Four on Six

We have all heard of them. They are possibly the best Jazz Group in town. ShowMe Pretoria met up with this busy group to get the scoop on why they prefer Jazz music and intimate venues.

Who is Four on Six?

We are a jazz group based in Pretoria. Members are Mart-Marie Snyman (Piano), Richard Kingon (Trumpet), Willem van der Hoven (Double Bass) and Deo du Plessis (Drums). Depending on the occasion, we also sometimes get other instrument players in. Our primary goal is to create awesome music together while having a lot of fun doing so. We are very keen to do more of our own shows and to eventually become a household name for jazz in South Africa.

How did you all meet?

Willem, Deo and Richard were at school together and they tracked down Mart-Marie through her piano teacher Charl du Plessis.

Why choose to play Jazz?

It is the most harmonically rich genre of music and it provides ample opportunity to express oneself through improvisation. We are all classically trained musicians and play various other genres, but we share a common love for jazz and related styles of music.

What are your favorite and least favorite venues?

The jazz scene is not very big (especially in Pretoria), so there are not many public venues that have a ‘jazz-club’ type of atmosphere. We rather prefer small intimate venues than big open halls for our type of music and sound. Some of the nice ones include Asbos Theatre, Meet on Milner, Pure Café, Laughing Chefs, and the Pierneef Theatre.

Which songs do you perform most frequently?

It Don’t mean a Thing (if it ain’t got that swing) – It always gets people off their chairs…We have a very large repertoire that includes jazz standards, swing, latin, afro-cuban, blues, funk and various other styles. We also play some of Willem’s compositions.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

We try to get together once every week, but all of us are involved with other music groups and projects so a set rehearsal time doesn’t always work. We rehearse song structures and improvisation relatively spontaneously since it is important to have ‘chemistry’ between players in jazz.

How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?

Our CD is still in the making, but we have a website www.fouronsix.net with some demo tunes. You can also reach us through jazz.4on6@yahoo.com if you want to find out more about upcoming events, or if you want to book us for a function/ show.