have their own clear contribution.

Patrick Bebey is known as the pianist of Mory Kante, Papa Wemba and Myriam Makeba, among others. Forays into pop music (Jean-Michel Jarre), classical music (a composition assignment for the Stuttgart Philharmonics) and jazz (Raoul De Souza) are not unusual for him. Like his father, the legendary Francis Bebey, he has mastered unusual African singing techniques and plays the “ndewhoo” (African flute), the sanza (thumb piano) and percussion.

Jack Djeyim is one of the most prominent African guitarists. He has already released four solo albums and accompanied a whole series of star musicians such as Manu Dibango, Salif Keita and Fela Kuti.

Koko Monique Ouadjah comes from Ivory Coast and is an eminent singer. She is also part of the well-known gospel choir “Cherubs”.

Sam Tshabalala is considered one of the most important composers of South African music. His repertoire is colored by the mosaic of peoples and cultures, rhythms, languages ​​and traditions that shaped his homeland. He created a furore in South Africa at the end of the 1970s with the Malo poetry and made his international breakthrough. Despite their great commercial successes, they were still cracked during the apartheid regime and no longer played on the radio because of their critical lyrics.

Sam Tshabalala went into exile and lives in Paris to this day. His lyrics talk about contemporary South Africa, about hope and about life in the townships.