Brad Holmes- Bassline/Bassline Fest
Episode 68, May 22, 2019, 01:49 PM
I met Brad Holmes about 15 years ago before Kajsa and I moved back to South Africa in 2010. He was already a well-established reprobate and a legend in the South African music scene. Brad is an evangelist for South African jazz in particular, and African music in general. And the sweetest guy you will meet.
Brad and later his wife-to-be Paige ran the renowned Melville jazz venue The Bassline from 1994-2003. The venue became a home to established musicians, and a nursery for a new generation of South African jazz musicians. Brad knows them all, and he tells a few stories about Hugh Masakela, Bheki Mseleku, Abdullah Ibrahim and Alan Kwela, among others, during our chat.
He is producing the Bassline Africa Day concert that takes place at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on May 25.
We also spoke the dire state of live music in South Africa and the possible role government can play in promoting artists and venues alike.
Brad and later his wife-to-be Paige ran the renowned Melville jazz venue The Bassline from 1994-2003. The venue became a home to established musicians, and a nursery for a new generation of South African jazz musicians. Brad knows them all, and he tells a few stories about Hugh Masakela, Bheki Mseleku, Abdullah Ibrahim and Alan Kwela, among others, during our chat.
He is producing the Bassline Africa Day concert that takes place at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on May 25.
We also spoke the dire state of live music in South Africa and the possible role government can play in promoting artists and venues alike.