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The famous Newtown jazz club is being restored, although it will most likely become a "coffee shop and jazz museum" extension of the Market Theatre complex.
The original Kippies was built in 1986, and the 1992 addition has been demolished
KIPPIES the jazz club is dead, but Kippies the events space is about to be born, complete with a striking sculpture of musician Kippie Moeketsi outside the building.
The famous jazz nightclub, built in 1986 and modelled on a nearby Victorian toilet, was closed in early 2005, when it was believed to have major structural flaws. Towards the end of 2006 it was opened again several blocks away in Quinn Street in Newtown but, alas, it closed again for the final time at the beginning of 2008.
Phase one of the restoration involves the demolition of the later addition to the original Kippies, built in 1992. It is under this section that structural weaknesses were found, confirms Celestine Mouton, a development manager at the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the body responsible for the work being done on the venue. The JDA is spending R1,75-million on the restoration.
As part of the revamp, the roof will be given a make-over and the parquet floors and timber joinery will be restored, so as to bring out their original beauty, according to architect Joy Campkin-Smith of Gapp Architects.
"The building should be seen as a pivotal spot to the whole precinct," she says.
Once the first phase is complete, Kippies will be treated as a simple shell and possible function room with an opening to an outdoor landscaped area on the western side of the building.
Ownership and management of Kippies is likely to be taken over by the neighbouring Market Theatre. It is now owned by the Johannesburg Property Company.
Phase two of the restoration calls for a new structure joining the original building to house a kitchen and toilets, possibly to be done by the Market Theatre.
There will probably be a third phase, says Malcolm Purkey, the theatre complex's director. This could take the form of a large events room. Purkey says he will be looking for partners to help complete the restoration. At the moment he envisages Kippies becoming a coffee shop and jazz museum.
"The space is associated with culture and memory," he says. It might also be a space for poetry readings and two- or three-piece ensembles.
Moeketsi sculpture
Saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, after whom the club was named, is to be remembered in the form of a sculpture in front of Kippies, sponsored by the Gauteng department of sport, arts, culture and recreation.
The sculpture of Kippie Moeketsi takes shape
A life-size bronze sculpture, depicting Moeketsi sitting on a chair in a contemplative pose, with his saxophone in his right hand, is being created by artists Guy du Toit and Egon Tania. It is likely to be completed by June, with installation some time after that.
Moeketsi was born in 1925. He began his musical career playing the clarinet but soon switched to the saxophone.
He toured with some of the best jazz bands in the country: the Shantytown Sextet, the Harlem Swingsters, the Jazz Epistles and the Jazz Dazzlers. He also played with some of South Africa's great musicians: Jonas Gwangwa, Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela.
Sadly, Moeketsi allowed drink to become his master and by the time he died in 1983 at the age of 58, he was destitute.
Market Theatre
Meanwhile, Purkey says that the Market Theatre is doing very well. "In the last five years we have doubled our income and our footfall at the theatre. We are very, very proud of this success."
The charm of the original Kippies is still evident from the front of the building
He says the Department of Arts and Culture has given the theatre a good governance award.
With the expiry of Moyo's lease, the restaurant in the foyer of the theatre, Purkey says he outsourced for a new company to take over the space, and the Market Bar & Bistro will soon be opening.
"We ensure that people come here and have a good time ... We have a local following who come every Tuesday for our absurdly low price of R50."
The area immediately west of Kippies, known as the Potato Shed, is also about to undergo a major revamp. In a R1-billion development, it will contain a flea market, shops, offices, a 180-room hotel and a square built on the site.
This is a private sector project, managed by the JDA.
The original Victorian toilet is within this site, and is expected to be restored as part of the project. It will take on another function, yet to be decided.
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