Respected entertainment-economy-invested conference Music Exchange (#MEX20)returned this September for the 10th consecutive year, and with it a truly impressive raft of seminal speakers.
During this past decade, MEX20 not only delivered on its promise to empower, but it has also brought the world a little closer together and with it a further opportunity to keep its intent alive with future sessions already underway.
The event opened on a digital platform on Thursday 10 September with music industry heavyweights Charles Goldstuck and Arthur Goldstuck.
Goldstuck awestruck
South African award-winning vocalist, songwriter and composer RJ Benjamin who was also one of the speakers at #MEX20, tweeted in awe about the Goldstuck brothers’ opening “performance”.
The speaker line-up has so far included movers and shakers Siphokazi Jonas, Christian Wright, Lance Stehr, Wiseman Ngubo, and will still feature Neil Johnson, Callum Stevenson, Karabo Senna, Manqoba Kubheka and Moreira Chonguica.
If you missed the start of #MEX20, it’s not too late to join. For R100, you would be able to watch the new speakers as well as go back on demand to see any of the talks again. The event will be available to watch until 30 September.
#MEX20 will close on a high note with multi-Grammy award-winning composer, professor of music and wife to none other than Omar Hakim, Rachel Z.
#MEX20 and the amazing Rachel Z
The amazing Rachel Z is a two-time Grammy winner and will close Music Exchange 2020’s annual conference on Sunday 20 September at noon on the Ticketpro platform.
The New York jazz phenomenon will discuss the global entertainment landscape and take audiences on an in-depth look of their personal studio space and goes through all the gear she and Omar create on.
Rachel Z Hakim is a jazz and rock pianist and keyboardist and is considered one of the most influential and versatile musical forces of her generation.
She has already recorded 10 solo albums as a jazz musician.
“Rachel Z is an improviser whose spontaneous playing is by no means eclipsed by the work of presiding geniuses such as Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner”, opined John Fordham in The Guardian (4 August 2005.)
- In 1988, she co-wrote the Grammy Award-winning and certified Gold Record Tokyo Blue with saxophonist Najee.
- From 1988–96 she played keyboards and piano with fusion band Steps Ahead with vibes player Mike Mainieri.
- In 1995 she worked with Wayne Shorter, on his album High Life, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. She was also responsible for the album’s 40 tracks of synthesized orchestral sounds, acoustic piano solos and several concurrent world tours.
Rachel worked closely on preproduction with Marcus Miller in the studio to mesh the synth orchestra with the live ensemble to create the unique and innovative soundscape.
Ozmosys magic
Besides her decades of work, Ozmosys (Omar and Rachel Z) is where we find her today and she and her husband are currently working on their second release in their studio and plan to release the project in 2021.
The band performs Improvised EDM electronica jazz funk-rock.
The group released their EP Eyes to the Future, Vol 1 in 2019 with Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar and Linley Marithe on bass and also toured with JC Maillard on guitar.
With a CV longer and more impressive than most, Rachel Z’s hour-long welcome right into the heart of #MEX20 promises to be a fitting close to Music Exchange 2020.
Secure your ticket and watch live or post, until 30 September 2020.
For booking details and more information, go to musicexchange.org.za
Read the original article on The South African
