Capetonians and visitors to the Mother City have been treated to a musical feast at the annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival Free Concert.
The event precedes the 19th installment of the main festival taking place this weekend. With seven acts on the lineup, 2018’s free concert has the biggest musical offering since its inception.
Organisers say the event gives those who cannot attend the festival proper, an opportunity to experience the musical offering.
“We’ve gone international with incognito. We’ve gone local with Alistair Izobell. We’ve gone African with soil. Claire Phillips, rickets on next he’s our young legend. There’s just so much talent out there and if we can give something back to the people of Cape Town who can’t perhaps afford to go to the main festival then we want to do that,” said the Festival Director Billy Domingo.
Youth Development and skills transfer has been a hallmark of the Festival. Comprised of youth from various schools around Cape Town, the members are drawn from the festival’s annual Music and Career workshops.
“What we do every year is we get for about six weeks, we put together about 10 schools, we have musical academy and then we let them play together and learn various aspects of entertainment and then we choose the best and put it together in a super band and they reflect all the students the best of what we have,” added Domingo.
Musicians themselves say the concert is an opportunity to showcase and share their talents with the broader community.
Acclaimed as one of the top jazz festivals in the world, the 19th Cape Town International Jazz Festival takes place in the Mother City this weekend.
