And All That Jazz!
Johannesburg’s Joy of Jazz Festival gives us all a chance to revel in the power of music and the sheer joy of unfettered musical talent.
Louis Armstrong once said: “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.”
Perhaps Satchmo was right. More than anything, jazz is a feeling. But it is also Bra Hugh Masekela’s flugelhorn weaving a tapestry of shimmering golden notes, or Simphiwe Dana’s voice slinking through a crowd like the slow unravelling of a silken thread.
These stars of the South African scene are just two of the greats featured on the bill at this year’s Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, which is once again set to turn Johannesburg into a southern hemisphere Montreal for three glorious days of hip swaying, foot tapping jazz. They will share the stage with some of the world’s most loved and respected musicians, including five time Grammy award winner Wynton Marsalis.
If jazz is all about soul, then the South African scene has plenty of it, as the growth of the country’s premier music festival proves. Newtown hosted the first Johannesburg edition of the event in 2000, with musicians playing to an audience of 1,800 fans. Fast forward to 2010, and the number of enthusiasts stood at over 5,000. Small wonder, then, that event organisers have geared up for an even larger event this year, with the addition of a new, purpose built venue, the Conga Stage. This brings to seven the total number of stages the stars will be able to strut their stuff on.
South Africans’ love of jazz shouldn’t come as a surprise. You could say that this is the music that set the soundtrack during the country’s struggle years. It was the sound that shook the shebeens (township bars); that created a birthplace for such musical talents as Abdulla Ibrahim; and that echoes in the home grown pop and kwaito of today.
Jazz Juniors
This is precisely why the Joy of Jazz Festival remains such an important event on the arts calendar. Yes, it is all about the sheer pleasure that is woven between the magical melodies, but it has a serious side too, in that it is a critical incubator for fledgling talent. That, at least, is what the organisers have set out to achieve, and is why they are so proud to see a number of young South Africans playing a part in all aspects of the festival. In fact, the entire event has been designed so as to encourage such participation. So while it is inspiring to watch legends like the 72-year-old Masekela passing the baton to their latest protégé (a responsibility which Bra Hugh, incidentally, takes very seriously), it is a comfort for those in the industry to know that the festival also provides youngsters with an opportunity to develop technical skills.
Since the development of cultural industries is a crucial part of the plan to develop Johannesburg into a world class destination, it is easy to understand why the involvement of Gauteng schools and the establishment of special jazz camps (where the Jonas Gwangwas of the next generation have a chance to learn from today’s greats) is not only exciting, but also essential. This is also why, away from the glamour of the stage, community outreach programmes and workshops are as much a part of the festival as the headline acts are.
Jazz Giants
And what acts they are! Event organisers maintain that Marsalis is the biggest star yet to have graced the festival’s stage. And as he is the first jazz musician ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, they may just be right. Sourcing artists of such a calibre is, perhaps, the greatest challenge facing the organisers, but the growing prestige of the event ensures that the coup is repeated year after year.
So who is going to be setting the stage alight this year? Marsalis is, of course, the big draw card, and is set to dazzle crowds at Emperor’s Palace. The other acts will all be playing in Newtown, where the three venues (the Conga Stage, the Mbira Stage and the Dinaledi Stage) have been designed to ensure easy access, so much the better for fans wishing to catch the action at more than one spot.
Watch out for our own Sibongile Khumalo, Mango Groove, the African Jazz Pioneers, TuNokwe, Kwela Tebza, Victor Ntoni, McCoy Mrubatha, Ringo and Julius Schultz. The 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Jazz, Bokani Dyer, is also bound to attract a lot of attention.
Then there are the other African enchanters, including Oliver Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe, Bonga from Angola and Nigeria’s Olufemi. As a great jazz nation, it is only fitting that a number of performers hail from America: Dee Dee Bridgewater, McCoy Tyner, Gerald Veasley, Jeff Lorber, Alexander O’Neal and Frank McComb are amongst that country’s exports. Finally, the programme is completed by Brazil’s Tania Maria, the HGM Jazz Messengers from Croatia, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, who will be performing with Tutu Puoane.
From heart-breaking to heart-soaring, there is enough jazzy variety here to ensure that the observation of another all-time jazz great, Bix Beiderbecke, holds true: “One of the things that I like about jazz, kid, is that I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
The Joy of Jazz Festival takes place from 25th to 27th August in Johannesburg. Tickets are available through Computicket. Visit http://www.joyofjazz.co.za/ for more information.
Story by Lisa Witepski
