Derek Gripper

“exciting visionary…thrilling, vibrant.”

- Cape Argus

“consistently fine and immediate.” - Mail and Guardian

“Should go down as a classic of Cape music. Gripper follows in the footsteps of Steve Newman, Tony Cox, Abdullah Ibrahim and all the best painters of the Cape’s aural landscape.”

- Julian Jonker for Mail and Guardian

“Listening to Blomdoorns is being granted a moment of very intimate discourse, a glimpse of secret audio-emotional imagery…the songs are simple, modest and touching, a gifted artist.”

- MR

"A celebration for the guitar through the capable hands and talent of Derek!" - Worcester Music Society

"What a delicate, sensitive approach Derek Gripper displayed to the format of the soirée, absolutely perfectly appropriate, a stunning triumph! It was a most special and delicate balance of passion and virtuosity."

- Richard Wagner Society

“The vulnerability of Gripper’s Chaconne reminds one of Menuhin’s own interpretation.” - Gerard Cousins (UK Recitalist)

“A vital presence in the international guitar world.” - Paul Galbraith (Grammy winner and international guitarist)

"Derek Gripper is not only a versatile guitarist with an extremely solid technique, but also an artist with whose integrity is impeccable. His numerous succesful recitals, always well constructed and thoroughly appreciated, are proof of his skilled musicianship." - Anton Els of Music Maestros (South African Music Promoter)

"Tonight, by complete chance, I happened to witness what could be the
birth of an exciting new sound from South Africa. A country with a
rich jazz history, South Africa has produced many notable artists who
have brought South Africa's unique sensibilities to an audience hungry
for news from the country with such a rich past and heritage. The
Sagtevlei trio continues in this vein.

The Trio sat on a dimly lit stage, interacting in a new music that
defies categorization. It can only be called "a stunning new direction
in South African music." A man in a shiny suit sat perfectly still
behind an equally shiny accordion, adding subtle melodic inflections
to the guitarist whose multilayered textures were accentuated by bass
playing that found a constant balance between melodic virtuosity and
subtle texture.

The Sagtevlei Trio is a group of musicians that break the distinction
between harmonic and melodic music, between African-style polyphonic
repetition and the freedom of open improvisation. While
master-trumpeter Alex van Heerden blew some of the coolest jazz
phrases I have heard in years, a constant stream of interweaving
harmony and rhythm unfolded in the rhythm section. Derek Gripper's
acoustic guitar holds together the song structures, beautifully
accompanied by Brydon Bolton's bass, at times so soft as to be
inaudible, at other times building to bowed orchestral climaxes. The
singing of one or two songs in local dialect, amongst an otherwise
instrumental line-up, brought a distinctly local flavor. While as a
foreigner I was not able to understand the words, the evocative sounds
of the Afrikaans language became part of the musical language, a sound
that required no literal translation.

While the songs provided a reference point for the listener, the
group's highly sensitive and evolved form of collective improvisation
ensured that each member of the audience was constantly guessing, and
entirely involved. To say that the audience was held spellbound would
be an understatement. It was as if applause was superfluous, that it
disrupted the flow of this inspiring music.
One can only imagine what the future may hold for this burst of fresh
air, as South Africa's many talented artists emerge on the
international arena. Ones feeling is that this is a sound which has
yet to develop itself fully, but it is certainly packed with
possibility and promise."

This was to be the last ever performance by the Sagtevlei Trio. Alex Van Heerden (the man in the shiny suit), was killed in a car accident two weeks later. You can listen to a sample from this concert: "Sissie My Kind Kom Huis Toe."

- Roald Schmidt (independent reviewer)