At the media launch yesterday of the 15th Cape Town International Jazz Festival at the Cape Town International Convention Centre Mayor Patricia de Lille said that the goal of Cape Town is to become the Events Capital of Africa, and with it the Capital of Jazz in Africa, attracting 37000 Festival goers.  An exciting line-up of international and local jazz artists was announced at the launch.

The launch was addressed by a number of speakers. Billy Domingo, the Chief Operating Officer of espAfrika, the events company organising the Jazz Festival, was a witty MC for the event.  Rashid Lombard organises the musical side of things, and announced that since ticket sales opened last month, all two-day passes have been sold,.  There are about 500 day tickets available for each of the two days.  The event is a team effort, within their company (of mainly ladies he joked) and also with the City of Cape Town.  They want to create a legacy through the event, which includes a training and development programme which has already seen six students study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the USA.  Job creation is another goal.  Lombard proudly shared their Social Media statistics, having more than 14000 Twitter followers, close to 9000 Likes on Facebook, and 140000 YouTube views.

Lombard also presented the eagerly awaited line up for the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which includes top international jazz artists Level 42, Shakatak, Eryka Badu (but not mentioned in the media release), and Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya.  Other international artists are Andreya Triana, Kirk Whalum, Frank Paco, Lalah Hathaway, Moh Dediouf, Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Trio, Tasha’s World, and Tizer Quintet.   The local line-up is AKA and Da.L.E.S, The Mike Rossi Project, Trespassing Permitted, The Blue Note Orkestra, Bokani Dyer and Kyle Shepherd, Mathew Gold, Mi Casa, The Shape of Strings to Come, Jimmy Dludlu, and the Worcester Secondary School Band.  Another 20 or so artists were mentioned at the presentation, in addition to those in the media release,

A new dimension to the Jazz Festival this year is the Cape Town Fashion Festival, which will run alongside the Jazz Festival. As the country’s garment industry capital, Cape Town generates between R16 – R20 billion to the GDP each year. The Festival will encourage South Africans to buy local and not imported clothing, leatherware, and textiles.  Activities planned are a Gala dinner on 27 March to honour the garment industry, to showcase the world class garments produced in Cape Town; showcasing Cape Town as a fashion destination; bringing young designers into the industry; hosting a Fashion Imbizo for businesspersons in the industry; hosting shopping centre fashion shows; City Catwalks, with music by Judith Sephuma and Jamali; present Cape Town Fashion Awards; and maintain and grow employment in the industry.   The artists performing at the Jazz Festival are to become ambassadors for the local clothing industry, the media release shared.  It will be a further reflection of the Jazz Festival’s pay-off line ‘Africa’s Grandest Gathering’.

To allow a broader representation of Cape Town residents to enjoy the Jazz Festival, a free concert will be held at Greenmarket Square (the date is not yet available on their website), with some of the Jazz Festival artists performing.  A Jazz concert will be held on Sunday 29 March at Paarl, as part of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.  The Department of Arts & Culture is using cultural events to stimulate tourism, and trade and development, which creates jobs and stimulates economic growth.

The traffic problems created during last year’s Jazz Festival will be addressed this year, both Domingo and Mayor de Lille promised, the latter saying that she would get her ‘Disastrous Management’ team to ensure a strong traffic officer presence on the two evenings, there having been none last year.  Mayor de Lille said that the Jazz Festival is an ‘all-inclusive event’, helping to ‘build an inclusive city without focus on colour or creed’.  The hosting by Cape Town of the World Design Capital 2014 will be incorporated into the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Networx PR is the new Festival PR company, and its head Kaz Henderson requested those present to focus on why concert goers cannot leave the jazz festival venues once they have arrived, as the pass-out system was badly abused in the past, and lead to crime, drug abuse, and non-paying jazz lovers entering without paying.   There was talk about some of the jazz artists also performing at City of Cape Town venues such as The City Hall, the Good Hope Centre, and even in Somerset West, which has a large jazz following.   In 2017 the new enlarged Cape Town International Convention Centre should be ready for use, and probably its concerts will be sold out too, Lombard said!

Having suffered the very poor snacks at the #AbsolutBlackBox launch in the V&A Waterfront last Friday, and very poor food at the Cape Town International Convention Centre over the ten years of its operation, it was a refreshing delight to see such quality canapés served, the new Chef Warwick Thomas clearly having raised the bar.  The cranberry shooter with candy floss was creative.  The canapés served included prawns with artichoke and fennel; chilli con carne; calamari couscous; and a vegetable risotto. Even better was the material serviettes and quality cutlery, none of which were provided by Sense of Taste, the catering company which Absolut had used!  The only problem is that one could not understand all the waiters in their description of what they were serving, and that smoking was allowed, having to be endured by non-smokers.

Brandhouse  was welcomed as a new sponsor of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, with its Heineken brand, which already has SA Tourism, Peninsula Beverages, the Department of Arts & Culture, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Province, and the SABC as sponsors.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival line-up sounds fantastic, which is sure to attract jazz lovers to Cape Town from Johannesburg and internationally, which should be good for the hospitality industry.

Disclosure:  We received a diary from the Department of Arts & Culture, a CD of some of the music performed at the 2013 Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and a SABC branded notebook.

Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2014, 27 and 28 March 2014. www.capetownjazzfest.com  Twitter:@CTJazzFest  R490 for a day pass.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage