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SCENE IT: Bach, Beatles, and the Rest of the Alphabet According to the Charl du Plessis Trio at Maynardville
- Feb 14
- 2 min read
Maria Kearns
Sunday, 8 February 2026, saw another instalment of the annual Maynardville Open-Air Festival’s music programme, and how fitting to start an outdoor concert on an exceptionally windy day in Cape Town with a rendition of that timeless favourite ‘Autumn Leaves’.
I'm relieved to report that it turns out any weather-induced grumpiness can almost immediately be cured by the restorative properties of world-class jazz as performed by the Charl du Plessis Trio (consisting of Du Plessis on piano, Werner Spies on bass, and Peter Auret on drums). Add to that Du Plessis’s easy, upbeat manner and an outdoor sound quality level to rival that of any concert hall and you’ve got a very happy audience indeed.
Singling out a handful of highlights from this performance would be to do the experience a grave disservice. However, as this is a review…
The promised Bach and Beatles elements are exceptionally well integrated, from the trio's take on the second movement of J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (fittingly retitled ‘Air d’Afrique’ owing to the emergence of joyous strains of unmistakeably South African jazz motifs) to their truly sublime version of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with its evocative, melancholy piano building to such a crescendo that one could imagine a whole orchestra concealed in the Maynardville trees. This stirring interpretation received a vigorous standing ovation from a number of audience members. Likewise, ‘A Hard Day's Night’, with its teasing intro on bass and drums leading to a bit of tongue-in-cheek lounge piano (soon replaced by a dazzling up-tempo display) was a big crowd pleaser and very nearly had the audience erupt into a singalong.
The Beatles fans got their wish in the end: Du Plessis sanctioned (and conducted a quick rehearsal of) a bit of audience participation for the end of ‘Hey Jude’. ‘Thank you so much for making my Jacob Collier moment come true,’ the band leader quipped before launching into the perennial favourite.
Beyond the advertised Bach and Beatles programme, the trio delighted the crowd with their take on well-known melodies penned by Mozart (introduced by Du Plessis as ‘that ringtone everyone had’ in the days of the old Nokias), Grieg (‘Anitra's Dance’, dedicated to the lady from the dishwashing liquid ad who had to pretend to be happy washing hundreds of dishes to this tune), and Chopin. The latter may be, as Du Plessis put it, an inevitability for any pianist, but there's nothing inevitable about this version of the composer’s ‘Mazurka in C-sharp minor’ with its invigorating Latin-American rhythm.
It's a real shame Capetonians will have to wait until June to see the Charl du Plessis Trio on a local stage again, but what a coup for the Maynardville Open-Air Festival to have brought these internationally renowned musicians to a South African audience for one night.
The Maynardville Open-Air Festival is taking place at the Maynardville Park in Wynberg, and this year’s Shakespeare production, TWELFTH NIGHT, runs until the 8th of March. Music-lovers can look forward to concerts by Cape Town Opera (15th of February) and the Paul Roos Orchestra (22nd of February and 1st of March). Tickets are available through Quicket.