Gearing up for esteemed festival
Director of jazz event promises more great entertainment
CONSIDERED a jewel in its host city’s crown, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) offers world-class music, food, fashion and hospitality.
Behind the scenes, the festival team are gearing up for the 20th edition of Africa’s Grandest Gathering, as the festival has affectionately become known.
Festival director Billy Domingo said organisers had consistently attracted a global audience, while ensuring Cape Town “comes alive” during the weeklong programme of festivities, which included a weekend of live music at the main festival event.
“Our festival is a showcase of the grandest entertainment Africa has to offer. Festinos have bought into the ethos of what we are all about: great entertainment in the grandest setting,” he said.
The CTIJF has consistently showcased a mix of local, African and international performers. Over the years, it has grown to feature something for everyone in its diverse audience, from purist jazz to an eclectic array of performances.
More than 40 acts, featuring over 350 musicians, are staged across five stages over the two-day main festival, which attracts an annual audience of more than 30 000 music lovers from all over the world.
The calibre of the performers is unrivalled, with the festival having hosted globally renowned performers and groups such as Lauryn Hill (US), the late South African superstar Hugh Masekela, Cassandra Wilson (US), Hiatus Kaiyote (Australia), George Benson (US), the late Cesária Évora (Cape Verde), Earth, Wind & Fire (US), Yvonne Chaka Chaka (SA), Kamasi Washington (US), Jazz Attack (US), Corinne Bailey Rae (UK), Mulatu Astatke (Ethiopia), Esperanza Spalding (US), Tom Misch (UK), The Internet (US), and BADBADNOTGOOD (Canada), among others.
Apart from the two-day main event, the underlying ethos of the festival continues to be giving back to its host city through the annual free concert that will be hosted in the city centre, and the ever-popular sustainable training and development programme.
The CTIJF Free Community Concert at Greenmarket Square in central Cape Town ensures that locals get a taste of the festival line-up at no cost, allowing everyone to experience the wealth of talent the CTIJF has to offer annually.
Domingo said this concert was organised so that Capetonians felt included, and allowed the festival to give back to the community through live music.
The festival’s sustainable training and development programme hosts free workshops focusing on skills transfer and music development, with music and career workshops from local artists, to arts journalism, photojournalism and master classes by some of the very best international artists in the industry.
The programme has resulted in the creation of at least 3 500 direct and indirect jobs linked to the festival.
With 45% of the audience travelling to Cape Town, the knock-on effect is a huge boost in the city’s tourism, economy and South African tourism as a whole.
The CTIJF will take place on March 29 and 30 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
A host of artists have already been announced, and tickets are on sale at Computicket, while hospitality packages are available directly from espAfrika.