Oyama Mabandla explores the idea that artistic success has spiritual bliss at its centre.
Music, art and theatre are moving online as cultural workers adjust to lockdown
“We need to start articulating our utopias, articulating what needs to be burned and what needs to be saved.” — Shabaka Hutchings
The guitarist is growing into his groove, with a new concept album launching soon
The acclaimed pianist and composer shared his journey with us on completing his debut Blue Note album
Sandile Dikeni was a writer who continuously confronted what it means to be South African
Thandiswa Mazwai speaks about her memories of playing with the trumpeter and what fans can expect from her collaboration with his band
The musician’s debut album, ‘Indlel’eyekhaya’, defies genres in its blend of jazz, gospel and R&B
The title of Mabuta’s debut album, Welcome to This World, has always seemed like a clear invitation to enter a dream state. (Isabel Janssen)
While trumpeter Ndabo Zulu was studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music (from 2017 to 2019) and building on the idea that would become his opus, Queen Nandi The African Symphony, he followed a train of thought that led him on a quest that is gestured at, as opposed to concluded, by his album. In writing […]
Author Toni Morrison’s words set high new standards for ethics
The jazz maestro was an activist first and foremost, and created his own unique instruments and style
Balancing the horn with the DJ set from Hillbrow to Ibiza, George Sax is a master of mixology
"He had a formidable reputation amongst photographers and would not hesitate to throw you out if you disturbed him onstage"
While The Orbit will be missed and its end is undoubtedly a frustrating and disappointing blow to the jazz scene
Bonded by history as much as the present, the two genres of expression work together effortlessly
The distinct voice full of charm and realness is gone. But there is still so much music, enough music to heal us and teach us for lifetimes to come.
"To know Hugh Masekela was indeed to know that no matter class, creed, colour, religion or any other made-up distinctions".
More than just Afro-jazz, his music was the sound of socialising that harked back to the shebeen as the ‘college of music’
‘This was a man,’ said Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a moving tribute at Hugh Masekela’s funeral in Johannesburg
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Like the meteorite Thandiswa Mazwai dreamed of before hearing of his passing, he was a celestial creative force but also her beloved ‘industry dad’
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"This annotated mix of his music is not so much a tribute to a son of the soil than it is a conversation with his music".
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Jazz and the fight for freedom were central to his life and poetry
The film looks stunning and does well to juggle lopsided material — an overabundance of photographs,home videos and not much concert footage.
The pairing of Nina Simone and Moses Sumney raises questions at the epicentre of life and love
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M&G Friday caught up with jazz performer Langa Mavuso, who is putting old ideas of masculinity to sleep and breaking rules of music distribution.
The Joy of Jazz’s venue was cumbersome but couldn’t constrain a genre that revels in flouting restrictions
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Smoky bars, blue notes and swaying moves are not the stuff of the new attitude to jazz sounds
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Hugh Masekela and Riky Rick work on their chemistry to produce who knows what
The iconic 1959 jazz musical about a tragic boxer finally returns to our stages, but this time in a free South Africa.
I discovered that, for me, the genre is a blood-deep belief that links me to an ancient lineage.
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The Cape Town Jazz Festival needn’t rely on vibe and, even though some stages are a sonic nightmare, the music carries the event.