The Jazzathon Story
The Jazzathon was started 9 years ago by three people, armed with nothing but passion and sentiments for a bigger, better, local music industry. To achieve this, the three friends embarked on organising a 4-day festival in their hometown, Cape Town, with the distinct goal of showcasing purely local talent.

Soon, however, it was realised that after the first festival, it was going take much more than just local artists to educate the local public about homegrown music and musicians.

Thus, the friends as new junior promoters, approached an international artist, Joe McBride, who they knew to be very popular in Cape Town's music community, after his remake of the classical hit Sunny, and asked him to perform at the festival. It was also realised that having Joe perform at the festival with his own band would be just feeding the local public overseas music so the promoters insisted that Joe use local musicians to back him. He agreed and soon it was arranged for local muso's, Musa Manzini, Allou April, Buddy Wells and Vincent Pavitt to back him. This project proved to be very successful in drawing the numbers to the festival and most importantly, the reaction of the local public towards the local backing band was phenomenal.

Seeing our very own artists in this new light, seemed to elevate the respect for local talent to local audiences.

Through the following few years the promoters elevated their passion into ideas that continued to import a few international artists to the festival and continued to insist that local musicians back them.
After approx 3 years of this process, international artists were phased out as the festival continued growing in numbers despite the fact that international artists were not prominent features anymore.
Today, 9 years later, the then new, junior promoters are now referred to as JCQ Productions and, the Festival showcase is referred to The Jazzathon.

Jazzathon is hosted over a four day period, features mainly local artists from the African continent with the occasional incidental international artist.

The current status of Jazzathon
The Jazzathon not only entertains huge crowds, but also showcases an average of 50 bands, comprising of about 35 Cape Town bands and about 15 bands from outside of Cape Town. JCQ Productions employs the services of approx. 20 service providers and also employ about 50 production staff.

JCQ Productions also engages a current series of local, mini-concerts as an element and measurement that culminates into the Jazzathon festival. This series of concerts, hosted in and around the Cape Peninsula, acts as an artery which feeds the festival with new emerging talent.

JCQ's vision is to grow their series of one-day concerts to beyond the borders of the Cape so that they could have arteries from the different provinces feeding the festival annually.

The Plan of Jazzathon is to move to a different province annually and eventually have a concert series running in the greater part of the Continent and thus feeding the Festival with emerging artists from the whole of Africa.

Jazzathon - The Vision
The Jazzathon aims to celebrate South African and African music culture. The people who share the same passion will showcase South Africa's rich cultural heritage to a global audience. The showcase will be a true reflection of South African and African music, which contains elements of jazz. The festival event will, reflect the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the festival's successful existence.

The core values of the festival remain:
1. An affordable and free-to-public festival
2. Hosted at the premier tourist attraction/destination - The V&A Waterfront
3. Held in peak holiday season
4. Features primarily, contemporary South African acts
5. Diverse variety of exciting elements

Basic Jazzathon Format
General Audience Attendance - Average of 500 000 People annually
Duration - 4 Days, or 40Hrs, or 10Hrs/day
Venues - 3 stages at the V&A Waterfront
Program - More than 40 Performances
Artists - More than 300 performers

Jazzathon Objectives
• To provide a platform for local musicians to showcase their talents
• To provide an opportunity for emerging musicians especially those from previously disadvantaged sectors of the community
• To facilitate the interaction of local and international artists
• To provide opportunities for local charity organisations to use the event as a vehicle for awareness.
• To promote reconciliation, unity and a common nationhood
• To pay tribute to those who used their musical talents to shape our cultural, intellectual, moral values and traditions in pursuit of Human Rights and Democracy
• To contribute to the growth of tourism in South Africa
• To Educate and develop the cultural heritage of South Africa

A Decade of Jazzathon

1996 - 2006
Jazzathon celebrates 10 years as South Africa's leading music festival.

The primary aim of this event remains to provide a platform for local musicians to highlight the unique style and sounds of South African flavored Jazz.

The producer of the festival, JCQ Productions, has managed to blend the unique, creative and organisational structure of the festival and into a highly effective and efficient musical celebration in an attempt to take the project to another level. These ideals have transformed Jazzathon from a conception into an internationally recognised jazz festival.

The achievement of this goal, in such a short space of time, within the parameters of the Jazzathon objectives, is aimed at contributing to a focus in social investment and responsibilities to the community at large inclusive of education, tourism and development.

