esp Young Legends Top five finalists chosen
AFTER an exciting round of public voting that generated more than 10 000 votes, the organiser of the third annual esp Young Legends online talent search, esp Afrika, has just announced the top five finalists. The winner from the top five, who will be selected by the public, will perform at the 19th annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March.
The esp Young Legends is an online competition that takes place annually to search for the next unsigned jazz-inspired band to perform at the CTIJF. The band should have outstanding talent and have two to six members.
CTIJF Festival Director and esp Afrika Chief Operations Officer Billy Domingo said, “Selecting this year’s finalists was no easy task. The variety of artists and talent was outstanding, each with their own merit and unique appeal. In the end, we narrowed down the top 10 to five finalists with the full package, including three of the fans’ favourite contestants.
“I believe these artists have what it takes to entertain the Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s audience, and forge a successful career in the music industry. Now it’s up to the festinos to choose the next winner who will perform at next year’s CTIJF”.
Three of the top five selected by the esp Young Legends panel were also the public’s top nominated acts. Confirming this, Bev Scott-Brown, one of the esp Young Legends judges, said: “We were impressed with the overall standard of the entries this year. The top 10 did a great job with gathering their votes.
“The selection of the top five was difficult, but we believe we have a good balance between the public favoutrites and the panel’s choices. We are confident that any group out of the selection will stand their ground at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.”
This year’s top five contestants are Asanda Mqiki, Astrafunk & The Space Cats, Jarrad Ricketts, Just 6 and Sylvester Aklamavo & Miton Fusion Band.
Finalist Asanda Mqiki, who is from Port Elizabeth, said she was very excited. “I didn’t think we would make it to the top five, so it’s hard to believe but extremely exciting for us. The competition was very tough. There were really strong musicians, but we are absolutely happy,” she said.
Mqiki said she entered when she realised how big it was.
“I knew a lot of musicians who were entering so I decided to enter.
“I have also always wanted to perform at the CTIJF so I had to jump at the opportunity for at least a chance to play.
“Jazz is such a beautiful genre and to have these sorts of platforms for an up-and-coming artist is great,” Mqiki said.
The young artist, who has been playing with her band for four years now, described her sound as a mix of contemporary and traditional jazz influenced by other genres like RnB and Kwaito.
She also said she wanted to represent Port Elizabeth.
Public voting to choose the overall winner is now open at www.espafrika.com and fans have until midnight on Monday, October 30 to cast their votes.
The esp Young Legends winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 31 on the esp Afrika website and across social media.