Judith shoots 10 years of joy

JAZZ singer Judith Sephuma sang up a storm on Saturday night in the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City.

Sephuma was shooting a live DVD as part of a 10-year celebration of her musical excellence. The crowd, which included people such as Sello Galane and Generations' Sophie Ndaba, packed the venue to capacity.

The show was delayed for 35 minutes because of the audience arriving late.

But when the Limpopo-born songstress came on stage with her band, and a full orchestra, she delivered magic.

Sephuma looked exquisite in a classic black-and-white sequinned dress with matching black gloves. She changed her outfit five times during the show.

With her great vocal range and stage presence, Sephuma took the audience on a musical odyssey.

She started her set with most of the songs in her first album, A Cry, A Smile and A Dance.

She mixed ballads, straight jazz and Afro-jazz songs. Sephuma gave a thrilling three-and-a-half-hour show but the audience clamoured for more.

She performed well-known hits from her other three albums. After an hour she took a 15-minute break and returned with her second set, which was most entertaining.

The dark-skinned singer took things to another level when she introduced Zimbabwean international Oliver Mtukudzi.

The two rendered a beautiful traditional-Afro-jazz duet in Shona and Sepedi. She closed the show with a famous cover version, Just Us.

Sephuma continued to shoot her DVD yesterday with another show at the Lyric Theatre.