This month the jazz band, MSMF will take their talents to the Masque Theatre to perform at Masque Theatre’s Foyer Sessions.
MSMF is a jazz band made up of bass player, Sibusiso Matsimela; trumpeter, Keegan Steenkamp; drummer, Tefo Mahola and Dylan Fine on the guitar. The members knew each other prior, as they all attended the South African College of Music, but the band was officially formed four years ago when they entered an ensemble musical and played together – and they clicked musically.
They made it official by forming the band which was then named using the first letters of their last names.
Playing as a part of the band is not any of the members’ full-time job, but they find joy in meeting as often as they possibly can to play and perform shows.
“We’re more like a group of friends that like to play music than a band,” said Steenkamp, who lives in Muizenberg. “We all look forward to when we get to hit the road together and play at functions and events.”
He said that the band works for them because it still allows them to take on their personal projects and work endeavours, and also be able to get together to perform when the opportunity presents itself.
This past year has seen each member collaborating with a wide variety of other musicians and on other projects, which has added to their collective experience and makes them all that more enjoyable to watch and listen to as a band.
They perform at Neighbourgoods Market at The Biscuit Mill, weddings and functions, and their upcoming show promises to be a bit of a departure from their usual work as they plan to play music from the late jazz trumpeter, Roy Hargrove, who died in November last year.
“This show has given us the opportunity to take a break from our usual repertoire. It presented a nice, new challenge for us because we got the chance to learn new music,” he said. He also encouraged people to take a look at each of their individual works on social media, as they are all projects that he is proud of.
On Sunday MSMF will perform at the monthly jazz session, where the jazz-loving public can buy tickets at R120 and enjoy the live jazz.