It was another successful year for the Cape Town Jazz Festival, which celebrated its 14th event this past weekend. The show had no shortage of either attendees or top talent to entertain them. A total of 34,000 people attended the festival, seeing 40 acts. On Friday night local stars Mafikizolo kicked off the show, followed by Cuba’s Orquestra Buena Vista Social Club. But house trio MiCasa took the show, writes Channel 24, playing to a packed crowd and leaving fans swooning. MiCasa’s lead singer, J’Something, called the concert one of the best the group had ever done – not bad considering they have performed across the globe.
Saturday night did not disappoint either. The crowd got to see Thandiswa Mazwai, formerly from Bongo Maffin, and later afro-pop star Judith Sephuma joined guitarist Jimmy Dludlu on stage. Hip Hop artists Khuli Chana and AKA closed the show, but the highlight was undoubtedly the performance by U.S. jazz star Jill Scott – delivering a show that some fans called “religious”.
Other top acts included US jazz greats Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, Errol Dyers, Auriol Hays, Senegalese musician Cheikh Lô and the Robert Glasper Experiment featuring renowned underground rapper MF DOOM.
There were rumors that the festival was to move to a different city next year, but EWN reports that organisers have denied any such plans.
By James Francis
