Noteworthy: South African musician Mandisi Dyantyis will perform at the Joy of Jazz festival. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee/New Frame
The Joy of Jazz festival festival is returning after a two-year hiatus. Celebrating its 23rd edition, the festival is known for bringing together some of the genre’s biggest and most influential acts.
It is taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joburg today and tomorrow, with the theme of Ultimate African Jazz Experience. Musicians from various countries will demonstrate the manner in which jazz has been interpreted on the continent.
The festival, which first took place in 1997 at the State Theatre in Pretoria, has become a leading jazz event in South Africa that has afforded local audiences an opportunity to experience some of the best musicians in the world.
And it’s with that concept in mind that the festival will present Mozambican Moreira Chonguica, Zimbabwean Hope Masike, as well as South Africans such as pianist Andile Yenana, bassist Shane Cooper and drummer Sakhi Nompozolo, alongside Sisonke Xonti, Sakhile Simani, Thandeka Mfinyongo, Ringo Madlingozi, Msaki, Thandiswa Mazwai, Zamajobe and the Jaziel Brothers.
One of the most anticipated performers at the Joy of Jazz festival this year is singer-songwriter and music arranger Mandisi Dyantyis, whose music is a spiritual and enlightening experience for audiences.
Now based in Cape Town, Dyantyis was born and grew up in Gqebera, in Eastern Cape, and began his musical journey when he took up the trumpet at the age of eight and studied classical music at school.
His understanding and appreciation for music and jazz developed during his studies at the University of Cape Town. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music Honours Degree in Jazz Studies in 2005.
It is Dyantyis’s versatility that makes his sound unique. His 2019 debut album Somandla threads together pieces of his life and addresses some of the issues faced in our society, such as rape and unemployment, and speaks to the work that has to be done to create a better life for people in South Africa.
“We still have a long way to go … Kids raping our parents, parents raping kids — we’ve become animals at some point and we have to restore our humanity,” says Dyantyis in a video which he shared online explaining the creative process behind the album.
He has explored various roles in the music industry, such as writing songs for plays and musicals, being involved with a church choir, creating music for reggae bands and playing with the University of Cape Town’s Big Band.
The simplicity and soulfulness of his work carries through to his most recent offering Cwaka (“silence” in Xhosa) released last year. It was a timely project considering the world had been forced into stillness, or at the very least, a slower pace of life, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 15-track album delves deep into his upbringing in the Methodist Church which strongly comes across in the introductory song Umbuliso (roughly translated as “salutation”).
Each song has a Xhosa title, drawing on the connections between his musical studies and his cultural and traditional roots, which are so gracefully, yet deeply, translated within his music.
“There was a time when vernacular languages were not being sung; people were shy to sing them because they felt that they were dividing people. And to me, it’s not about that. For me, to say without a shadow of a doubt that this is my story needs to come out in the language that I think in,” explains the artist.
As with his first album, Dyantyis covers a range of topics, such as love, forgiveness and faith in a manner that celebrates Africanness, through language and Xhosa folk songs.
The lyrics of the title track of Cwaka: “Zundinik’ amandla wokuthi cwaka ndiba jonge (Please give me the strength to be silent and just watch them)” speak as a plea to the creator for the confidence to watch in silence in the midst of chaos.
The song speaks of trying to be successful, and get your life together, while there are people constantly pulling you down without you actually doing anything to them.
Dyantyis has an intriguing style, where he is able to marry authenticity and the inspiration gained through his varied musical experiences. This was reflected through the live concerts he put on Instagram during the lockdown period, sharing some of the music and songs he had been writing between albums.
Dyantyis will be performing on the Dinaledi Stage at Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday.