In addition to ensuring that audiences have choice by putting up 40 bands on five stages over two days, festival organisers working jointly with musicians put together "concept bands". These are bands that are specifically assembled for the event. The list of 19 additional artists unveiled has four "concept bands in it".
The first concept band will be a Tribute to Oscar Peterson featuring Dutch pianist Jack van Poll, globetrotting South African guitarist James Scholfield and Dutch bassist Hein van Geyn. Opting for a piano-guitar-bass format that resembles the definitive Oscar Peterson-Ray Brown-Herb Ellis trio, the three will dig deep into the late Canadian pianist's swinging and massive repertoire.
The second band that had been put together for the occasion is Guitafrika; a unique collaboration by three African guitarists: South Africa's Steve Newman, Eric Triton from Mauritius and Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla from Niger. In addition to showcasing different guitar-playing styles in the continent, the three musicians will celebrate the history and role of guitars in African music.
With a number of Cape Town jazz musicians having passed on in the last year, The Cape Town Tribute Band has been formed, under the musical directorship of Alvin Dyers, and will pay tribute to Winston Mankunku, Tony Schilder, Donald Tshomela, Ezra Ngcukana, Robbie Jansen and Hotep Galeta and Vincent Kolbe. Joining Dyers in the third "concept band" is pianist Nick Williams, bassist Wesley Rustin and drummer Denver Furness. Guests such as saxophonist Buddy Wells, pianist Mike Perry, guitarist Errol Dyers, trumpeter Ian Smith and singer Sylvia Mdunyelwa will join the piano-guitar-bass-drums quartet as it goes through tunes like Schilder's Montreal, Galeta's Harold's Bossa and Ngozi's Crossroads.
Conversations with bassist Victor Masondo and Johannesburg-based trumpeter/conductor Prince Lengoasa, drummer Kevin Gibson, pianist Mark Fransman and saxophonist Donvino Prins is the last concept project. The conversations provide a rare opportunity to see Masondo, who was recently invited to present his arrangements of Duke Ellington's music at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington DC, perform live.
In addition to "concept bands" other headline acts that will join those announced in January are:
Another special act will be a performance by our own Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis. Joined by pianist Larry Willis, bassist Victor Masondo and drummer Lee-Roy Sauls, Masekela will play music that inspired him to record "Almost Like Being In Jazz". Unlike the other times where he performed on the Kippies stage, Masekela will lead his quartet in front of a seated audience at the Rosies stage.
Other artists added to the list are: South African pianist and producer Don Laka; Berlin-based nu-jazz group Jazzanova, which features US vocalist/bassist Paul Randolph; South African trumpet-player Feya Faku; live house band Tortured Soul from Boston; Mozambican saxophonist Orlando Venhereque; local hip-hop outfit Tumi and The Volume, poet and actor Naima McLean; Songbook - a band led by a South African young-and-promising trumpet-player Lwanda Gogwana; local student group Sekunjalo Edujazz Band; bass guitarist from Botswana, Citie; and three artists from Cape Town's StereoType Records: Chad Saaiman, Mathew Moolman and Lloyd Jansen.
Ticket prices for the 2011 festival are: R365 for a single day pass and a two-day weekend pass is R499. As in previous years, there will be an extra fee of R25 per act for patrons wishing to attend concerts on the Rosies stage. Tickets are available at Computicket and Shoprite-Checkers stores.
