Derek Gripper at Gay's Dairy Prince Albert

Journey to Jazz presents the first in a series of intimate live gigs in and around Prince Albert - the KRONKELDRAAI CONCERTS! Brought to you by PACT

Join us for a Karoo Kuier with Derek Gripper, 6pm on Wednesday 14th of Dec at Gay's Dairy Barn.

Ticket includes a Karoo potjie (with veg option) and roosterkoek. BYOB. For more info please email [email protected]

Derek Gripper is known for his groundbreaking technique for evoking the West African kora on the guitar. He has transcribed the complex music of West African kora. He is a composer and arranger and tours globally. Derek has played with many of the world's greats and performed in some of the world’s most prestigious halls.

Since his two recordings documenting his translation of the works of Toumani Diabate, “One Night on Earth” (2011) and the Songlines Award winning “Libraries on Fire” (2016) Gripper has been creating a body of original work around the theme of extended cyclical structures. Taking his cue from the improvisational language of West African griots, as well as returning to his early work re-inventing South Africa’s own cyclical ‘koortjie’ tradition, Gripper continues to create a highly individual language for solo guitar. 

His recent recordings, including “A Year of Swimming” (2020) and “Billy Goes to Durban,” (2021) and “Sleep Songs for My Daughter” (2022) dovetail between original compositions, spontaneous improvisation and recitations of works by composers like J.S. Bach, Arvo Pärt, Salif Keita, Fanta Sacko and Baaba Maal, bringing seemingly disparate traditions and musical practices together in a seamless guitar experience like no other.  

https://www.derekgripper.com/