Archive for August 2019

Home Archive for August 2019

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in partnership with Tsogo Sun will treat audiences to free intimate affairs called Jazzy Fridays and Jazzy Sunday with renowned musicians – billed to perform at the festival to give that TASTE OF JAZZ.

A series of free to public events that will take place at Tsogo Sun Hotels around Gauteng, audiences at these sessions will not only be treated to free live performances, but a select few will also be lucky enough to win tickets to the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 26-28 September 2019.

Audience members who are part of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz VIP Club also stand a chance to walk away with gifts courtesy of the festival. Let us Live the Music as the Jazz has been unleashed. Below are the dates for the Jazzy Fridays and Jazzy Sunday sessions:

Jazzy Friday 1

· Date: Friday, 30 Aug

· Venue: Holiday Inn Sandton, Rivonia Road (Roof Top)

· Time: 16h00 till late

· Performing artists: Nokukhanya Dlamini & Sobantwana

Jazzy Sunday

· Date: 08 September 2019

· Venue: SAN Deck @ Sandton Sun Hotel

· Time: 16h00 till late

· Performing artists: Gloria Bosman & Nelisiwe

Jazzy Friday 2

· Date: 20 September 2019

· Venue: Garden Court Sandton City

· Time: 16h00 till late

· Performing artists: The Soil & Siphokazi

Five stages will be used at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival where Jazz lovers will be treated to a diverse range of musical genres. At its best, Jazz is free, fun, and unleashed.

Check out the website: http://www.joyofjazz.co.za/home for more information.

Tickets to the festival can also be obtained from Computicket and Shoprite/Checkers. Prices are as follows:

· Opening night: R750,

· 1 Day Pass (Friday or Saturday): R795,

· 2 Day Pass: R1 350

The Jazz Unity takes flight with innovative soundscapes.

Four influential and innovative women in jazz will combine their creative forces as a group, The Jazz Unity, for two concerts-of-a-life time.

This will be at the upcoming Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival 2019 at Sandton Convention Centre on Friday, 27 September, and Saturday, 28 September, on the Diphala Stage.

Two phenomenal South African artists, Nomfundo Xaluva and Zoë Modiga, will join internationally recognised names, LeFrae Sci and Lakecia Benjamin, for an historic musical journey. It is guaranteed to lift the rafters as these highly innovative musicians parade their wares, exchanging musical ideas as they explore the jazz idioms.

Nomfundo Xaluva is a Port Elizabeth-bornJazz vocalist who is at her best when performing or making records. She also teaches at the University of Cape Town. Her compositions have been an integral part of South African repertoire at both school level and at higher institutions of learning.

A two-time recipient of the Metro FM Music Award for Best Urban Jazz Album, Xaluva performed at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in 2016 and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2017. She is also a classical trained pianist and educator.

Xaluva made her debut at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in April 2017 to critical acclaim. She also headlined the iMbokodo Jazz Festival in Durban in 2017 and again in 2018.

She was nominated for the Mbokodo Awards for Women in Jazz in 2015 and a South African Afro Music Award for Best Jazz Album.

She brings to The Jazz Unity her own unique styling.

It is said of Zoë Modiga that she is an artist who represents the present and future of African music. She says she draws from the roots of African storytelling, Jazz compositions and Motown soul but creates a sound entirely her own in order to communicate an evolving African sound without losing its essence.

Modiga loved music from an early age and attended the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg, studying classical piano, clarinet and vocals. At the College of Music, at Cape Town University, she honed her skills as a Jazz performer.

Over the years Modigas has collaborated with a number of established South African artists, including the iconic Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Johnny Clegg, Simphiwe Dana and Tshepo Tshola, and performed at numerous festivals, such as the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, MTN Bushfire Festival and the Hugh Masekela Heritage Festival. Last year her debut album was nominated for "Best Jazz Album" and "Best African Artist" at the SAMA Awards. She also received the Mbokodo Award for music in 2018 among her many other accolades.

