A month ago, promoters Street Horn Jazz moved into the Lizard Lounge, a venue located at the Village complex next to Gym Active in Gaborone. A different tune now plays at the 400-capacity venue, where Gaborone’s beautiful young things used to get down to house music and hip hop. Syrupy grooves are now played to a congregation of jazz lovers of 24 years and over.
Street Horn Jazz, who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary, officially re-opened Lizard Lounge this past weekend with a rare performance by the South African 50’s big band, African Jazz Pioneers.
And Lister Boleseng is billed to launch his album at the Lizard Lounge on December 31, 2006, performing alongside Banjo Mosele.
“We are looking to have the venue operate as a live jazz club,” Street Horn MD, Soares Katumbela, said in a telephone interview with The Sunday Standard last Friday afternoon.
In line with their aim to fill a gap by entertaining the over 25s and the elderly by providing them with Jazz and African music, Katumbela said, “We have good contacts with musicians from Botswana and South Africa and we believe that we will provide a rich variety.”
The target market has never before been spoilt for choice between Lizard Lounge and her competitors like Satchmo’s, a jazz club, Havanna, which plays Latino and old school music, and the Millennium Jazz Restaurant, which also features jazz DJs.
Street Horn, however, also aims to attract tourists. “We are consulting with the Tourism Board on ways to draw in tourists,” Katumbela said.
A Street Horn-managed team of DJs which includes SK, Nito and Milton, and the Abraxas Band, whose repertoire ranges from mainstream to blues and back to Afro jazz, is billed as the resident entertainers at Lizard Lounge. Abraxas have quite an impressive track record, performing with artists like Steve Dyer, Dorothy Masuku, Paul Lunga, Lister Boleseng as well as Ndingo Johwa.
This weekend the Lizard Lounge will host an up and coming trumpet player, Richy Ramolefe, who recently debuted with an album titled, Uzongikhumbula.
