Let's start with the figures: 37 000 music fans, 40 artists, 14th edition, five stages, two nights, one festive city.
On the night of April 5 and 6, Cape Town was alive with thousands of people from Johannesburg, Durban and the region who went to enjoy a motley array of musicians ranging from Thandiswa Mazwai to Jill Scott; Kirk Wallum to Portico Quartet; the Robert Glasper Experiment to Gregory Porter; Jack de Johnette to Chano Dominguez; Louis Moholo to Mafikizolo, Orquestra Buena Vista Social Club to Zonke; Brand New Heavies to Pu2Ma; Jimmy Dludlu to Chef's Special.
There was something to cheer up everyone at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, unless your taste in music is fiendishly esoteric and out of this world.
The festival was, again, sold out – in fact the music showpiece has been sold out for a fourth consecutive year, resulting in some people, especially in Gauteng, buying fraudulent tickets. Rashid Lombard, the chief executive of EspAfrika, the company that organises the festival, was suitably enthused about a festival that went mostly without a glitch.
Entry into the precinct on Friday night was laborious – mainly due to the presidential security team that was slowly shepherding people through the metal detectors (Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe attended shows on Friday and Saturday nights). But by Saturday night, the security team was reasonably practised in dealing with the multitudes.
"When you have that kind of crowd you are wary," Lombard said. "We were quite worried about rain," he added. He needn't have; the weather was mostly cheery. There wasn't rain from Wednesday to Saturday, although the clouds somewhat darkened on Saturday morning but cleared by the time fans started moving into the convention centre around 5pm. "We learn every year how to quickly move in people," he said.
The line up and stages were suitably eclectic. There was the "serious" jazz Roses stage that hosted the likes of drummers Jack de Johnette and Cape Town born UK-based drummer Louis Moholo; then there was the Bassline stage which was mostly monopolised by DJs and other exponents of dance music; and then there was the vast Kippies stage for popular acts such as Jimmy Dludlu and Jill Scott.
The Moses Molelekwa stage hosted, among others, Afrika Mkhize (Standard Bank Artist of the Year 2012) and Dutch fusion group Chef's Special; so it's a bit difficult to categorise how exactly the curation for this venue was done. The Robert Glasper Experiment, an American experimental fusion ensemble – as the name suggests – was originally billed to perform at the Moses Molelekwa stage but was moved to an open air, convivial venue just beneath Nelson Mandela Boulevard.
As you would expect where thousands of thousands are gathered, the toilet was something of a scarce resource, for women especially. But, in acts of generosity and a bon homie, men decided to share their toilets with women. So patient women queued, some giggling, while the men stood facing the wall relieving themselves, with no trace of self-consciousness (the alcoholic rivers helped, no doubt).
Lombard was quick to dismiss a rumour, fluttering in the ether for a while, about the jazz festival relocating to Durban while the Cape Town International Convention Centre is undergoing renovations. Yes, there is going to be renovations that will be completed in 2016, Lombard confirmed, but the festival isn't going anywhere. He confirmed that some provinces had approached EspAfrika expressing interest in hosting a festival of this nature. "There is some interest from some provinces. Other provinces would put in more money," Lombard admitted.
"The projected profit margin for the festival currently sits between 5% and 7% of the total budget – which is R37-million. This is not ideal from an economic point of view and does not sit well with our shareholders. Our profit margin needs to increase to make economic sense and therefore we are in discussions with other provinces."
But the festival, like most self-perpetuating behemoths, has gathered the sort of momentum that shouldn't be disturbed. And, anyway, you can still stage another jazz festival in Durban without taking it away from Cape Town – the one can complement the other.