The year’s first jazz festivals used to happen around Easter. Then, a whole bunch of public holidays meant whatever month the religious event fell in turned into one long weekend briefly interrupted by a few bothersome working days.
This year, they’re both in May.
Newcomer, the Prince Albert Journey to Jazz, now in its second year, stretches over the week of 1-5 May, with the concert events concentrated at the weekend. The event has been scheduled since last year, with most of an exciting line-up announced in January: enough notice to make plans and bookings.
The revenant Cape Town International Jazz Festival, after a Covid break and then a baffling series of on-again/off-again return notices, including the possibility of Easter, suddenly announced on 11 March that it would in fact happen on that very same weekend, 3&4 May.
Sometimes, I wonder if some of the people organising music aren’t music’s worst enemies.
Two jazz festivals in the same province, four hours’ drive apart, on the same days and very likely to appeal to similar audience demographics? That certainly risks being perceived as a spoiler move by CTIJF, even if it wasn’t intended as such.
It definitely robs audiences of the chance to see some of our best musicians, when they’re appearing in two different places at the same time. Both bills are strong, and artists should never be blamed for the caprices of organisers.
And you can trust the artists in both places to deliver their very best.
CTIJF has Nduduzo Makhathini, Mandisi Dyantyis, Carlo Mombelli, Bokani Dyer’s Radio Sechaba, Zoe Modiga, Billy Monama, Benjamin Jephta and fast-rising newcomers Kujenga. The overseas guests are from the UK: dynamic Afro-jazz outfit Kokoroko, and multi-genre drummer Yusuf Dayes with his ensemble. Oh, and Matt Bianco (Google them) who are inexplicably presented as a jazz headliner.
Tickets will cost you R950 for the weekend, but that will get you only into the acoustic hell of the big downstairs hall and the outside stage. You’ll pay a R30 crowd-control supplement for every single concert ticket in what used to be the Moses Molelekwa and Rosies venues. I say “used to be”, because in what can’t help feeling like a slap in the face for South Africa’s jazz heritage, all the stages have been renamed: Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald and Topaz. Sorry, that’s just naff. Kippie Moeketsi, Moses Molelekwa and Basil Manenberg Coetzee have been displaced by a bunch of meaningless minerals.
Prince Albert Journey to Jazz, curated by pianist/composer Kyle Shepherd and arts broadcaster and jazz advocate Brenda Sisane, has Thandi Ntuli with a new SA/Swiss ensemble called A Million O’Clock. She’s joined on the bill by South Africans Skyjack, Afrika Mkhize, Darren English, Cameron Ward, and rising UCT vocal star Giuliette Price. From overseas come the highly-praised Berklee Women of the World vocal ensemble, the Italian-American trio of ECM artist, pianist Giovanni Guidi, and multi-instrumentalist and AACM member Adam Zanolini with his project the Heliacal Rising of Sothis.
There’s also music rooted in Prince Albert’s Karoo setting and (as the name implies) the concept of artist development. Price guested at the inaugural festival as part of the UCT Little Big Band. They’re back this year with new players; she’s now leading her own ensemble. Ramon Alexander directs the Karoo Jazz Project; Jonathan Rubain brings Die Koortjies Band.
Most South African festival bills remain male-dominated. Prince Albert moves a lot closer to the kind of gender-representative bills we should be seeing everywhere.
The festival is helmed and produced by local NGO, the Prince Albert Community Trust (PACT), providing work experience and production training for 80 or so young people. A percentage of the ticket cost for other activities in the run-up days (yoga, art and craft exhibitions and more) also goes to PACT. A weekend ticket will cost you R1430.
So, both festivals offer superb musicianship and both are likely to challenge audiences’ increasingly empty pockets. The name-change of stages at CTIJF seems to signal a commercial vision; Journey to Jazz is community-led. CTIJF offers predominantly established names; Prince Albert, some of those too, but likely a more surprising journey.
May’s a heavy work month for me so I won’t be at either. Next year, let’s hope no potential audience member has to choose!
PLAYLIST: some of the artists you might not know:
sisgwenjazz 
Thank you for raising this Sis Gwen….When there are 12 months in a year, why the only two jazz festivals in the Western Cape are happening on the same weekend is crazy! This questions needs to be asked of the Western Cape government’s DCAS as they are involved in both….clearly no-one looked at a diary!
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Hi Moreira, you are right. This is unfair to both artists and audiences and clearly better planning is needed. But I’ve just checked the CTIJF website sponsors page, and no sponsors are yet listed (just an appeal for partners) , so perhaps, for once, we can’t blame DSAC for this?
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Thanks for this, Gwen! I have commented equally acidly on Bush Radio about this ridiculous clash. And they are using the same publicist! Eissssh!
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Yes Nigel. And as well as artists and audiences, this as you & I well know places an impossible burden on media and independent journalists already short of resources to cover arts events.
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