Chante Phillips Quartet

Chante Phillips Quartet:

Chante Phillips - Drums

Melorie Jane - Pianist 

Tracey Johannes - Bassist 

Danel Dippinaar - Saxophonist 

Melorie Jane: 

Award-winning South African jazz artist, Melorie Jane hails from Pretoria, where she completed her bachelor's degree in music and started her music career performing with her afro-jazz and funk band, ALL the MORE.

She soon started composing her own music, of which she released her debut EP in 2018, Different View. This EP featured her quintet, showcasing music in a contemporary South African Jazz idiom, delving into the contemporary style she encountered as a student while attending the National Arts Festival in Makhanda regularly. The artist mentions that this is where she was exposed to the contemporary jazz of musicians to the likes of Kyle Shepherd, Bokani Dyer, Kesivan Naidoo, Carlo Mombelli and more.

Melorie Jane went on to study her masters at the University of Stellenbosch in 2020 and released her debut album, More or Less in November 2021. This release has claimed a double victory at the Mzantsi Jazz Awards in August 2022, for Best Jazz Female in 2021 and for the Best Jazz Album in 2021. The album has been applauded as “absolutely brilliant” by Nothemba Madumo on the Urban Jazz Experience on Metro FM and “such a refreshing style to listen to” on Expresso Morning Show on SABC 3.

The artist, who is currently based in Franschhoek, has since performed at respected jazz venues such as Alliance Française, The Blue Room and The Piano Bar in Cape Town, she has also made an appearance at the Spier Amphitheatre with the Stellenbosch University Big Band, sharing the stage with Anna Davel and Gloria Bosman.

Danél Dippenaar is a Cape Town-based multi-instrumentalist. She grew up in Simon’s Town, where both her parents performed in the Navy Band. Through this musical exposure, she started playing piano at a young age and later branched out to flute, clarinet and saxophone. She graduated from the South African College of Music with a Classical Degree in flute and a Jazz Diploma in saxophone. Danél is a versatile musician who performs in various ensembles across different genres of music. Among many others, she has performed with the Mike Campbell, Darryl Andrews, Ian Smith and Lady Day Big Bands, as well as Oceanico, a multi-genre collective group. When she isn't performing, Danél is a passionate educator and is currently teaching at several schools in Cape Town.

Tracey Johannes (formerly known as Tracey Appolis) holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies (Performance) from The University of Cape Town, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from The University of South Africa. She is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree, majoring in Psychology and Counselling.

Over the years, Tracey has played in various bands, namely, UCT Big Band, Heels Over Head, Anything Goes, Woman’s Work, Sistahood, The Language of Being, and most recently, The Lady Day Big Band. She also heads up her own corporate bands, namely, QuinTessential and Souled Out. While Tracey loves entertaining audiences with her own bands, being a band member of The Lady Day Big Band has been one of the most enjoyable and unique musical experiences yet. She has played with prominent industry musicians such as Zolani Mahola, Frank Paco, Amanda Tiffin, Shaun Johannes, Lana Crowster, Kevin Gibson, Muriel Marco, Byron Abrahams, Natalie Rungan, Darryl Andrews, Nicky Schrire, Celeste Williams and Shannon Mowday to name a few.

She has performed at various international and local music festivals such as The Cape

Town International Jazz Festival, The Joy of Jazz International Music Festival, The

Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival, The South African College of Music Jazz

Festival, The Cape Town Jazzathon, Jazz on the Rocks, The City of Cape Town Concert

In The Park Concert Series and The Cape Town Big Band Jazz Festival. Not forgetting The UCT

Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Concert, The Artscape National Heritage Music Festival, Jazz On The Lawn and Jazz On The Rocks. Other notable events include performances at the annual RMB Starlight Classics and The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees. 

Chante Phillips, the eldest of 2, was born to Shaun Phillips and Charlene Phillips on 10 January 1994 in Athlone on the Cape Flats. Chante's keen interest in drums started at the tender age of 6 whilst observing the drummer in church services. Growing up on the Cape Flats posed to be a challenge but she rose above it and excelled in whatever she put her mind to.

Chante inspiration came from

Some of her achievements include:

- Being mentored by world renowned drummer, Frank Paco,

- Playing Cape Town Drumshed 2013, being the only female participant and still reaching the semi-finals,

- Being a finalist in Cape Town's Drum off in 2014,

- Absa Shine for Africa Competition Award with her team in 2017,

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- Currently being involved in a community NGO called Tehillah community collaborative, where she plays an integral part, be it in church services, graduation ceremonies or conferences.

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from the hit musical The Greatest Showman.

- Featured in the UCT Celebrates Women’s Day with a ‘Womxn Power Medley’ by The Kamva Quintet Director by Amanda Tiffin

whilst in church I would always seat next to the

drummer watching his moves and feeling his mesmerizing grooves. I knew it

then that drumming is what I was drawn into, since then I never looked back

as the bug had already bitten.

A stage performance with Zolani Mahola of Freshlyground on a all-female

band project at Backsberg Wine Estate

Being a featured drummer for the Roland Team SA all female group. Aligned

with the celebration of Women’s month. The group record an audio-visual

track « This is me » cover

- Being featured on Hectic 99 for Woman’s month celebration, telling my story

as a female drummer in the male dominated music scene.

-2019-Featured with Neville D with couple of his new songs

-Took Part in the most well-known event called the Artscape Youth

-Being Featured in a local Afrikaans series called Skemerdans. Part of the

live band in the series which will be screen March 2021

Chante Phillips breakthrough came when my mentor Frank Paco helped me

broaden my horizons, by revealing the technique behind the drumming, which

enables me to express myself better, hence I feature on different band

formats performing different music genres.

Chante Phillips dream is to represent South Africa as an International female

drummer, create music that will appeal to the masses world over, open my

own drum academy to impart the knowledge and inspire other young female

drummers.

Chante is very consistent in mastering her skill on the drums and this is evident in how she executes her music pieces. She is well sought after and in demand on the music scene as her professionalism speaks for itself. 

Doors open at 4pm and show starts at 6pm