Jazz Disruptor – a Musical Renaissance in the Journey to Jazz

Prince Albert’s Journey to Jazz festival has successfully kicked off with a strong musical renaissance message to South Africa.

THE first Prince Albert Journey to Jazz festival kicked off in the Karoo town underneath the UNESCO World Heritage Swartberg pass on Friday 5 May, with a show that has firmly put the town on the map as a jazz destination.

The weekend long festivities got off to a rousing start with an official opening staged in recently upcycled Krittikom Koppie Amphitheatre, a former disused quarry, whose ancient history is contained in the very roads that lead to Prince Albert.

Guest speakers Advocate Thuli Madonsela, patron of the Prince Albert Community Trust (PACT), who is the organiser of the festival, as well as Prince Albert Mayor Linda Jacquet, and retired palaeontologist, Dr Judy Maguire, delivered thought-provoking addresses on the festival’s impact on social justice, economics, and the local environment respectively.

A theme is beginning to emerge at this festival – one of co-creation, co-operation, cohesion, and collaboration. Building on this, Madonsela spoke of the collective commitment to social justice she had witnessed in the Prince Albert community, saying she was energised by the sense of hope, remarking that: “I am awed by the warmth of the people of Prince Albert.” Given the town’s motto of “Groet is n Moet” (greeting is a must), it is not surprising.

It was evident on Friday that Journey to Jazz is more than just another music festival on the South African entertainment circuit, with the festival, including the Krittikom opening ceremony, all being co-produced by more than 100 of the town’s youth – through the support of PACT.

Friday afternoon welcomed travellers and revellers from near and far, all eager to experience what the first ever Journey to Jazz festival has to offer. Some lured by curiosity about the festival, others by their love of the genre, and still those who had never heard jazz before at all, contributed to the buzz that ran throughout Prince Albert – from Noordeinde to the top and back.

Local resident Karien de Waal, with cello, guitar and violin accompaniment got the performances off to a start with a tender intimate show at the Prince Albert Gallery that drew passers-by to listen at the door. De waal was followed by Belgian father and son duo Celle and Adrian Adriaensen, also with a sold-out show.

With a packed audience, the Mike Rossi project opened in the main venue – the NG Kerk – and had audiences enthralled with the mastery of his music. Spellbinding shows by Derek Gripper at local eatery, African Relish and later, the Kyle Shepherd trio, turned up the volume, whilst the Barn hosted the Amanda Tiffin Trio followed by Ramon Alexander and the Maties Jazz Society, also to standing room only and ovations.

Showing no signs of jet lag after her jaunt from New York City to be at this inaugural festival, the sublime vocals of Melanie Scholtz accompanied by Cape Town-based bassist, Hein Van Der Geyn, added to the star power of the line-up showing just why it is this was a world-class event.

Closing out the evening on day one, with an energetic set that had the audience dancing in the aisles and the pews, Hassan’adas and a later impromptu mash-up jam from the UCT and Maties jazz students set the tone for the party to continue Saturday.

But the first and last word needs to go to Ingrid Wolfaardt, founder of the NPO Prince Albert Community Trust, who at a welcome event on the Thursday night, shared her vision of how having listened to a talk the festival’s now creative director, Brenda Sisane had given on the power of the jazz genre to shift perceptions, Journey to Jazz was conceived to: “disrupt the fabric of the town and bring it all together as one, much like how jazz knits together different narratives along a musical journey to one cohesive and beautiful piece.”