Marianne Merten
Cape Town is hosting South Africa’s first international jazz festival this weekend – entrenching the status of the Mother City as the country’s jazz capital and putting South Africa on the global map of annual events as the only one in the southern hemisphere.
The festival is a six-year long dream come true for Capetonian jazz lover, photographer, former club owner and CEO of ESP Africa event managers, Rashid Lombard.
The event – under the banner of the prestigious Dutch North Sea Jazz Festival – may be international, but also pays tribute to South Africa’s rich jazzing history. The four music stages at the Good Hope Centre are named after the best jazz venues around the country: Kippies, Manenberg’s, Bassline and Rosie’s and All That Jazz.
Those who have already booked their tickets include various government ministers, business leaders and dignitaries who were entertained by the Dutch ambassador at a special event on March 30. It is a case of third time lucky – two previous attempts to host international jazz in the past four years failed.
The idea started six years ago when several international artists passed through the club Rosie’s and All That Jazz at the old Cape Town harbour, ahead of the first democratic elections. That was before the club had to give way to the V&A Waterfront development.
Since then Lombard has travelled to various jazz festivals on a mission to discover how they are run, and what it would take to mobilise support in South Africa for such an event.
The major breakthrough came when the North Sea Jazz Festival organisers for the first time agreed to feature South African jazz artists at The Hague last July.
South African ambassador to The Netherlands Carl Niehaus and Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo hosted the South African stage on the last Sunday of the festival. On another festival stage, at the same time, BB King and Stanley Clarke played.
“I couldn’t go into that hall, a 1E500- seater,” says Lombard, recalling his nervousness and excitement. “When I finally walked in, every seat was taken. Then we just cooked. All other musicians came to listen.”
The next breakthrough came when the well- known Dutch promoters Mojo Concerts put their muscle behind Lombard’s events management company ESP.
One thing led to another. Introductions to the managers and agents of musicians led to contracts being signed late last year. The Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and Dutch government representatives agreed to help sponsor the event.
The Cape Town City Council is providing the venue, security and emergency services without charge. Companies like African Harvest Limited, Musica, Shell and Old Mutual have also made contributions.
Eight months and many late nights later, the international jazz festival is a reality.
Lombard says the high point was signing the contracts ahead of finalising the programme in January. But a low point remains the many telephone calls he receives from local acts wanting to be part of the festival.
What was life like in the week before the festival? Fellow ESP manager and popular Radio P4 presenter, Clarence Ford says he spent the time, “Waking up in the morning, clicking on the Computicket Internet site and seeing another ticket has been sold.”