Gabi Motuba’s music stretches beyond jazz, transforming grief, memory and resistance into a spiritual sonic language rooted in black life and liberation
Blending jazz, folk and indigenous instrumentation, Zawadi crafts a sound that reconnects audiences to heritage while confronting the politics of the present
Witnessing his fans dancing to ‘Burn Out’ proved to Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse his enduring power. The legend talks about his energy-filled performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, his spiritual foundation and the evolution of South African jazz.
Blending Malian heritage with high-energy pop, Fatoumata Diawara used the CTIJF stage to honour her roots and confront FGM, proving that heritage and modern activism are inseparable
Co-director Georgia Jones says the festival’s future depends on championing African artists, drawing younger audiences and making space for genres like amapiano without losing its core identity
Blending R&B, soul and jazz, Lordkez arrives at CTIJF with a clearer sense of identity and a growing reputation as a compelling live performer.
The Malian legend celebrates Montreux’s arrival in Africa, urging artists to honour their roots while embracing music as a universal language
Tributes pour in for the multi-instrumentalist who blended African traditions with modern sounds
Maleh’s path as a musician has evolved into a journey of faith, self-discovery, and artistic honesty, charting a deeply personal creative course
Tresor reflects on a decade of award-winning African pop, his groundbreaking collaborations with Drake and Hugh Masekela and the music that inspires him today
The Ghanaian musician is label-free, legacy-focused and making global moves that are on his own terms
Your essential dose of art and culture
Jazz and activism have long been intertwined, but how does the music speak today?
Gyakie blends Afrobeats, R&B and soul to create a sound that’s all her own
South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini’s latest album, uNomkhubulwane, is a masterpiece of transcendent spiritual jazz that draws on his Zulu cultural heritage and cosmology
The Mail & Guardian asked some of our favourite musicians and critics what they thought of the list and to tell us which three South African albums they believed should be on such an inventory
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The reissuing of African music is far more than merely an exercise in nostalgia and ‘retromania’
Rebeca Omordia has taken the continent’s classical music onto the stages of the world
