Dodging beret brigades and tipsy patrons, Mpho Moshe Matheolane finds much to like at the Joy of Jazz festival. But was Manu Dibangu worth the wait?
Swiss-French trumpeter Erik Truffaz blurs boundaries with his richly textural explorations of musical atmospherics.
One of the joys of the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown is serendipity. Most gigs are clustered in one venue. Here are the M&G’s picks.
He has many awards behind him, but for Andre Petersen his career purpose lies in faith, love and learning.
Hugh Masekela has plenty to keep him busy: a new studio, a new label and a further two albums to be released before the end of the year.
British flute-player Eddie Parker will be joining pianist Afrika Mkhize at the National Arts Festival.
Pianist Tete Mbambisa re-emerges from the shadows with an album that develops some of his greatest jazz hits.
Adam Glasser has forged his career in jazz by re-interpreting classics from South Africa on his chromatic harmonica.
The director’s craggy masculinity and individualism are not suited to a subject as subtle as Dave Brubeck.
Jazz is a small genre and the Cape Town Jazz Festival organisers have to realise that they cannot get bums on seats with music for purists only.
<b>Charles Leonard</b> explains why Taste of Sónar is a far more exciting prospect for music junkies than the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
The <em>Guardian</em> in London called her "the Queen of African Jazz" and composer Pinise Saul more than merits the title.
Two books take a fresh and wide-ranging look at the theme of music-making and politics.
Relive life in the 1950s through a musical journey that will leave you dancing and wanting more.
"Challenge" is a word Adam Glasser uses a lot when talking about jazz in South Africa.
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/ 21 October 2011
A concert on Friday evening pays tribute to one
of South Africa’s most innovative jazz groups ever.
British rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch joined a host of prodigious jazz talents for an unforgettable night in Grahamstown.
You start to suspect that jazz in Jo’burg might really be dead when players start penning elegies for it. That’s exactly what Marcus Wyatt has done.
The longest, oldest and coldest jazz festival in the country is the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown.
<b>Percy Zvomuya </b>attended Zim Ngqawana’s funeral this week. He reflects on the life of the jazz master.
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/ 10 December 2010
Looking at Khaya Mahlangu’s career, heading up an orchestra is a natural progression.
The reputation of Robbie Jansen preceded him as sure as it now survives him, writes Steve Gordon
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/ 30 October 2009
Kaldi’s coffee shop in Newtown, Johannesburg, is full of people trying not to notice that a national treasure is sitting among them.
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/ 26 January 2009
Freewheeling jazz saxophonist and stalwart of the Ray Charles band, David Newman, has died aged 75 in upstate New York.
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/ 26 January 2009
Freewheeling jazz saxophonist and stalwart of the Ray Charles band, David Newman, has died aged 75 in upstate New York.
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/ 7 November 2008
Anyone who has seen Abdullah Ibrahim perform live and solo will attest that it is a very intense, even spiritual experience.
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/ 7 November 2008
William Claxton called photography "jazz for the eyes". But jazz photographs have to be music to the ears as well…
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/ 10 September 2008
Renowned jazz musician Bheki Mseleku has died at the age of 53, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan said on Wednesday.
United States jazz tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, who played alongside such luminaries as Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey and Thelonius Monk, has died.
As a jazz musician, the minute you stop learning you’re dead, says Mark Fransman, this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner.
A Carlo Mombelli gig can make you wonder if you’ve come to the right place, writes Thorsten Schier from the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
Musician Prince Kupi died with his wife in a car accident on June 7. His nephew, the young poet Maakomele Manaka, pays tribute to his deceased uncle.