What: 🎵 The National Youth Jazz Band | Live at The Basement
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/349216-the-national-youth-jazz-band-live-at-the-basement/
When:
Where: 🍸 Untitled Basement
How much:
🎟️ R200.00Quicket
UNTITLED BASEMENT presentsTHE NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ BAND
TUESDAY 18TH NOVEMBER | 8PM
FeaturingJayden Harebottle, Esihle Valela (Tenor Sax)Melisizwe Plaatjie, Jason Marshall (Piano)Nic Ford (Bass)Joshua Klein (Drums)Phoebe Mgxaji (Vocals)
Conducted by Sisonke Xonti
ABOUT NYJBThe National Youth Jazz Band (NYJB) is a product of the National Youth Jazz Festival funded by the First Rand Foundation, which takes place in Makhanda in July each year as part of the National Arts Festival. It is the most significant youth development initiative in jazz in South Africa, and attracts the very best young players in the country, the cream of whom are selected for the NYJB each year.
The band members are chosen from the 350 young musicians from around South African who come to the festival, and each is a highly competent musician, normally with a budding professional pedigree already, with an average age in the band of 20. The band is a vibrant reflection of the cosmopolitan nature of South African society, and has an interesting mix of gender and race, from quite different backgrounds and parts of the country. Some have formal postgraduate university jazz degrees; others have risen to the top through their extraordinary natural talent, despite their lack of opportunity.
The conductor of the band is each year a South African musician of significant status and experience, as well as being a teacher and composer. The conductors are drawn from the wide array of the South African jazz spectrum: Marc Duby (2001), Barney Rachabane (2002), Darius Brubeck (2003), Carlo Mombelli (2004), Zim Ngqawana (2005), Brian Thusi (2006), Andrew Lilley (2007), Neil Gonsalves (2008), Feya Faku (2009), Mike Campbell (2010), McCoy Mrubata (2011), Paul Hanmer (2012), Marcus Wyatt (2013), Mark Fransman (2014), Concord Nkabinde (2015), Carlo Mombelli (2016), Buddy Wells (2017), Amanda Tiffin (2018), Afrika Mkhize (2019), Nduduzo Makhathini (2021), Mandla Mlangeni (2022), Bokani Dyer (2023) and Afrika Mhize (2024).
This year the band is under the musical direction of the versatile South African Jazz saxophonist and composer, Sisonke Xonti.
The NYJB has performed around South Africa at the country’s major festivals and has performed internationally at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands and on tours of Sweden.