Trombonist Steve Turre of the Juilliard School of Music, New York, has played and recorded with many artists around the world. These include Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Roland Kirk, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Max Roach, Horace Silver, Carlos Santana, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Mingus Big Band, JJ Johnson and hundreds of others, but his most iconic performances were probably with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra where he shot to prominence on both trombone and shells. He has won the Down Beat Readers’ poll five times as Best Trombonist and has enthralled audiences with his performances on different sized conch shells. Turre is an innovative musician and composer who keeps one foot in the past and one in the future. He adds zest to the Awesome Big Band, and his solo show is supported by a strong line-up compromising Marcus Wyatt (Trumpet), Bokani Dyer (piano), Hein van de Geyn (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).

One of the sell-out trademarks of the Jazz Festival in Grahamstown is the Awesome Big Band – a unique selection of top international jazz musicians in a standard Big Band format. A band of this nature is also known as a Jazz Orchestra for the dynamic and harmonic depth and contrast that arrangers can produce from 17 instruments, reminiscent of Classical orchestras but with the added power and energy that jazz exudes. This year’s band is conducted by Canadian trumpeter Bruce Cassidy, renowned for his quirky, powerful arrangements.

Regular audiences at the National Arts Festival will recognise Frank Sinatra & Friends as a sequel to the series of earlier successes that have been conceptualised and conducted by maestro, Richard Cock. In 2011, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Friends sold out within days of opening bookings. In 2012, Louis Armstrong & Friends (2012) was presented in a larger venue and once again, the sold out show meant that a number of music enthusiasts had to be turned away. In 2013, Frank Sinatra & Friends will have two perfor mances. In this concert, Nic Nicolaidis and Zwai Bala accompanied by the notable KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra will serenade audiences with melodies such as Fly me to the moon, I’ve got you under my skin, Fascinating Rhythm, Unforgettable and of course the singularly popular Sinatra signature song, My way.

AJ Brown is a young singer and saxophonist from Britain who is rapidly gaining a popular reputation around Britain. He has performed at the Wigan International Jazz Festival and Birdland Club in New York amongst others and was guest vocalist for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in Britain. He has quickly mastered the tunes of the great crooners like Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé and Nat King Cole and has begun producing his own compositions, which are eagerly received. He performs in Grahamstown with Kingsley Buitendag (piano), Gorm Helfjord (guitar), Romy Brauteseth (bass), and Kevin Gibson (drums).

Justin Binek is the Head of Vocal Jazz Studies at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and maintains an active jazz and classical performing schedule as a singer, pianist, and clinician/adjudicator. He is a prolific arranger and composer and performs in Europe and the US. Paulien van Schaik studied voice at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Utrecht and Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has performed across Europe and in Japan and China. With their tasteful backing band, comprising Jason Reolon (piano), Ola Bengtsson (guitar), Shaun Johannes(bass), and Lloyd Martin (drums); their Vocal Celebration should prove heavenly!

Van Schaik also presents a show with fellow Dutch performer Hein Van de Geyn. Both musicians are on top of their game – masters of their instruments in a context so subtle the audience is spellbound. The critics agreed: “Hein and Paulien have stripped the music of all its frills. A courageous couple, for there is nothing to disguise them. Their interaction is of an ethereal beauty. This must be how angels sing.” Their second recording won an Edison Prize (Dutch Grammy Award). Cape Town percussionist Ronan Skillen joins them as guest.

This year will also see the establishment of the Standard Bank Jazz & Blues Cafe at the Lowlander, St. Andrew’s College, which will end each night with a great jazz show and a late night jazz jam session or blues gig – a place where audiences can catch musicians letting off steam and butting musical heads late into the night, featuring the likes of Nduduzo Makhathini, saxophonist Dan Shout, Lee Thomson, Imbaula, and the Rick van Heerden Quartet.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

For more information check www.standardbankarts.co.za or www.youthjazz.co.za

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival is presented with support funding from:

Institut Français, the French Institute of South Africa and the Alliance Française
Paul Bothner Music
ProHelvetia
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Royal Norwegian Embassy
SAMRO
Swedish Arts Council / Swedish Jazz Federation / Mary Lou Meese Youth Jazz Fund
Jamey Aebersold Jazz

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

Mainstream performances are headlined by special guest from the Juilliard School of Music in New York, renowned trombonist and shells specialist Steve Turre. He adds zest to the Awesome Big Band, and his solo show is supported by a strong line-up compromising Marcus Wyatt (Trumpet), Bokani Dyer (piano), Hein van de Geyn (bass) and Kevin Gibson (drums).

