The Yellow Jackets, Dee Alexander to wow at Joy of Jazz

This year, the organisers have not only selected an astute mix of popular artists alongside some of the classical greats, but have also sought to stretch audiences’ imaginations with some visionary musical concepts and collaborations.

The festival also boasts a historic collaboration between two giants of song, Hugh Masekela and Oliver Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe. The performance promises to blend kindred musical styles from Zimbabwe and South Africa, which have fed into each other for generations.

A significant signing this year is that of American jazz vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant who at 28, has been lauded as a major star of the genre. Salvant won first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2010 and won four categories in the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll: Jazz Album of the Year, Female Vocalist, Rising Star – Jazz Artist and Rising Star- Female Vocalist. She was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 2014 for her album WomanChild.

Marcus Miller remains one of the best jazz bassists in the world and a multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has won numerous awards for his ability to tread a line between the worlds of pop and straight-ahead jazz. Miller and his all-star band will be promoting his latest album Afrodeezia, recorded at slave-trade locations in Africa, the Americas and France. It’s a statement against human trafficking and the power of music to overcome a history of hurt. Miller recently became a spokesperson for UNESCO’s Slave Route Project.

Dwight Trible. Picture: Supplied

The Yellow Jackets, whom I first saw in London in the ‘70s, have been dishing out their inimitable brand of jazz fusion with R&B leanings for more than three decades. They are not just a band loved by many, but are a resilient musical institution. Their second Mack Avenue Records release, A Rise in the Road, shows the musicians remain as innovative as they have always been.

From America via Israel comes the 3 Cohens, a rare family band made up of equally prodigious talents. They are tenor saxophonist and clarinettist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Avishai Cohen and soprano saxophonist Yuval Cohen. The siblings have been to South Africa before in various forms. This marks their first performance as a unit.

Briton Matthew Halsall is part of a new generation of jazz musicians that mixes the strength of the old with the fire of the new. He is acknowledged as one of the UK’s brightest talents for his work as DJ, bandleader and trumpeter.

The current Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Nduduzo Makhathini will perform his rooted music with an international band, showcasing why he has become one of the country’s most exciting young jazz performers.

The exciting line-up also includes Mozambican Wanda Baloyi, New York based vocalist Dwight Trible, vocalist Dee Alexander who is equally at home with blues, soul and gospel music, and elder jazz bassist, William Parker, whose work with the late Zim Ngqawana’s New York outfit, The Collective Quartet, has made him an honorary local and this makes his visit a musical homecoming.

Dee Alexander. Picture: Jim Newberry.

Standard Bank has renewed its commitment as the flagship partner by signing a three-year sponsorship deal. Hazel Chimhandamba, Head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank said: “We are excited to extend our 16 year association with the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival for a further three years until 2017; and to continue to forge a close relationship with such an exciting and progressive genre of music – jazz.”

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will take place on four stages – the Dinaledi, Diphala, Conga and Mbira.

For the second year, the event will be staged at the Sandton Convention Centre and it will be from September 24 to 26.

Tickets are on sale at Computicket.