The North Sea Jazz Festival is a Dutch jazz festival that has been held – first in the Hague, then in Rotterdam – every year since 1976. In 2000, its founders, Mojo Concerts BV, struck a deal with the South African event management company espAfrika and organized a spin-off event in Cape Town that was named the Cape Town North Sea Jazz Festival.
The partnership failed in 2005, and the South African event became a filly independent jazz festival managed solely by espAfrika. Since then, it has been known under the name of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. According to the organizer, it is the biggest music event in sub-Saharan Africa.
The festival is held on the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April at the Cape Town International Convention Center. It draws over 30,000 music lovers from all over South Africa and abroad every year.
The Cape Town International Jazz Festival has an eclectic program that comprises jazz, funk, R&B, fusion, soul, Afro pop, and many other genres. It features about 40 performers, about half of whom are from South Africa, and the rest come from all over the world. Notable musicians that have performed at the festival include Herbie Hancock, Cesária Évora, Steve Turre, Buena Vista Social Club, Erykah Badu, Hugh Masekela, Lauryn Hill, James Ingram, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, Dave Koz, and many others.
Alongside world-class jazz performers from Europe and America, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival features many South African musicians who are relatively unknown outside their home country. The festival helps them gain a wider exposure and boosts their careers.
The program of the festival includes live performances on several stages, special concerts for children, workshops, a photographic exhibition, a gala dinner, and other events and activities. A free open-air concert with selected performers takes place at the Green Market Square in the heart of old Cape Town before the main event.
Photo: capetownjazzfest.com
