2024 National Jazz Festival

A jazz programme like no other! The Festival draws established and emerging jazz musicians from the Eastern Cape, South Africa and the globe to bring a distinctive flavour to the diverse programme. The National Arts Festival has a strong legacy of jazz, grounded in the collaborative spirit of the National Youth Jazz Festival which has played a pivotal role in musician development dating back to 1992. It has been a barometer for countless jazz musicians, who come back annually to gather, play and reinvest in a new generation of jazz artists. The programme is active and experiential and sees artists jamming with the students.

Jazz

Jam Session I | Sakhile Simani

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Integral collaborations to develop Jazz
Jazz

Rondebosch & Stirling

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
School bands performance
Jazz

National Youth Jazz Band – Afrika Mkhize

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A selection of jazz musicians in South Africa, aged 26 and younger
Jazz

Zoe the Seed

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
An authentic, sincere expression of jazz
Jazz

Sphelelo Mazibuko: FACES

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Expressions of connection and individuality
Jazz

Youth Vocal Jazz Celebration

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Youth Performance
Jazz

Gabi Motuba: To Know the Other

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Creating new relationships through story-driven jazz
Jazz

Dakawa Jazz | The Hamburg Jazz Band, Sive Sontshaka & The Tribute Jazz Band, & Phinda Mtya

Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
Celebrate the Jazz of the Eastern Cape
Jazz

Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Powerhouse synthesis of distinctive styles and musicality
Jazz

University of Cape Town

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
The Off Minor: UCT Sextet
Jazz

Jam Session I

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Jam session kicked off by unique collaboration
Jazz

National Schools Jazz Band – Ramon Alexander

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
School band performance
Jazz

Conversations

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
5 musicians gather to create a unique musical conversation
Jazz

Dakawa Jazz | Melikhaya Heugh & Dumza Maswana

Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
Celebrate the Jazz of the Eastern Cape
Jazz

Outeniqua High

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Outeniqua High
Jazz

Jam Session II | Blake Hellaby

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Integral collaborations to develop Jazz
Jazz

Jam Session III

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Jam session kicked off by unique collaboration
Jazz

Jam Session IV

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Jam session kicked off by unique collaboration
Jazz

Maritzburg College & Parel Vallei

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Everything from Glen Miller to a New York subway-style street band
Jazz

Ghana Jazz Collective

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Acclaimed Ghanaian Afro-Jazz Fusion band, The Ghjazz Collective!
Jazz

Robin Fassie | RESURGENCE: pt.1 RESTRAINT

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A conceptual journey made physical through improvisation and musical release
Jazz

UKZN & Stellenbosch University

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Jazz students from two universities with very different cultures and sounds
Jazz

Sakhile Simani: People of My Community

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
‘Hope and love to my community during all the uncertainty’
Jazz

Jam Session II

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Jam session kicked off by unique collaboration
Jazz

Kesivan & The Lights

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Listening and exploring
Jazz

Siya Charles – Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Winner of this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz
Jazz

National Youth Jazz Band – Sisonke Xonti

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Youth band performance
Jazz

Little Giants

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Youth band performance
Jazz

National Schools Jazz Band – Natalie Rungan

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Conducted by Natalie Rungan
Jazz

Dakawa Jazz | Imonti Jazz Band & Malayisha Jazz Band

Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
Celebrate the Jazz of the Eastern Cape
Jazz

Durban & St Cyprian’s

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
School bands performance
Jazz

Blue Notes Tribute Orkestra (BNTO)

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A tribute to true SA Jazz pioneers
Jazz

Sweet-Potato-Ginger-Cake

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A unique collaboration between 4 individualists
Jazz

In Motion

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Traversal of multinational musical identities
Jazz

Kujenga

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
New age innovations building meaningful connections
Jazz

The Birth – Darren English

SBYA Jazz
The Birth - Darren English
Jazz

Cape Jazz Jol!

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A blatantly funky repertoire and some serious groove
Jazz

Nhlanhla Mahlangu: DaniMali

NYJF
Transposing African philosophies into modern musical expressions
Jazz

Stirling High

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Stirling High
Jazz

Maritzburg & Outeniqua

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
School bands performance
Jazz

The Siya Charles Sextet

Siyasanga Charles
SBYA for Jazz
Jazz

Dakawa Jazz | Vibe Nation SA, Uhadi Lomxesibe & Senqu Dipina

Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
Celebrate the Jazz of the Eastern Cape
Jazz

Bergvliet & Durban High

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Bergvliet & Durban High
Jazz

St. Cyprian’s & Moses Molelekwa Arts Foundation

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
St. Cyprian’s & Moses Molelekwa Arts Foundation
Jazz

Lumanyano Mzi: Ithemba Elitsha

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
International influences with a Cape Town lens
Jazz

Carlo and Sigi – The Gong Project

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Kaleidoscopic innovations and avant-garde dialogues
Jazz

Dalisu Ndlazi: The Inevitable Calling

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Music is both home and the feeling of existence
Jazz

Riley G Collective – Joseph’s Mind

NYJF
Technicoloured rhythmic conversations
Jazz

Siya Charles Sextet

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Siya Charles returns to Makhanda!
Jazz

Fredrik Kronkvist WIRED feat. Natasha Otero

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Blending modern jazz with global rhythms and grooves
Jazz

Wits & UCT

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
University bands performance
Jazz

Ramon Alexander Trio

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A landscape of rhythmic interplay
Jazz

Yonela Mnana

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
The diversity of Yonela Mnana’s musicianship is evident
Jazz

Youth Jazz Vocal Celebration

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A celebration of school and university jazz choirs and vocal soloists
Jazz

Jam Session IV | Kyle du Preez

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Integral collaborations to develop Jazz
Jazz

Jam session III | Duncan Johnson

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Integral collaborations to develop Jazz
Jazz

The Ploemies

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Infectious grooves that never fail to get crowds on their feet
Jazz

Reconnections

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
A reconnection nearly three decades later
Jazz

Neil Gonsalves Trio + 2

Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions
Decidedly Mzansi-flavoured
Jazz

Vimbs Mavimbs: Late Bloomer

NYJF
Driving grooves rooted in strong African rhythms