Heralded as the “Mother of All Celebrations” the 2009 Cape Town International Jazz Festival is set for April 3-4 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This year will be the 10th Anniversary of the event and will feature legendary musicians performing on five different stages.

The festival has witnessed an explosion in attendance in recent years, more than doubling in audience size between 2000 and 2008 (from 15,000 to 33,500 attendees). This year’s festival will showcase forty performances over the two-day event and include not only jazz, but jazz-related genres. The artists are evenly split between African and foreign musicians.

Some of the headliners at the event will includ Jonathan Butler with Dave Koz, Shakatak, Dr Philip Tabane and McCoy Mrubata. Trumpeter Hugh Masekela will celebrate his 70th birthday on stage. Latin-beat group, Loading Zone will mark their 20th Anniversary at the festival. Hip Hop star Mos Def is also scheduled to perform.

The event is sure to be a huge draw for both jazz afficianados and music-lovers of all sorts. The hotels in Cape Town, South Africa should be overflowing for the weekend and look for the better restaurants and clubs to be busy as well.

Vocalist Abigail Kubeka will give a special performance dedicated to Miriam Makeba and the the King Kong musical that ushered in the golden age of South African jazz. There will also be a “Jazz meets Opera” collaboration between diva Sibongile Khumalo, Dutch pianist Mike del Ferro, and local saxophonist Shannon Mowday.

Foreign artists scheduled to perform include the Dave Liebman Group, emily Bruce, Incognito, Zap Mama, the Al Foster Quartet, and Dinane Reeves.

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Filed by Dylan at 7:12 pm under Business and Society
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