#MusicExchange: Amanda Tiffin headlines Mother City Pop Up Concerts

The event takes place on Cullinan Square, just opposite the Cullinan Hotel in the CBD of Cape Town.

The Lady Day Big Band, under the musical direction of Amanda Tiffin as music director with Monique Hellenberg, will headline the show which includes Cameron Ward and his band.

Image supplied: Amanda Tiffin

Amanda Tiffin was born in Zimbabwe but has made her home and her name in Cape Town, South Africa, where she studied Jazz Composition and Performance at the University of Cape Town.

She received her Master's Degree with distinction and has gone on to become one of Cape Town’s best-loved vocalist-pianists, and a respected Musical director/arranger, orchestrator and composer.

Amanda has recorded seven albums and her latest collaboration, Facing South, was awarded the prestigious UCT Creative Works Award in 2021. She is also Head of Jazz Studies at the University of Cape Town.

I spoke to Amanda last week.

What is your job description?

Musical director, lecturer, composer, arranger, performer, general admin geek.

What does music mean to you?

Everything. It is my life force. It is my means of connecting with my inner self, and also with other creative people. It is community at the same time as being an inner journey.

My music is about…

Joy, heartache, fun, pain - all of it. My music is an expression of emotions and reactions to the world around me, and sometimes it is an exploration of possibility.

Fame is about…

Fame is about illusion. Smoke and mirrors, not what is real.

Retirement will happen when…

I die.

I don't do…

Drama.

I would love to co-write with…

Maria Schneider

Where do you go for inspiration to create?

The beautiful wide-open countryside, and lovely country towns of the Western Cape.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

The exploration of my own creativity and hearing my compositions come to life when played by some wonderful musicians.

The song you must do during every show?

For the Lady Day Big Band: Our signature song, Ayo Ayo.

Any funny moments on stage?

That time my guitar player forgot he had tuned his guitar down for a particular song, and then played the next song in a totally different key to everyone else. Took us a while to work out why the song sounded so terrible! That was interesting…

My heroes are…

My friends, who do so much for others and for me.

My style icon is…

I don’t really have one. Should I?!

What is your most treasured possession?

Not really a ‘possession’, more like family, but my dogs.

It's your round; what are you drinking?

Hot chocolate.

Dream gig to do?

Carnegie Hall, New York with the Lady Day Big Band

What makes you stand out?

My mop of curls

Any nicknames?

Miss A, Prof A, and Amands.

If you were not a musician, what would you do?

Cook. I love to cook.

Pick five words to describe yourself?

Kind. Funny. Quirky. Introverted extrovert.

What are you streaming?

The Good Fight

Greatest movie ever made?

Too many great ones, I can’t choose just one:

Dead Poets Society (for Robin Williams and the poets)
West Side Story (for the music)
Shawshank Redemption (for Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins)

What book are you reading?

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

What song changed your life?

Not a song but an album – Ella Fitzgerald Live at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Who do you love?

Friends and Family. My dogs.

What is your favourite word?

Discombobulated. Say that fast…

Top of your bucket list?

More travelling! I’d like to visit Spain and Greece

Your greatest achievement?

Being part of the Lady Day Big Band!

What do you complain about most often?

People who don’t do their job.

What is your biggest fear?

Snakes. I really really fear snakes after an encounter with a Cape Cobra.

Happiness is…

Home, chilling with my dogs, writing some new music.

On stage, I tend to…

Talk a bit too much nonsense…

The best life lesson you have learned?

To listen.

What has been your favourite journey so far?

Still on it - the journey of life.

Do you do charity work, and if you do – what do you do?

I used to organise Jazz in the Park every year for Western Cape Centre For Persons With Disabilities, but it became too difficult to maintain due to bureaucracy with the venue. Now I just donate regularly and do youth development projects where I can.

Social media

Instagram
Facebook
YouTube