This book is primarily about The Bassline, a jazz club that left an indelible mark on the sands of the South African jazz scene. Much more than that, the book encapsulates a portion of a nation’s history and an industry that reimagined a future against the backdrop of a painful past. In very accessible and passionate prose David Coplan ushers the reader into a world of music and a venue that was completely borderless, anti-xenophobic and truly multicultural.
Brad Holmes was inspired not just by his love for music but also by the birth of a new nation to launch The bassline. Between September 1994 to September 2003, The Bassline was both a creative engine room and a symbol of a united identity and acceptance. The demise of that venue and similar venues that came afterwards (places like Orbit and Kippies) is an indictment of the system and not the practitioners of the industry. Last Nite At The Bassline captures the struggle that birthed some of the most memorable nights in the South African jazz scene. Some of the recollections are almost priceless and enable a better appreciation of the music that was created in that venue and define that era.
3.3/5