One of the sell-out trademarks of the Jazz Festival in Grahamstown is the Awesome Big Band – a unique selection of top international jazz musicians in a standard Big Band format. This year’s band is conducted by Canadian trumpeter Bruce Cassidy, renowned for his quirky, powerful arrangements. Other Mainstream performances include those by Dutch performers Paulien van Schaik (voice) andHein Van de Geyn (double bass) – masters of their instruments in a context so subtle the audience is spellbound; AJ Brown – a young singer and saxophonist from Britain; a Vocal Celebration byJustin Binek (Head of Vocal Jazz Studies at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia) and Paulien van Schaik and a Frank Sinatra Tribute.

African influence dominates the Blues / Funk / World Music category, with South African icon Vusi Mahlasela, commonly referred to as ”The Voice” of South Africa in tribute to his passionately soaring performances.  The Soweto String Quartet - fondly known as Nelson Mandela’s favourite group – makes its first appearance on the Grahamstown Jazz stages, as do established blues artistsRobin Auldand Albert Frost and young sensations MiCasa. Saxophonist Rus Nerwich’s project is simple, fun and musically rich, incorporating elements of the different styles he enjoys in a contemporary musical context with the intent and style of Guru Jazzmat az, The Roots or Buckshot Lafonque with an African spin. He is backed by a solid band of experienced jazzers, sparked by the musical synergy between him and modern rap. Comprised of four young, hip Dutch players, Bruut! combines a mix of funk, blues, dance and contemporary jazz to create a uniquely-titled ‘super-jazz’.

With a significant career in South African jazz that has spanned over 40 years, it would be difficult to find a more accomplished and versatile jazz musician than trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, who headlines the Afro-Jazz portion of the programme. Gloria Bosman - a former Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner – is a household name in South Africa, acclaimed for her sonorous voice and authentic stage presence. As one of South Africa’s natural bebop exponents, Barney Rachabane has forged an impressive solo career after cementing his international reputation with Paul Simon’s Graceland project in the 1980s and leads a special performance featuring his daughter, Octavia, on vocals and grandson, Oscar, on tenor sax. Guitarist Menyatso Mathole’s performance credits are a history of South African jazz, and he presents this history on stage; while Umlazi trumpeter Brian Thusi leads a performance of South African jazz standards – a set of songs that have defined our musical identity.

Bassist Shane Cooper, Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2013, is an eclectic young musician who has rapidly emerged in the jazz world as first-call bassist for serious jazz. For his first Young Artist performance he draws on collaborations that emerged out of the Jazz Werkstatt in Bern, Switzerland – a fascinating festival run by young Swiss musicians who bring together like-minded musicians from around the world. Cooper’s second Young Artist performance features his own original music in a group of some of his favourite South African musicians.

An interesting collaboration of musicians – Bruce Cassidy, Mark Ginsburg and David Ledbetter – whose relationships span 3 continents and 3 decades come together under the banner Global Express.Pianist Malcolm Braff exhibits such heightened musical sensitivity that he has been known to bring hardened jazz musicians to tears. French pianist Laurent Coq is a performer, composer and musical activist who has notched up a formidable list of recordings and collaborations and joins the Modern Jazz line-up in Grahamstown as part of an extensive African tour. Born in the US to Italian emigrants and now Professor of Jazz at UCT, woodwind specialist Mike Rossi’s music reflects American, South African and Italian influences and experiences. Swiss trombonist Andreas Tschopp joins three of the most exciting young players in South Africa in Young Guns.

Carlo Mombelli and Jeroen van Vliet are two unusual composers on a sound design journey; while Cape saxophonist Rus Nerwich introduces eclectic sounds and exotic colours, finding new life for instruments that have ‘predictable’ tones; and the tight-knit Svein Olav Herstad Piano Trio produces a classic sound with modern ideas.

Drummers Kesivan Naidoo and Håkon Mjåset Johansen played together at a late-night jam session years ago, and that powerful energy is the source for a collaboration that beggars description. Swiss pianist Malcolm Braff plays with a rhythmic complexity – influenced by a childhood in Brazil and Senegal – that adds further layers to those of the drummers and Carlo Mombelli, bassist and composer extraordinaire with collaborative credits as wide-ranging as Lee Konitz, Miriam Makeba and Simphiwe Dana, fits in beautifully. With the lyrical sax of Norwegian Atle Nymo on top, audiences can expect a mind-blowingly beautiful performance.

The Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band presents a selection of the top young jazz musicians in the country between the ages of 19 and 25 years, this year under the musical direction of South African jazz legend, trumpeter Marcus Wyatt. The Standard Bank National Schools’ Big Band consists of the top young jazz musicians in the country up to the age of 18 years, performs material worked on over the five days of the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival, under the musical direction of Ian Darrington, Director of the Wigan International Jazz Festival. A celebration of school and university jazz choirs and vocal soloists from around the country will be directed by top professional vocalists Paulien van Schaik and Justin Binek, with a selection of school/youth ban ds completing the mix.

