These include Grammy Award winners Trio Corrente from Brazil and Norwegian saxophonist Petter Wettre; Austrian singer and trumpeter Michaela Rabitsch and guitarist Robert Pawlik; Dutch saxophonist Toon Roos and the powerhouse tenor sax duo of Dave O’Higgins (UK) and Per Thornberg (Sweden).
Also featured are local South African musicians, such as Caiphus Semenya, Simphiwe Dana, the Afrika Mkhize Big Band, Swing City, and Ringo Madlingozi.
The Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown has become a litmus test of South Africa’s jazz future and this year again presents some of the country’s best young talent who will be playing each other’s music and pushing the boundaries.
Young guns comprise: Sisonke Xonti, Justin Bellairs, Thandi Ntuli, Romy Brauteseth and Claude Cozens, while Cape Town duo The Kiffness have rapidly become one of South Africa's favourite live electronic acts, producing jazzy, groovy house music.
This year’s Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz winner Siya Makuzeni will lead an ensemble of young South African musicians, while Soul Housing Project is the contemporary project of former Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2011 Bokani Dyer and vocalist Sakhile Moleshe, the voice behind Goldfish.
