The life of late Salt River jazz singer Zayn Adams, or Zayn Adam as he was also known, will be celebrated in a benefit concert at the end of July.
The Zayn Adams Tribute Concert will reflect on the artist’s time with the band, Pacific Express, as well his work in the entertainment industry and support for up-and-coming artists, according to Adams’s son, Danyaal Adams
The Woodstock-based non-profit Autism Western Cape will be the beneficiary of the concert, which is being organised by Mr Adams
He says the show will incorporate work his father was meant to do in his final concert before his death in 2015 at the age of 67. “My dad passed away in 2015, during which time he was heavily involved in rehearsals of the reunion of the Pacific Express tribute concert or reunion concert.”
Mr Adams will be performing at the concert, along with Nur Abrahams, Glenn Robertson, Mujahid George, Leslie Kleinsmith, Faghri Isaacs, Danny Butler, Celeste Williams and the surviving members of Pacific Express, Jack Momples and Izzy Ariefdien.
Mr Adams says they chose Autism Western Cape as a beneficiary because the organisation has been hit hard by the pandemic, and the family has first-hand experience of autism. “We have members of our family who have autism, and we aim to raise awareness of the work that the organisation does to keep them going to continue their important work.”
Autism Western Cape operations manager Zaida Frank says they had to downsize their office space in Woodstock to accommodate major funding cuts from the Department of Social Development and other major donors.
“We are also greatly understaffed and had to deal with a great need, which means our staff were also overworked during this period. We are still dealing with a backlog.”
She says the concert is an ideal way to celebrate a legend in the community. “We believe in the arts and its ability to transform lives and feel that this is a way for people to show their support and help an understaffed and under-resourced community too.”
The concert will be held at the Good Hope Christian Centre in Ottery on Friday July 29 and Saturday 30, from 8pm. Tickets are R250 and can be bought through Computicket. For more information, visit Danyaal Adams’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
