Cape music picks: September 9 2011

Cape Town Hall hosts a triple bill of genre-busting artists at the City Hall Sessions this weekend.

Legendary Congolese pianist Ray Lema and Brazilian guitarist Chico César blend improvisation with imagination, elasticity and experimentation in their cross-continental conversations.

Self-styled “African Fly Masjien” Thandiswa Mazwai then reprises her Pan-African Station performance with soulful Afrobeat originals from her award-winning albums, Zabalaza and Ibokwe. Finally, visionary young drummer Kesivan Naidoo and the Lights present acoustic jazz that ranges from reverential renditions of Winston Mankunku’s Dedication and Ornette Coleman’s Lonely Woman to more extreme makeovers such as a goema rendition of Björk’s In the Musicals and a hard-bopping interpretation of Beyoncé‘s Single Ladies.

City Hall, Darling Street, Cape Town, September 9 and 10, 8pm. Entrance is R150. Book at Computicket.

■ You could say that Wrestlerish’s bittersweet balladry is a bit of a “grower”. Sure, the simple melodies of songs that you can’t quite sing along to (for example, Oliver Tambourine) are so purposefully hazy that they almost fade into an indie folk pop or alt-country vacuum. But listen closely and you’ll hear the deep emotional craft at the core of lead singer Werner Olckers’ romantic tales of lost love and dreams postponed. Emo? Forget about it. Walking the line between anti-folk and indie pop, alt country and adult contemporary on their debut album, The Rude Mechanical, Wrestlerish showed something all too rare among so-called alternative bands—sincerity. Let’s hope their new album, Towns, is even more revealing.

Silvertree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Newlands, September 11, 6pm. Entrance is R100 (includes a welcome drink and a starter). Pre-booking essential. Tel: 021 762 9585.