New Yorker Lakecia Benjamin is one of the world's most charismatic and dynamic saxophonists and band leaders who has shared the stage with such illustrious names as Stevie Wonder, Alicia, Keys and Macy Gray. She has her own band, Lakecia Benjamin and Soul Squad, which performs regularly, bringing a heady mix of Soul, Funk and Classic Jazz to the masses.

The fourth member of this illustrious outfit is another American, LaFrae Sci, an internationally recognised composer, drummer and producer. She writes for film, television, and large orchestral ensembles and was the conductor and director of the Middle School Jazz Academy at Jazz at Lincoln Center for several years.

Sci brings her special talent to the band's overall impact and judging by the pedigrees of these performers Jazz fans are in for an unforgettable experience where the best of South African talent meets America's finest in a musical journey of great expectations.

Five stages will be used where Jazz lovers will be treated to a diverse range of musical genres. At its best, Jazz is free, fun, and unleashed.

Check out the website: http://www.joyofjazz.co.za/home

Tickets can also be obtained from Computicket and Checkers.

Prices are:

· Opening night: R750,

· 1 Day Pass Friday or Saturday: R795,

· 2 Day Pass: R1 350

Standard Bank cardholders can qualify for a discount. All debit and cheque card holders get a 10% discount, and a 15% discount if using a Standard Bank credit card. The offer is limited to two tickets per person, and only on usage of a valid Standard Bank debit and/or credit card. This offer is subject to availability and is valid from 10 April – 31 August 2019.

South African born and international jazz vocalist, Talie Monin (as she is known in the jazz world) has been nominated for Best Jazz Album, Best Jazz Song, Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Best Female Jazz Artist at the 3^rd Mzantsi Jazz Awards. These four nominations come from her debut album '24 Strathay' which was released in January 2019 by Luna Ma Records.

Talie (Nqobile Mchunu originally) explains that 24 Strathay is an address in Westerville, Durban. “This was the place where my earliest memories of music were created. It’s where I was starting to sort of have a relationship myself with music in terms of what do I like, what do I not like, the musicians that I’m drawn to. It’s all there. So it felt right to me as a debut album to sort of pay homage to that first time, to that first place and how it’s propelled me further from there,” she adds.

A standout vocalist since her earliest days growing up in Johannesburg, Talie won numerous local singing contests before releasing her album, which reflects both her deep African musical roots and her longstanding love for the Great American Songbook and contemporary jazz.

Although the album ’24 Strathay’ was launched in Hong Kong, some of Talie’s music from her debut album found its way to South Africa where she performed at the Mbogodo Jazz Festival in Durban during woman’s month in 2018, mesmering the audience that attended the festival.

Expressing how her music has been received by the South African market, the Montreux Jazz Festival Audience Choice Award-winning vocalist says, “The demand has been amazing! People have been asking where I have been.” She adds: “Now that I’ll visiting South Africa in August, my next goal now is plan a launch in my home country after the Mzantsi Jazz Awards. Also, I hope that my people will continue to support 24 Strathay by voting for me to win the Best Jazz Album and Best Jazz Song categories.”

The Mzantsi Jazz Awards, set to take place on 10 August 2019 in Johannesburg, aim to celebrate, appreciate and honour jazz as a musical form that not only entertain but also uplift and heal the artist and the listener alike. They also aim to recognise excellence in Jazz music for work produced by South African Artists from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

Two of the four categories Talie has been nominated in are public votes. To vote for Talie for Best Jazz Album or Best Jazz Song, SMS ZaJazz BJ4 or ZaJazz BS1 respectively to 40439. Supporters outside of the South African borders can SMS ZaJazz BJ4 or ZaJazz BS1 to +27741550374. Voting closes at 6pm on August 10.

Get a taste of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival at the very First Jazzy Friday

South African and American women musicians combine to give jazz a real clout

TALIE MONIN’S DEBUT ALBUM SCOOPS FOUR NOMINATIONS AT THE MZANTSI JAZZ AWARDS

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