SPEEDWAY CAFE 105 CLOSING DOWN PARTY
October 5, 2010Dave Ledbetter and The Clearing at Speedway Café 105 Every Wednesday night from 9pm
September 14, 2010Dave Ledbetter and The Clearing at Speedway Café 105
Every Wednesday night from 9pm
Written by Niklas Zimmer
I don’t have a TV, and I hardly listen to the radio. I simply loathe commercial crap
taking up my brainspace. Sound familiar to you? Read on. Also, put any dumb
preconceptions of what the word ‘Jazz’ means aside – we are neither talking about ‘Cape Jazz’ nor some ‘smoothe’ radio bullshit here.
Many a Wednesday evening this year, I have parked outside Speedway, a very cool little bar by the old Tafelberg Tavern run by the legendary Dave van der Spuy, and gone for a sonic treatment of note: The Clearing, a spectacular ensemble of six brilliant musicians led by guitarist Dave Ledbetter: Andrew Lilley (keys), Buddy Wells, (tenor saxophone), Lee Thomson (trumpet & flugelhorn), Kesivan Naidoo (drums) and Shane Cooper (double and electric basses). Just being in one space with such a variety of talent and experience is a privilege, as anyone who has heard the amazing stuff each one of these musicians put out in their individual projects will agree to – the list of CDs alone is too long to print here.
Wednesday, after work, with or without your babe, sipping on a drink, surrounded by others who obviously also couldn’t give a f*** about any bullshit dress / look/ think – status quo of the lowing masses, hearing such very beautiful music being crafted right up close – this is so GOOD a time that I often don’t need any more for the rest of the week.
Trumpeter and event organiser Lee Thompson claims that Dave Ledbetter is one of the many underrepresented local Jazz greats, and listening to this man play the guitar certainly leaves no room for doubt about this: not only does he play with incredible skill and subtlety, he also composes most of the stunning material being performed by The Clearing every Wednesday. Dave’s compositions present nothing less than a new standard, in that they create powerful moments for many South African musical styles and personalities to merge and refract like electric discharges, like spectres of a future present.
Go check it out.
WEDNESDAY ‘JAZZ NIGHT’ AT SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 FOR THE BEST JAZZ IN CAPE TOWN
May 6, 2010
WEDNESDAY ‘JAZZ NIGHT’ AT SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105
FOR THE BEST JAZZ IN CAPE TOWN
SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 at the Tafelberg Tavern in Gardens (Cape Town) has introduced Wednesday Jazz Nights to its weekly gig line-up. With the phenomenal DAVE LEDBETTER SEXTET set to provide jazz lovers with some of the best LIVE JAZZ Cape Town has to offer, this is the hottest happening on the local jazz scene.
The potent line-up features the city’s top jazz musicians as well as guest artists. Fronted by the man himself, the Dave Ledbetter Sextet ignites the stage every Wednesday from 9pm to 11pm, with musical wizard Lee Thomson on trumpet and flugelhorn; Buddy Wells on saxophone; Shane Cooper on double bass; Kesivan Naidoo on drums (winner of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz 2009), Andrew Lilley on keyboards, and the legendary Dave Ledbetter (back from a 10 year hiatus) on guitar.
Multi instrumentalist and well-known Cape Town Jazz vocalist, arranger and band leader, Dave Ledbetter has performed with the highest caliber of SA jazz musicians and across a number of genres. His own original music is characterized by ‘socially conscious’ lyrics combined with jazz and folk melodies.
Says Ledbetter: ‘We just love the vibe at Speedway Café with its retro rock aesthetic that somehow perfectly offsets our signature jazz sounds. It’s great to have a ‘home’ for our outfit and we look forward to playing for a growing crowd of regular jazz lovers who love our music and dig this ‘happening spot’.
Since its opening at the end of 2008, the unique SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 concept, created especially for ‘petrolheads’ (aka motoring enthusiasts) by identical twin brothers Dave and Paul van der Spuy, has fast become known for hosting regular live music events, showcasing some of Cape Town’s hottest, up-and-coming bands.
Located just off Hope Street in Gardens, it’s a little hidden gem tucked away in Roodehek Terrace, which has yet become known as one of Cape Town’s best kept secrets. With live music gigs on offer over most weekends, and now on selected weekdays too, it has fast accrued a reputation for supporting original, local music.
