Media release
Seven hours of non-stop world
class music at Jazz on the Lake
Seven hours of non-stop world class music awaits music fans when the now legendary Jazz on the Lake gets underway on Sunday, September 6 at 10h00.
The flagship FREE event of the 2009 Joburg Arts Alive International Festival features a great line-up of artists that breathes life into Joburg's standing as a world class African city, capable of delivering something for everyone living in, visiting or working in it.
Heading the international artists' line-up is Senegal's Omar Pene who is backed by Super Diamono.
It was as the singer for Super Diamono that Pene first came to fame, providing the distinctive vocals and lyrics of a band that came to rival the likes of Orchestra Baobab and the Super Etoile as defining contemporary Senegalese music in the 70s. Since then, Pene has gained critical and popular acclaim through a brace of solo albums - including the acoustic Myamba (2005) and Moomtamit (2007) - and live performances backed by a 21st century version of Super Diamono.
Also adding to the international flavour of the 2009 Jazz on the Lake is Susheela Raman who is joining the line-up as part of the 2009 Joburg Arts Alive International Festival's partnership with Shared History Festival: The Indian Experience in South Africa. Raman was nominated for the UK's Mercury Music Prize in 2001 for her album 'Salt Rain', and has emerged as one of the most compelling Indian artists working today: a resident of the UK, Raman is at home with South Indian Classical music as with contemporary sounds. Raman will perform with her guitarist, Sam Mills and the Rajasthani musicians, NathooLalSolanki and Chugge Khan whilst in South Africa.
Brazilian seventeen-piece SpokFevroOrquestra rounds off the international element of Jazz on the Lake, the band's big jazz sound destined to get audience members on their feet and dancing.
The home-grown line-up of this year's Jazz on the Lake is a potent one, starting with ex-Sankomota leader and Gospel soloist, Tsepo "The Village Pope" Tshola who brings decades of experience as a performing and recording artist to his invigorating live set. Also adding an Afro-soul flavour to the event is SelaeloSelota who released a brand new studio album 'LepengLaka' in March this year. The album recalls Selota's first start in the formal music business with his 2000 debut album, 'Painted Faces' which earned him two South African Music Awards in 2001 for Best Newcomer and Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Since then, Selota's collected works - 'Enchanted Gardens', 'Stories Live and Told', 'The Azanian Songbook' and now 'LepengLaka' - have ensured he's now amongst South Africa's music luminaries with a career in the US already beckoning.
Zuluboy is set to inject a super-charged youth energy into Jazz on the Lake: the former Durban resident has become one of South African hip hop's most conscious and exciting acts through albums like 'Masihambisane' and 'iNqolobane - which easily prove that being both ethnocentric and defiantly hip-hop makes for a compelling mix.
An exciting addition to the Jazz on the Lake concert is the Standard Bank Young Artists Jazz Trio (SBYA). Comprising of Concord Nkabinde, KesivanNaidoo and Mark Fransman, these winners of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz provide a scintillating example of why South Africa is considered by many to be the home of modern jazz.
Rounding off the line-up are XolisaDlamini and TebogoMoloto, adding more Afro-flavours to the best way to welcome in spring in Johannesburg.
Jazz on the Lake is FREE and offers a safe environment in which to see some of the music world's finest. Please note that no alcohol, drugs, weapons or glass are allowed within the venue. The concert begins at 10h00 and ends at 17h00 and there will spot prizes for concert-goers who arrive early.
The public should note that there will be road closures in the area around Zoo Lake, with an outer and inner cordon in place. There will also be Park 'n Ride areas from Marks Park and Wits University. Residents living within the barricaded area will receive two permits per household. These will be available from the Zoo Lake Sport's Club from Saturday, 29 August at 07h00 to 20h00 daily until Saturday, 5 September at 20h00. Residents are requested to be in possession of an ID document and electricity account when collecting passes.
