Butler came, performed and conquered Vegkop

The return of the Windhoek Jazz Festival presented the huge audience in attendance at Windhoek High School’s Vegkop Stadium with top-class entertainment on Saturday.

The artists who were billed for the event pulled out all the stops to dish out memorable performances for the appreciative crowd.

However, the biggest cheer goes to the star attraction of the event, Jonathan Butler, who proved once again why live music remains such a big source of entertainment.

The South African-born star’s performance may have been the shortest on the night, but he was by far the biggest star of the event, thanks to a repertoire of the highest quality.

He was in deep conversation with his band, a selection of some of the finest young jazz musicians from Cape Town, and made sure they remained on the same wavelength throughout.

Butler opened his act with his cover of ‘Please Stay’, by the Drifters, the song that propelled him to stardom as a teenager in South Africa.

A large part of the audience sang along.

Butler has developed a loyal following in Namibia, right from his teen years when he first travelled to the then South West Africa as part of Richard Jon Smit’s ‘The ’77 Roadshow’ in 1977.

By the time Butler performed ‘Take Good Care of Me’, the crowd was in overdrive, and he closed off the event with ‘Lies’, one of his biggest hits, which also gave him his international breakthrough topped by a Grammy nomination in 1987.

Earlier during the night, two Namibian entertainers, Esme and Erna Chimu, made sure they warmed up the audience well for the main act.

Saxophonist Suzi Eises also made her presence felt with a great package of her own songs, while Savanna Afros, Najah and Yesterdaye made sure they marketed themselves properly.