Three Weeks to Jazz fest!

by Tudor Caradoc-Davies

Under three weeks to go to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the lineup is almost full.

While there’s the usual excitement about the international acts like Angola’s Paulo Flores, Iceland’s Mezzoforte, Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Jeff Lorber flooding into the city, we thought we’d take a moment to focus on some of the local acts that we reckon will steal the show.
So before you get lost in a sea of black-clad jazz-cats riffing to their own beat, be sure check out the following:

Vusi Mahlasela
Celebrated as “The Voice” for his amazing vocals, Mahlasela is one of SA’s most celebrated jazz artists for good reason. From humble beginnings (he made his first guitar from a tin can and nylon) to touring the world and playing for Madiba on his 90th birthday, that voice combined with his infectious guitar work and poetic lyrics have earned him legions of fans both locally and abroad (Dave Matthews and Xavier Rudd included). If you see anyone, make sure you catch him.

Lira
Singer, songwriter and Afro-jazz soul princess, Lira’s got the sought-after trinity of a voice, energy and looks. With two albums and a SAMA award on her CV already, her upbeat soulful jazz is reminiscent of the kind of smooth, sultry vocal seductions late-night mix tapes are made of. Think Sade as a South African soul sister.

Kesivan & The Lights
Combine the phenomenal talents of percussionist Kesivan Naidoo (who has played with a litany of jazz stars old and new) with a new ensemble of Swedish and South African jazz artists and you get Kesivan & The Lights, our pick as one of the surprise performances of the festival. Naidoo has already made a name for himself with 6-piece improv electronic group Closet Snare, Tribe and Restless Natives. Last year he won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz and now fresh from recording a debut album with The Lights in Sweden, he’s set to introduce SA audiences to this latest collaborative project of musical luminaries.

BLK JKS
More hard rock than jazz, a lot was made of this rocking Soweto quartet when they first started mainly because they of their unique sell… four young black guys playing a genre of music generally unpopular with their origins. BLK JKS got past the hype around their hair and general image and started making waves internationally with strong reviews in Rolling Stone, Fader and elsewhere for their latest album, After Robots. Expect them to turn up the volume and the tempo at this year’s fest.