Old hands teach young artists

Music workshops are planned as part of Joy of Jazz, where the international performers at the festival will spend time teaching student musicians some tricks of the trade.
INTERNATIONAL jazz artists who are performing at this year’s Joy of Jazz Festival will host free workshops, where they will share their knowledge with music students.

Frank McCompFrank McComb is conducting workshops at CJCThe workshops, all taking place on 24 August around Gauteng, are aimed at bridging the gap between learning and performing what the students have learned at their colleges.

They will start with the participating students performing for the guest musicians, who will then give them tips on how to improve their performance.

Frank McComb, the American soul singer and keyboardist who began working as a professional musician at the age of 17, will be taking the workshop at the Crown Mines Campus of the Central Johannesburg College, at 17 Shaft Road.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, the multi-award winning American jazz musician, will visit the Soweto Campus of South West Gauteng College. It is in Dobsonville, at 5604 Van Onselen Road. She will share her expertise with music students from the college.

Other workshops will take place in the Vaal Triangle. At Vereeniging City Hall, Alexander O’Neal, the American R&B musician, will host a workshop; Wynton Marsalis, the nine times Grammy winner will be at the Music Academy of Gauteng in Ekurhuleni; while HGM Jazz Messengers, the Croatian NGO that works with young musicians, will be at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.

“One of our focus areas in furthering our mission of developing the music industry in South Africa is to create opportunities for young and emerging artists to acquire knowledge, skills and experience in various aspects of music as an art form and a discipline,” says the Joy of Jazz website.

Dee DeeJazz musician Dee Dee BridgewaterIt explains that the workshops are offered to young musicians for free; the experience and passion of the international musicians is used to facilitate these sessions.

Mantwa Odutayo, the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz producer, says: “Accomplished musicians play an invaluable role by imparting knowledge and inspiring young musicians, thereby improving the standard of music for all.”

The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz takes place from 25 to 27 August at various venues in Newtown. The line-up will also feature South African heavyweights such as Ringo Madlingozi, Jonas Gwangwa, Sibongile Khumalo and Victor Ntoni.

Tickets are available at Computicket and range in price from R350 to R900. For more information about the Joy of Jazz visits the website.

The workshops will take place from 10am to 12 noon at all venues.

The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz is sponsored by the City of Johannesburg, Standard Bank, Gauteng Province and the National Arts Council of South Africa, among others.