UCT jazz festival opens with three nights at the Baxter and free lunch hour concerts
The South African College of Music runs its annual jazz festival from 21 to 23 September, closing with student compositions from the jazz and African music departments.
The University of Cape Town’s annual jazz festival opened on Monday 21 September and runs for three evenings, with free lunch hour concerts alongside it.
As CapeTown ETC reported on 21 September, the South African College of Music at UCT is hosting the festival. The evening concerts take place at the Baxter Concert Hall and run about an hour each. The lunch hour concerts, called Library Desk concerts, run daily from 1pm to 2pm at the W.H. Bell Music Library and cost nothing to attend.
Monday’s opening concert is a vocal showcase curated by Nomfundo Xaluva-Dyantyis and Abigail Houghton. The UCT Jazz Voices, directed by Amy Campbell, perform standards and contemporary songs, backed by an alumni trio of Bratthew van Schalkwyk on piano, Sean Sanby on double bass and Lilvan Gangen on drums.
On Tuesday 22 September the UCT Big Band performs a Heritage Day concert directed by Justin Bellairs, moving between South African jazz, Latin rhythms, contemporary jazz and classic swing.
The festival closes on Wednesday 23 September with students from the college’s jazz and African music sections performing original work written during Creative Collab Week. The Creative Collab Project was launched in 2024 to bring the two departments together.
A masterclass with Lumanyano Mzi, the South African-born drummer, composer and producer now based in New York, forms part of the programme. Students are encouraged to bring their instruments.
Evening tickets are sold through Webtickets. The lunch hour concerts are free. Fiona Grayer is the contact for the festival.
The South African College of Music dates its jazz training programme to 1989, when it was established by Emeritus Associate Professor Michael Campbell. The college describes it as the continent’s leading jazz training programme.
Source: CapeTown ETC, Free lunchtime jazz and three evening concerts at UCT
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