At this year’s Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn I am staging my most ambitious new show up to date: Charl du Plessis Boogie Woogie Big Band.

Great pianist/band leaders/composers like Duke Ellington and Count Basie forever changed the landscape of swing with their stomping and cooking new compositions and arrangements for big band. It has long been a dream of mine to invite some of my favourite musicians on stage to perform new arrangements of mine of music we all feel passionate about but in the sophisticated style and suave nuances of this era of jazz.

Standards and new compositions make up the song list of hits like Take the A Train, In The Mood and Fascinating Rhythm. Boogie and novelty piano hits like Great Balls of Fire and Oscar Peterson’s Boogie will make sure my left hand gets the workout of the year.

I am privileged to have some of the country’s top musicians at my side with my trio forming the heart of this musical expedition. Bookings are already open for this show at Computicket and I look forward to many high notes at this year’s KKNK and hope you will join me for the musical journey of a lifetime.

C