Get ready to groove, city slickers! It’s time for the Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s (CTIJF) ever-popular Free Community Concert on Greenmarket Square. This year’s concert in downtown Cape Town – which takes place on 27 March 2019 from 16h00 – promises sublime music from the best of the best, with a jam-packed line-up of top international and local artists playing a range of musical styles.
IT’S A UNIQUE EVENT
Crowds being entertained by KFM's Sibongile Mafu at last year's Free Community Jazz Concert.
The annual, open-air Free Community Concert, proudly supported by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District, is all-important to festival organisers as it gives people who can’t afford to buy a ticket to the festival, which is celebrating its 20th year, the opportunity to experience not only some of the best artists the festival has to offer but also the vibe and excitement of the event.
Festival director Billy Domingo says the concert allows people from “all walks of life to come together and celebrate” and is an important part of the festival programme. It is a thank-you to the people of Cape Town “for allowing us to host the festival in your city”. He says: “Cape Town is known as ‘the home for all’ and this is the concert for all! The people of Cape Town love music and we want to celebrate our 20th anniversary with them.
“This concert was intended to bring international and local artists to the people of Cape Town, and I hope it has become a calendar event for one and all.”
THE LOCAL LINE-UP
The line-up is impressive and includes local music sensations Craig Lucas, winner of The Voice SA and Cape Town’s own musical ‘idol’; award-winning Durban pop/R&B vocalist Shekhinah (who has bagged three South African Music Awards for her debut album, Rosegold plus an MTV Africa Music Award); Cape Town jazz saxophonist Don Vino, who started his musical journey at the age of 15 and has performed with a range of local and international artists; this year’s recently crowned espYoungLegends 2019 winner Edgar Muzah & Friends, led by Muzah who hails from Zimbabwe; and the CTIJF All Star Band, formed from the CTIJF’s Training & Development programme.
THE INTERNATIONAL MUSOS
International artists set to wow the crowd include UK singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, lead vocalist of Curiosity Killed the Cat and Angolan musician Ndaka Yo Wiñi. Volpeliere-Pierrot’s band plays soulful, jazzy and pop music and has had a number of chart-toppers with a No. 1 album, Keep Your Distance.
THE JAZZ FESTIVAL TURNS 20
The concert precedes the 20th Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which takes place on 29-30 March 2019 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and promises to live up to its reputation as one of the world’s top jazz festivals.
This year, ten-time Grammy Award winner, Chaka Khan will take to the stage, performing alongside other exceptional names in music from overseas (including modern jazz guitarist John Scofield, multiple award-winning jazz pianist Eliane Elias from Brazil and multi-instrumentalist, neo-soul group from the USA, Moonchild) and South Africa (including Morris Goldberg, Steve Kekana and legendary pianist Ibrahim Khalil Shihab).
- The Free Community Concert on Greenmarket Square takes place on 27 March 2019 from 16h00 till late. As usual, the CCID’s Safety and Security and Urban Management teams will be deployed around the venue to provide top-up services to those delivered by the CCID’s primary partners. It is officially sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture, Independent Media, AYO Technology Solutions and the City of Cape Town. Other sponsors include National Lotteries Commission, Engen, Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker, 1Magic, KFM, and Wesgro.
Images: Scott Arendse, CCID Online Coordinator and CTIJF