Hamilton de Holanda & Nduduzo Makhathini
»Routes of Discovery« – Fokus Mandoline
On a voyage of discovery
Hamilton de Holanda is the uncrowned king among Brazil’s numerous excellent mandolin players. No other musician improvises so virtuosically, courageously and imaginatively as he on the bandolim, as the instrument is called in Portuguese. Nduduzo Makhathini is a pianist, healer and composer, and he is the first improvising musician from South Africa to be signed by the legendary American jazz label Blue Note. These two amazing musicians who are highly esteemed in their respective countries (and further afield) were brought together by no less a figure than Wynton Marsalis.
That was a good deed because as a duo, they have a lot to say to each other and the world. De Holanda and Makhathini have named their concert programme »Routes of Discovery«: the concept deals with colonialism and slavery, the exploitation of black people and other people of colour over the course of history, and the Atlantic Ocean, which links their two countries and via which the slave trade of centuries past was conducted.
The »Black Lives Matter« movement has shown recently how pressing these issues (still) are today. De Holanda and Makhathini bring up the still painful subject of racism, while at the same time creating incredibly vibrant, original music that evokes the utopia of a better, more just society without sugar-coating or naivety.
Performers
Hamilton de Holanda mandolin
Nduduzo Makhathini piano
Programme
»Routes of Discovery«
Estimated end time
21:45
Spotlight
Focus Mandolin