Durban vocalist appreciates ‘jazz’ this April
She encouraged music lovers and individuals to support the art, not only this April, but in future, by supporting live music events as it helps develop audiences and provides performance platforms for musicians to develop on.
JAZZ Appreciation Month (JAM), celebrated in April every year, celebrates the history and heritage of jazz. JAM also promotes jazz by hosting various events all over the world. The event, created in America, by the National Museum of National History, has spread fast all over the world, including South Africa, where the jazz community holds various events to commemorate the month.
We chatted to Natalie Rungan, a jazz vocalist, composer and educator from Durban North about her deep, everlasting love for the art.
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“I grew up around jazz my entire childhood. My father was a drummer and founding member of the dance band, The Raiders. He listened to jazz and played jazz. Even though I wasn’t fond of jazz as a child, I think the music permeated into my subconscious. Studying jazz at university felt like the most natural fit when I had the opportunity. The music allows for self-expression and the constant evolution of ideas which resonate with my personality and musical outputs,” she said.
Rungan recently completed her PhD thesis which focused on advancing jazz education in South African high schools. The study resulted from the amazing results observed through the jazz programme at Durban High School.
“To see young musicians play jazz with such enthusiasm and passion led to the launch of the KZN Schools Jazz Festival, which is the project I am focusing on growing in KZN. We plan on hosting further training workshops to encourage teachers and students to explore this musical genre and to expose more students to this style of music,” she added.
With no discredit to any other music genre, Rungan said jazz is an art form, and it takes jazz musicians years to develop the skill and experience to play the music masterfully.
“I don’t know a single jazz musician who stops practising or learning new concepts about the style, even after playing the music for many years. There is always room for new ideas and constant evolution through jazz’s foundation of improvisation. In no way is that said to discredit any other style of music,” said Rungan.
A festival very close to Rungan’s heart is The National Youth Jazz Festival in Makhanda where she met some of the world’s best musicians when she first started as a student of jazz.
“It is now one of the places I get to teach jazz to students from around the country and interact and perform with other jazz musicians. This festival is also what inspired the KZN Schools Jazz Festival. The other is the Joy of Jazz Festival in Gauteng. And now, we also have the KZN Schools Jazz Festival to look forward to,” she said.
“These music events benefit both students who are developing as young jazz musicians and established professionals. The other way is for people to buy local music from online platforms and physical CDs. Supporting artists who create music helps musicians sustain their livelihoods through their various creative outputs and performances,” she added.
Rungan will be performing at UKZN on April 27 for Jazz Appreciation Month. She is also launching her new single, All I Need, produced by Prince Bulo, on April 28. The single will be available on all digital streaming platforms.
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