WEDNESDAY JAZZ NIGHTS offers superb jazz with an affordable cover charge (R30) and a delicious café snack basket menu (baskets ranging between R25 for a Poppadum Basket served with tzatziki & peppapino dip, and R39 for a Meat Snack basket), in the informal interior of this friendly neighbourhood hangout, where everyone really does want to know your name.
So head on down to Speedway Café 105 every Wednesday for an evening of fine jazz that will ease you into another zone. Word has it, ‘Wednesday Jazz at Speedway with the Dave Ledbetter Sextet’ is set to become one of the Mother City’s ‘must do’ experiences!
SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105
OPEN: Every evening from 5pm, and from 10am on Sundays
(Closed on Mondays)
Tafelberg Tavern, Roodehek Terrace, off Hope Street in Gardens, Cape Town
Tel 084-577-2418
www.speedwaycafe105.wordpress.com
MORE ABOUT SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105
SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 offers the motoring enthusiast – and everybody with a passion for cars and motorbikes, speed, technology and retro nostalgia – a place to go, meet, hang and participate. It’s a tribal thing – like minded souls with a common passion for motoring.
PRIVATE PARTIES AND FILM EVENTS
The venue has become THE place to party in the City Bowl, and is popular for birthday celebrations, private parties and functions such as 21st’s and 40th birthday parties. Various interesting short film events are also staged on a regular basis.
MOTORING FUNCTIONS, CAR AND BIKE EVENTS
Motoring events feature particular motoring brands or motor club (eg: BMW, Ducati etc) booking the venue exclusively to celebrate their marque. SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 also offers motor dealers the ideal location to entertain clients, or launch a new product using its open-air parking area as a display/exhibition area. Other Speedway car and bike events are theme driven – for example American Muscle Car Night, Scooter Rallies, or Hot Rod events, to name but a few, and on Sundays the Café is open all day to cater for Breakfast Runs.
SPORT
On weekends Speedway celebrates all local and international motor sport events, as well as the screening of major rugby and soccer matches on large plasma screens.
EAT, DRINK AND CHECK OUT THE ACTION
SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 and Tafelberg Tavern serve simple, and delicious café food, as well as all-day GTI Hot Breakfast on Sundays. The building is generous in proportion and has a large retro Dance Hall. It also has an old historical two lane wooden bowling alley and conference facilities are available too. The Café terrace looks out over the parking area, which offers safe parking for more than 50 cars and bikes – just the spot to check out arriving beauties (cars, bikes and others!)
SHOP
A SPEEDWAY CAFÉ 105 retail clothing shop is on the cards where unique clothing collections aimed specifically at this target market, will be conceptualised and designed by Paul van der Spuy (5 times winner of the S.A. Fashion Awards). Motor Brands furthermore will be invited to sell their product from the store.
Ends
PRESS
Speedway is one of Cape Town’s Top 10 Jazz Venues. Wednesdays. If you’re a fan of good value meals, technology, and retro nostalgia, Speedway is a good place to get in gear for a bit of fine jazz from some of the city’s top musicians. The unlikely combination of retro rock aesthetic and jazz standards works well, pointing out that quality is comfortable anywhere, with anyone.
‘A fast, furious and familiar neighbourhood hangout – everybody should have a friendly neighbourhood local like this, a place where you can hang out and everyone knows your name.’
Weekend Argus The Good Weekend 26 April 2009
‘Get your kicks on route 105 – it’s retro heaven, inspired by the 1950’s era of motorcycles, cars and rock ’n roll. Now there’s something to get your rev counter roaring!’
Get It March 2009
Media contact: Janie van der Spuy
Tel 083 324 5558
SHORT FILMS AT SPEEDWAY ON THURSDAY 18 MARCH @ 8pm
March 18, 2010
LIVE JAZZ EVERY WEDNESDAY AT SPEEDWAY
March 3, 2010
SPEEDWAY HOSTS A FILM AND NETWORKING EVENT
February 22, 2010
An unforgettable 3D experience
February 22, 2010
Seen at Speedway this weekend: dazzling Minki van der Westhuizen with Speedway owner Dave van der Spuy
February 8, 2010
