espAfrika chairman Rayhaan Survé, flanked by Cape Town International Jazz Festival co-directors Georgia Jones (left) and Carolyn Savage (right).
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
The Cape Town International Jazz Festival returns for its 23rd edition from March 27 and 28 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Chairman of espAfrika Rayhaan Survé emphasised the festival's commitment to inclusivity, stating their goal is to perpetuate the "family" atmosphere and make jazz a universally enjoyable and celebratory space. Survé highlighted the festival's rich history, noting its power to unite individuals from diverse locations and backgrounds.
He specifically addressed the desire to dismantle the notion of jazz being solely for "the elites", striving instead to ensure the genre is "accessible and friendly to all”.
Co-director of the festival Georgia Jones outlined the intentional strategy behind curating the line-up, which aimed to blend international appeal with a celebration of local and emerging artists.
Jones described the line-up as "wonderful in terms of demographics", emphasising the significant presence of female artists, a point of importance given the organising team is "98.5% female."
The curation process was deliberate, starting with securing a headlining act like Jacob Collier and then complementing it with supporting local performers. The festival will also host a conference for four selected artists next Thursday, scheduled from 10am to 12pm.
Cape Town International Jazz Festival co-director Georgia Jones.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Survé said the festival has contributed massively to the county’s revenue.
“We have employed over 3,200 people [each year], which is quite significant,” he said. He said while there was a direct contribution to those people's livelihoods, the Festival hoped to do even more for the City of Cape Town.
With regards to safety, Jones assured festival-goers that there more than adequate measures in place to ensure the safety of the attendees.
"We have three security companies on board and we will use the 'No-Pass-Out' policy; if you exit there's no re-entering the venue to mitigate additional risk," she said, adding the organising team has enjoyed fruitful engagement with the SA Police Service. "We also have plenty of ushers to assist as well."
Tickets are available exclusively through authorised vendors, Ticketmaster and Loot. Jones stressed the importance of purchasing tickets only from these authorised vendors.
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