King Kapisi will perform with jazz legend Roger Fox at the Capitol at a fusion event in support of Youthtown.Photo/Courtesy/edited by NZ Herald
Hip-hop star King Kapisi and jazz legend Roger Fox and his big band will perform together for the first time, mixing their unique styles at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday night.
The performance marks the beginning of an exciting new project for Kapisi (aka Bill Urare) and Fox (Youthtown).
Fox is a board member of the Kiwi Organization, which has run youth programs since 1932.
Both are aware of the impact music can have on boosting the self-esteem and identity of rangatahi (young people). It’s about providing an outlet for creative potential, building life skills, and building a peer support network.
“When I was a kid, I used to enjoy using youthtown for basketball,” Kapisi tells Spy.
“Now I’m an ambassador and intrigued by music legends like Roger and the work they do.”
In the Great Hall of the Capitol, Kapisi’s 10 rap songs reimagined as jazz standards will entertain MPs and fans of both artists, as well as friends and family from Youthtown.
The sheet music from this project will be ready for middle school jazz combos and big bands to use in the Jazz Bandit, a national jazz competition of 165 bands.
Growing up in the music scene, Kapisi has always been a huge Fox fan. The pair hit it off when Kapisi visited Fox at his studio at the University of Victoria.
“Roger has an abundance of mana in musical circles and what we are creating is musical magic,” says Kapisi. “Jazz and rap music — who could ask for more?”
Kapisi has stated that his own notation is quite jazzy and that many of his own band members are jazz players.
“It was a great experience working with Roger. The tracks they produced sounded great and I can’t wait to hear them in the grand hall acoustics.”
The standout song of the night was erasing processsays Kapisi — and people will be amazed at how he does what he loves to do, “scat melodically and lyrically” at the same time.
So will the pair record together in the future? They’re planning a September release date, leading to concerts throughout October.
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