The showpiece took place amid a windy and biting cold night, which many of the concertgoers were prepared to endure for an experience that would last them a lifetime.
Dubbed Africa’s ‘Grandest Musical Festival’, the two-day celebration is put together by leading South African event management company, espAfrica.
Artistes, who have been arriving in droves in the past week for the fiesta, used the intervening period to have a feel of the environment by visiting historically interesting places for which Cape Town and, indeed, South Africa is richly endowed.
They also attended series of workshops on various elements of the jazz world, including arts, journalism, master classes and a photographic exhibition that documents the emergence and growth of jazz globally.
A free-to-attend Community Concert took place on Wednesday on the Green Market Square, Cape Town; to showcase some of the international and local artistes slated the festival.
Preceding the actual performances on Friday was a press conference at which many of the musicians, back-up vocalists and instrumentalists and producers took turns to field questions from journalists, who had come from across the world for the 13th edition of the jazz fiesta that debuted in 2000.
Some of the jazz greats were Dave Koz and Patti Austin; Ron Carter, David Harrison and Lemmy White; David Sanchez and Lionel Loueke; the Brubeck Brothers (Darius, Chris and Daniel); Jubulani Tsambo (aka HHP) and Tebogo Sedunedi; Morgida Chowgoica and Wazimbo; Third World (famous for their Lagos Jump hit piece) (Richard Daley, Mauvice Oruorg and Coovvires Ruption); Mill Stern; and huge and popular Kelvin Mahogany, a regular on the Cape Town jazz circuit.
This was a perfect setting for an expectant audience for a sensational mix of world-renowned icons and quality rising stars, local and international, young and old, male and female, according to Rashid Lombard, the festival director and CEO of espAfrica.
Hence, like in previous festivals, Friday’s - and certainly yesterday’s event - witnessed attendees scrambling to catch as many performances as they could, many of the acts clashed on schedule. One regular jazz enthusiast to the festival described this dashing from one venue to another as “running around the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre) like a lab rat.”
Organisers of the event labeled it as “sold out”, as indeed, attested to by the jam-packed venues. Though no actual figures could be obtained, some source estimated the attendance to be close to 20,000, “in terms of ticket sales.”
And on hand to savour the pulsating moment were thousands of jazz lovers and followers, who streamed into the arenas as early as 3pm (2pm Nigerian time) for the acts billed for commencement at 7pm.
Security and traffic control were at their topmost even as the festival goers maintained a high-level of discipline, going through various formalities in single files armed with purchased or dedicated (free) tickets.
Thus, when the artists eventually mounted the stages to begin the memorable moment, the huge crowds were already on cloud nine, clapping, jumping, swaying, and singing/miming along with the musicians.
Simply put, the performances were in their grandest!
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