Joy Of Jazz Takes Music To The Youth
After two years of silence from major music festivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Joy of Jazz makes its return to Johannesburg this coming weekend at the Sandton Convention Centre.
As a build up to the annual music extravaganza, this year dubbed as The Ultimate African Jazz Experience, Joy of Jazz will host a youth empowerment skills workshop on Wednesday, designed to enrich music students and young people with dreams of a career in music with valuable knowledge and insights.
The day workshop will take place at the Joburg Theatre, with a league of award winning musicians set to take turns in giving lessons on key subjects and learning areas throughout the day.
Free-Kiba drummer, composer and producer, Dr Sello Galane will start the programme with a session on “Introduction to improvisation”. This lesson will make use of games and activities to allow students to understand music away from instruments, aiming to help expand the imagination while enhancing techniques for practice and performance.
Guitarist, composer and song-stylist, Selaelo Selota will present on Ears without Tears, a lesson aimed at improving the connection between aural and theoretical skills of students’ approach to playing in small and larger group settings.
Another giant scheduled to impart wisdom is multi-award winning vocalist, Gloria Bosman who will take attendees through the lessons of How to play Anything with Confidence while composer and guitarist, Billy Monama will present a lesson themed, “Ensemble is the way to go.”
“We are committed to building a festival that is more than a great musical event. The Joy of Jazz as a platform includes workshops designed to provide music students a once in a lifetime opportunity to share and absorb skills from renowned professional musicians. The impact of artists has been far reaching thanks to their committed contributions over the years; It’s reflected in the responses by young musicians, who post our workshops and share their experiences as they grow,” says Mantwa Chinoamadi Mutshinya – Festival Producer.
On to the weekend, music lovers from all corners of Mzansi will be serenaded by Jazz geniuses including the Gloria Bosman’s All Women Band, Mandisi Dyantyis, Bhudaza Mapefane, Wouter Kellerman, Msaki, Selaelo Selota, Mahube – Music from Southern Africa, Ringo Madlingozi, Zamajobe Soul, Jaziel Brothers, Thandiswa Mazwai, Brenda Mtambo and Jimmy Dludlu among others.
Commenting on the weekend, Hotstix Mabuse said, “Joy of Jazz, The Ultimate African Jazz Experience, is a dream festival for any Musician worth his / her SALT. I always relish participation, performing on this excellently produced event. I cannot wait for the 26th of November.”
Along with the premier musical offering, festival organizers are presenting the inaugural 2022 Joy of Jazz “Music and Lifestyle Experience (Expo). The Expo aims to attract 3 000 visitors and over 100 exhibitors. It is open to both concert and non-concert goers and highlights the festival’s focus on economic recovery and development.
The Joy of Jazz Music and Lifestyle Experience (Expo) aims to create and give a platform to brands and businesses that form part of the music and lifestyle business value chain to showcase their offerings, and to create a networking environment for the businesses in the context of the Joy of Jazz Festival.