This year will also see the establishment of the Standard Bank Jazz & Blues Cafe at the Lowlander, St. Andrew’s College, which will end each night with a great jazz show and a late night jazz jam session or blues gig – a place where audiences can catch musicians letting off steam and butting musical heads late into the night, featuring the likes of Nduduzo Makhathini, saxophonist Dan Shout, Lee Thomson, Imbaula, and the Rick van Heerden Quartet.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

For more information check www.standardbankarts.co.za or www.youthjazz.co.za

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival is presented with support funding from:

Institut Français, the French Institute of South Africa and the Alliance Française
Paul Bothner Music
ProHelvetia
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Royal Norwegian Embassy
SAMRO
Swedish Arts Council / Swedish Jazz Federation / Mary Lou Meese Youth Jazz Fund
Jamey Aebersold Jazz

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

In a performance cycle entitled Anthea Moys vs. The City of Grahamstown, the (first ever) Standard Bank Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, will compete against the people of Grahamstown in a tournament of skill, strength, and artistry. Over a series of seven contests over seven days, outnumbered and outclassed, Moys will single-handedly do battle against Grahamstown’s best teams: its athletes, its artists and its intellects… Moys has spent three months prior to the Festival learning the skills she will need, from the teams and cultural groups against which she will be competing, and these contests will be documented in a living exhibition that will grow and evolve over the course of the Festival, as the documentation for each of the performances is installed in the Monument Gallery.  

Swiss artist/performer Yann Marussich is a unique character of the contemporary dance genre, and delivers performances which have a striking impact on the audience. Disturbing, provocative and authentic, his performances and choreography have been staged across Europe and other parts of the world since 1989. In Bleu Remix, Marussich, returns to the theme he explored in 2001 in the Bleu Provisoire creation, when he let a mysterious blue liquid ooze as blood would, through the layers of his skin, as though it was a final effect or a by­product of his body’s inner processes. Each time Bleu Remix has been performed, a different musician has accompanied Marussich. The spontaneous meeting of two artists brings further elements of risk and uniqueness to the event, as the music explores the creation over and over again and depicts new ways of perception. In Bain Brisé, Marussich is covered under a mountain of glass shards in a bathtub from which he slowly emerges over the course of 90 minutes. The initial sense of danger is interfered by the astonishing aesthetic realm of the work… the crystal-like reflection of the glass in the light, and its reflection on the wall, and the slow and gracious movements of the body.

Since the introduction of the Standard Bank Ovation Award in 2010, Gavin Krastin has won a Standard Bank Ovation Award each year for his off-the-wall creative interventions in public spaces, and for his work as a newly emerging performance artist. Half performance and half social experiment, his 2013 offering - Rough Musick - interrogates the hierarchical social dynamics imbued in archaic shaming rituals, and explores the emotional effect of shame when it is used as a means to control and cohere. Through Krastin’s striking theatricality and characteristic heightening of the visual image, the pre-Empire white culture of the United Kingdom is rendered exotic and strange, positioning the artist-of-European-desc ent as the ‘primitive’ and ethnically-other. Set in the dank stone confines of the St Andrew’s College old changing rooms, spectators of this ritual are invited to become agents of shame and explore their own dark desire to ridicule, humiliate and judge this performer-other.

Francisco López is internationally recognized as one of the major figures of the sound art and experimental music scene, and collaborates on Untitled #310 with musicians Jill Richards, Waldo Alexander, Magda de Vries, Reza Khota, Marcus Wyatt and Siya Makuzeni.His work is primarily based on original field recordings as source material for the creation and generation of immersive virtual sonic worlds, and for more than thirty years he has developed an astonishing sonic universe, absolutely personal and iconoclastic, based on a profound listening of the world. His unorthodox composition strategy consists of having the musicians blindfolded, thus replacing both scores and visual cues with aural cues that the performers have to carefully listen to within the music textures as they perform the piece. This new composition by López for this blindfolded ensemble of South African musicians has been developed and composed in South Africa.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.

As always, the backbone of the main programme is comprised of the work of the Standard Bank Young Artists.  The first ever Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, presents a series of contests entitled Anthea Moys vs the City of Grahamstown. Young Artist for Dance Fana Tshabalala’s engagement with cleansing ceremonies is explored in his new work titled Indumba. Young Artists for Theatre (Prince Lamla) and Visual Arts (Mary Sibande), use historical incidents as the points of departure for their offerings – Asinamali and The purple shall govern, respectively; with SBYA for Music Runette Botha paying tribute to three centuries of composition in her recital, and SBYA for Jazz Shane Cooper pushing the envelope with his compositions and collaborations.

