Cape Town International Jazz Festival is here!

This year’s edition features quality artists, many of them African musicians collaborating to add a pan-African twist to the festival. As such, Cape Town once more becomes a setting of eclectic live acts from across the African continent and the world over.

Tomorrow night, Grammy-nominated saxophonist and vibraphonist Manu Dibango (Cameroon) and South African Music Award (SAMA) winner Moreira Chonguica (Mozambique) will give fans a taste of their local traditional and contemporary sounds. The duo is expected to perform songs from Chonguica’s album The Moreira Project, Volume 2. Chonguica, an internationally celebrated jazz saxophonist, featured Dibango on this 2009 18-track album, which demonstrates the vast scope of influences of the two musicians.

Also to watch on opening night is Tresor, a SAMA-winning singer and producer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Cape Town-based singer has scored top-20 hits on popular local radio stations such as 5FM, Agoa FM, Good Hope FM and Heart FM. Festivalgoers should look forward to tracks such as ‘Mount Everest’, ‘Never Let Me Go’ and ‘Evergreen’. Tresor will pepper his performance with the talent “borrowed” from Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, whom he lists among his main influences.

Jokko, a pop, dance and jazz ensemble of African instrumentalists, will add even more pan-African weight to the festival. Featuring five notable traditional players from Mozambique, Senegal and Morocco, the group will perform on Saturday after the US’ Darren English. Fans will get the chance to experience new sounds from the instrumentalists, who come from a distinguished lineage of griots. This performance is one not to be missed.

Adding to the collaborative list are Indian artists Deepak Pandit and Ranjit Baroz, who will share the stage with Marcus Wyatt, a renowned South African trumpeter, composer and producer. With a music career characterised by various collaborations, Pandit is expected to present a compelling performance with Wyatt and Baroz.  A master in his own right, Pandit has many years of training under the guidance of his father, which enabled him to develop a deep understanding of multiple traditional schools of music as well as Western classical music. Fans should expect a mixture of traditional Indian and Western music from this group

Shining a light on homegrown talent are South African artists Thandiswa Mazwai, Judith Sephuma, Nomfundo Xaluva and Siya Makuzeni. These female musicians are rated among the most treasured artists in the country. Other local talents on offer are Tsepo Tshola, Jonas Gwanga and Friends, Ernie Smith, Vudu and Pops Mohamed, among others.

Among the artists who will add an international flavor to the festival are Tom Misch (UK), En Vogue (US), Escalandrum (Argentina), Jameszoo (Netherlands) and The Internet (US).

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival has grown to become one of the most recognised festivals in Africa. Affectionately referred to as ‘Africa’s Grandest Gathering’, the event is famous for delivering every year a star-studded line-up featuring international and local artists in the jazz and jazz-related genres. This year’s edition will be sponsored by the South African Department of Arts and Culture, Independent Media, PRASA, the City of Cape Town, Johnny Walker, Amstel and South African Tourism.

In 2015, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) withdrew its sponsorship for the festival a few weeks before the event. According to reports, the SABC did not give an outline of the reasons but cited it could not agree on certain terms and conditions during negotiations. This year, the state broadcaster will not only air the event on its three TV channels – SABC 1, SABC 2 and SABC 3 – but also sponsored Wednesday’s community concert at Greenmarket Square and helped with training and development programmes attached to the festival.

Tickets to the event are available on Computicket.