Jazz legend Sonny Pillay returns for one night only

WHILE one would never have thought that an unlikely name, Pillay would be up in lights in the most popular nightclubs in London and New York in the fifties and sixties it is exactly what happened when a local lad from Durban's Beatrice Street hit the high notes as a jazz balladeer.

Durban’s prodigal son finally returns to home base, after all these years, when Morningside actress and producer, Jayshree Parasuramen presents the The Return of Sonny Pillay at the Blue Lagoon Conference Centre on Thursday evening, 31 March.

Sonny’s talents first came to the fore as a school boy. His life-long mate, distinguished playwright and author, Ronnie Govender recalls, “I once attended a scouts jamboree at Clairwood Primary School. There was the usual singing of the current English songs when Sonny plucked the strings of his guitar and sang the cow-boy song, You are my Sunshine. Okay it might not have called for a straining of the tonsils but even then there was no mistaking the star quality of his voice. We became buddies and in years to come I did my best as a reporter to publicise the shows he appeared in.”

Although there were no breaks, Sonny stuck doggedly to his dreams. In the fifties with absolutely no scope for talented black musicians and singers, it was a wonder that he survived. He grabbed whatever little opportunity there was and made the most of it. The only major avenue was the occasional concert which were poorly attended and funded. There was also the occasional “talent contest”. Sonny won most of them and this brought him to the attention of the impresario, Alfred Herbert who ran a national road show, African Jazz and Variety, featuring top black artistes of the time. It was not surprising that when the experienced showman, Herbert, heard Sonny, “he flipped.” Sonny became the headline act of a cast which included stellar names including Miriam Makeba whom he eventually married, causing a major scandal in the very conservative Indian community.

But Sonny was to climb even further. The Joburg based, Union Artistes, formed to advance the cause of black music, wanted to send the “best black singer in the country” to sing on the overseas circuit in order to expose the damage apartheid was doing to talented musicians and singers in the country. No one was more surprised and excited than Sonny himself, when he was chosen.

Sonny surprised even himself when he was spotted in an American night club by the leading recording company, Music Corporation of America. He also sang at the same nightclub Frank Sinatra sang in but at the height of his career, disaster struck and he fell desperately ill and had to be hospitalised bringing to an end a career that would have seen him up there with the best.

At long last, South Africans will have a chance of hearing the legend when he returns for one night only at the Blue Lagoon Conference Centre on 31 March. Contact Jayshree on 0836109931 or email jayshree@jzee.co.za for more information and tickets. Tickets cost R300pp which includes supper. According to the producer Jayshree Parasuramen, fans should book early as they anticipate a sold out show.