The Dance programme will feature the Johannesburg Youth Ballet (JYB)’s Hansel and Gretel; Gregory Maqoma’s embodiment of the traditional, historic and heroic, Exit/Exist; Jazzart Dance Theatre’s translation of Biko’s Quest – For a True Humanity from one art form (photography) to another (dance and performance), and a showcase of Rhythms of the Eastern Cape. Nicola Elliott interrogates the traditional notion of dance in Run!, presented on the Arena

The Performance Art programme will feature two of Swiss artist/performer Yann Marussich’s works: Bleu Remix and Bain Brisé; Gavin Krastin’s eccentric creativity in Rough Musick; and a collaboration with stellar local musicians in an experimental project, Untitled #310, co-ordinated by international artist Francisco López.

Mbongeni Ngema also returns to the Festival’s Main stage this year with the South African premiere of The Zulu, and Hearts and Eyes Theatre Collective will present My Name is Rachel Corrie,based on the true story of the protagonist’s death. Cry Havoc is an unnerving East-West love story set in a small apartment in Cairo, and marks the UJ Theatre’s professional debut on the National Arts Festival’s Main stage. Canadian playwright Morris Panych’s award-winning black comedy Vigil promises to leave an impression on audiences; while SA theatre legend Tim Plewman of Defending the Caveman fame, stars in The Last Moustache - an outrageous one-man satire with a serious bite; reminding us that what we are sold as truth is often far from it.

The political is a strong theme, with satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys returning to the Festival with Adapt or Fly and An Audience with Pieter-Dirk EISH. The Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) presents Madonna of Excelsior, adapted from the novel by Zakes Mda set in 1971, when nineteen citizens of Excelsior in South Africa’s white-ruled Free State were charged with breaking apartheid’s Immorality Act, and a showcase of work produced under the umbrella of The Market Theatre features Woza Albert (directed by Standard Bank Young Artist Prince Lamla), Cadre (Omphilo Molusi), The Island (directed by John Kani), The Line (directed by Gina Shmukler). 

The Music programme will see the return of regular crowd favourites such as the Gala and Symphony Concerts, Conduct Unbecoming, KZN Ensembles and the Chanticleer Singers. Also to look forward to: a project comprising compositions by contemporary composers entitled Hidden Treasures; recitals by the internationally award-winning Ben Schoeman and Anzél Gerber; Ed Jordan and Nicholas Nicolaidis in the children’s concert Beautiful Creatures; Frank Sinatra & Friends; the vibrant community-basedJazz at Dakawa, and South African National Youth Orchestra.

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. The Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festivaltakes place alongside a diverse programme that features Mainstream, Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth; with highlights such as Jonas Gwangwa, Vusi Mahlasela, former SBYA Gloria Bosman, Steve Turre from the Juilliard School of Music, the Soweto String Quartet and new sensations MiCasa, and late night jazz jam session or blues gigs at the new Standard Bank Jazz & Blues Cafe at the Lowlander, St. Andrew’s College.

This year’s film programme features an eclectic mix of seminars and local and international films, considering topics such as The Marquis De Sade and His Contribution To The South African Struggle For Liberty, Mytho Therapy: The Magus, The Master & The Anti-Psychiatrist, Documents And Soundtracks for the End Of Time, Matinee Screenings at The Bioscope. Films to flag Include Underground: The Julian Assange Story, Bail Out: The Age Of Greed, Meat, The Marat/Sade, The Magus, Beware Of Mr Baker, The War Around Us, and The Naked Prey.

The photographs of anti-apartheid photographers, Benny Gool, Zubeida Vallie and Adil Bradlow, are brought together in a group exhibition entitled Martyrs, Saints and Sellouts; while Women, Our Treasure!, celebrates the strength of South African women and the manner in which they have held family structures together. Based on selections from the Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection, The Art of Banking: celebrating through collections provides different a journey through South Africa’s history, using art works as points of departure, or triggers, for telling a story about various eras, episodes, circumstances and events. Two exhibitions showcase the work of photographer / filmmaker Brent Meistre, and an exhibition of Wilma Cruise’s work is entitled Will you, Won’t you, join the dance?  

This year’s Festival will see a focus on the work of Mike van Graan, in a pilot project that will attempt to put the spotlight on a Festival Playwright. There will also be a showcase of work produced by the PE Opera House, as well as the Market Theatre showcase. Student Theatre will feature seventeen student theatre productions sponsored by the South African Post Office.  

The Arena programme continues to showcase the work of artists recognised through the Standard Bank Ovation Awards and International Fringe Juries as being on the cutting edge; and the open-access Fringe always generates a plethora of audience opportunities.

This year’s Think Fest programme, which brings together thought leaders, trendsetters and provocateurs, is sponsored by the Embassy of Netherlands and City Press will be the media partner.

The Film Festival is sponsored by the National Film and Video Foundation.

The 39^th edition of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will take place from 27 June to 7 July 2013.

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Eastern Cape Government, Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, City Press and M Net.