Date: 24 October 2007

Venue: Durban City Hall, Durban

Date: 27 October 2007

Venue: Theatre on Track, Midrand

The launch of this project was on 30 October 2004 at Linder Auditorium, Parktown. The aim of this event is to put together an All Star big band/orchestra (50-60 members) in a series of shows in numerous provinces using different artists from those regions to express our rich heritage. This prestigious series is staged every year and known as “Jazz meets Symphony” at numerous venues, countrywide. These theatre venues will burst with creative energy into a thousand pieces of joy, as the world converges to celebrate the beauty, the genius and grandeur of this music.

It is a sharing of one stage by South African musicians who take pride in enhancing and have deep sentiments on African Renaissance. The concerts take the billing of musicians who have developed themselves as ambassadors, supporters of African arts and culture throughout the world. The concert, not only will it highlight the individualistic artistry, but the ability of collaboration and sharing the stage in one voice for the unique combination of jazz and symphony. The purpose of this exercise being to nationalise the orchestra and create a platform to host various international visiting musicians, hence, deepen and maintain interest and prominence of local art, tourist destination sites and South Africa as the Mecca of entertainment in Africa.

Well-known music composers, educators, multi-instrumentalists, arrangers and extraordinaire performers, will be appointed to direct and refine & implement the concept. The band, varying from year to year, will be feature different genres including the traditional & indigenous South African musicians (maskandi/scathamiya); Kwaito; Hip Hop; World Music; Afro-POP; Contemporary Music; etc, and the classical full string orchestra. Mary Stallings (USA), Opie Bellas (USA), Judith Sephuma (RSA), Mankunku Ngozi (RSA), and a strong 65 orchestra band (composed of string players; brass and rhythm section) will form the 2007 performances.

Our music deserves a tribute, and this we aim to deliver in a manner that will not only show massive respect, but guarantee enormous public interest and support. Well-known music composers, educators, multi-instrumentalists, arrangers and extraordinaire performers will be used as musical directors and refine & implement the concept.
The content of the orchestra will be dominated by South African artists, with a Pan-African profile developed over a period in the subsequent years. The orchestra will be in a collaborative performance with an international artist/band.

Confirmed artist line-up for 24 & 27 October 2007

• Mary Stallings (USA )
Mary started her career singing with the Count Basie big band in the sixties. She worked with many great musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Sweet Edison, Monty Alexander, Eddie Harris just to name a few. Mrs Gordon, owner of the Village Vanguard once said that there are very few singers that she would consider taking the stage the Village Vanguard, Mary Stallings is one of the selected few. Her 2001 release “Live at the Village Vanguard” was the no 2 best selling jazz vocal CD for 2 consecutive years. Mary is looking forward to come and perform in South Africa.

• Opie Bellas (USA)
Opie is not a new comer to South Africa having appeared in many sold-out performances in Cape Town. To my mind she is the best of the younger generation of jazz singer. Things are changing, her 2003 CD “Live for Life” was voted in the top 10 jazz vocal CDs of 2003. Her recent release “Faces” is already in the top 50. She has performed at jazz venues all over the world, including Japan, Australia, Switzerland etc. She is a regular at the famous Yoshi jazz club in San Francisco, and Danny’s in New York City. Miss Bellas is very keen to work with the College of music young students and prepared to give master classes

• Judith Sephuma (RSA)
Sometimes, unleashing a debut album that’s at once musically groundbreaking, critically-acclaimed, and award-winning gives an artist’s performing career such momentum turning her into such a star, that it becomes a Herculean challenge to make the space needed to record a second. This daughter of the soil has become one of South Africa’s premier artists, performing extensively both across the globe and here at home, earning two South African Music Awards, two Kora Awards, two Metro FM awards, as well as exceeding platinum album sales in the process. “I love collaborating,” Sephuma confides. “But you can’t just pick anybody to work with – it’s not an easy thing and I had to think about what I wanted.

• Mankunku Ngozi (RSA)
His musicality emerged early on and was carefully nurtured by his mother, Gertrude. Having experimented with piano, clarinet and trumpet, he took up saxophone in his mid teens. In the early 1960’s, the Ngozi family was uprooted from their home and relocated to Guguletu under the notorious Group Areas Act. By this time, however, Winston was already gigging extensively and his early influences in Cape Town included Midge Pike, Parks Joya, ‘Cups and Saucers’ and Merton Barrow. But John Coltrane was perhaps Winston's greatest source of inspiration and his respect and admiration for 'Trane' has endured right through “Mankunku's” career to the present day. With the milestone release of "Yakhal' Inkomo" by "Mankunku Quartet" in 1968, Winston Mankunku became a household name in South African townships.Containing obvious inferences to the situation of blacks in South Africa, "Yakhal' Inkomo" has become one of the biggest selling jazz albums of all time in South Africa, and was recorded with the Early Mabuza Trio featuring the legendary drummer, bassist Agrippa Magwaza, and pianist Lionel Pillay. In the same year, he received the Castle Lager "Jazz Musician of the Year" Award. "Yakhal' Inkomo" has become one of the all-time classic South African jazz albums.

• 65 Piece Band
65 piece Orchestra Band (Composed of string players; brass and rhythm section).