Based: Cape Town
THE NINANINA/CURE FOR THE BLUES/BLUE HEARTS JAZZ BAND is a Cape Town-based jazz duo featuring Nina Nakamura on acoustic guitar and vocals, and Henry Shields on bass guitar and double-bass.
Our mission is to make ROMANTIC JAZZ cool again. And hot.
We craft original rearrangements of jazz standards and popular songs. Our song-list speaks to the heart; it’s soulful, playful with a twist of wistfulness. Nostalgic, never sentimental. While we do play some songs from later years, we have an absurd affinity for songs written before 1949.
Think Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Antonio Jobim, Astrud Gilberto and Burt Bacharach There’s something irresistible about the sexy rhythms, clever lyrics and memorable melodies of early 20th century songs: the way they loop in your head, get under your skin and make your body hum.
The vibe is relaxed and mellow with a touch of glamour; samba, bossa-nova, blues, tango and swing. Add the sparkle of live music to birthdays | engagements | cocktail parties | weddings | launches | social events and you’ll create something memorable: a radiant occasion with a cool music track everyone will remember.
Although the core of our band is the duo, we have a wide network of guest-performers we can call on to provide percussion, drums, chromatic marimba, vibraphone, saxophone, flute …
Call us to transform your next event: tell us your favourite tunes, your vision, your dream of how you want it to feel. We’ll set the mood.