JCQ's original and previously set objectives, have provided the guidelines for Jazzathon and proves the determination to succeed based on the original vision as proposed at the birth of the company and its flagship project.

Summarized History

1996
Three friends share their passion for South African music and, after extensive research of the status of the industry in that year, the guys decide to organise and finance their own project aimed at revitalising the music industry and South African musicians. The members of this group eventually became the primary members of JCQ Productions

1997
The First Jazzathon is produced on a R17 000 budget as the primary members dig deep into their pockets to fund the project. This is the first ever annual 4 day music festival in Cape Town. The only promotional and marketing interest came from Fine Music Radio, one of the pioneering community radio stations of the time. FMR then became the Media sponsor. The TB Alliance climbs onboard as the charity of choice and uses the project as part of their awareness campaign to highlight the plight of Tuberculosis in the Western Cape.Other sponsors include Readers Digest, SAPPI, and Forum Cigarettes.Jazzathon attracts around 20 000 people

1998
A few months after P4 Radio was opened in 1997, the management of the station realised that the values associated with Jazzathon was on track with the values of the station and thus used the festival to introduce the people of Cape Town to their purpous by launching and branding the festival. Thus P4 Radio was the soul sponsor of 1998.
After only two years Jazzathon firmly establishes itself as Cape Town's premier Jazz and Entertainment event. This four day festival held at the V & A Waterfront's AGFA amphitheatre succeeded in boosting the waterfront's visitorship figures to an unprecedented total of 263, 624 for the four days in January 1998.

The response from national and international visitors was extremely positive and this coupled with the local support created a vibrant atmosphere during the performances.

The Jazzathon project includes the association of a major radio station(P4 Radio) as media sponser broadcasting live from the amphitheatre. P4 Radio, the first Cape Town based jazz radio station is launched at the festival and underwrites the festival budget
The entire event is free of charge.

1999
Sponsored by STANDARD BANK for the first time
Additional aims are to contribute towards the promotion of tourism in the Western Cape and assist an appropriate charity to use the Jazzathon as a vehicle for a fundraising and awareness campaign.
Ultimately to position Cape Town as the jazz capital of Africa by launching the 1st Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
A Jazz Village is introduced to Jazzathon.

The first international musician to perform at Jazzathon is Joe McBride. Joe was backed by a full SA backing band. A live CD is recorded and a limited edition released.

2000
Sponsored by STANDARD BANK
The Jazzathon millennium Bash including Venues such as the Three Arts and the City Hall. Record attendance at the waterfront - 750 000 people. The Waterfront has to close access for vehicles
JCQ Productions joiuns forces with a US based company to produce a compilation studio recording featuring 33 SA musicians. The album is Co- produced by JCQ Productions.
This CD (Smooth Africa) is released to coincide wiuth the launch of the 4th Annual Jazzathon.
The Cd reaches emmense popularity ( made top 10 US Smooth Jazz charts) in the US and is also distributed in Europe.
The UK based super Acid Jazz band, Incognito, wows a crowd of 5000 people. Sibongile Khumalo and Hugh Masekela play to full house at the Cape Town City Hall.
Jazzathon breaks all attendance records at the V&A Waterfront.
Smooth Africa, the album, is nominated for a Grammy.

2001
Sponsored by STANDARD BANK. The event's aim was to Celebrate Africa. Jazzathon - Cape Town hosts all African musicians and artists and releases a total South African produced CD, Jazzathon - an African Celebration. The 4 day festival at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre, 4-7 Jan, features only South African and African artists and again breaks all attendences records since the inception of the waterfront including the waterfront millenium bash.
The Cd will first be launched in CT and then exported to international markets in March 2001.

2001
THE STANDARD BANK ROBBEN ISLAND JAZZATHON on 17 February 2001, took place on Robben Island and featured Jimmy Dludlu, Jonathan Butler and Miriam Makeba. Not the cape doctor (wind) nor the high seas kept people away. This was The First Robben Island Jazzathon

2002
The Festival Sponsored by STANDARD BANK
Breaks all attendance records and Features South African Artists only
The addition of the second stage at Pier Place
The first series of concert in the park - 4 concerts

2002
THE STANDARD BANK JAZZATHON on 16 February 2002, took place on Robben Island and featured Judith Sephuma and Mori Kante. The festival was sold out

2003
JAZZATHON features 2 Stages. Again breaks all previous attendance records
Second compilation released. Sponsors include Standard Bank, V&A Waterfront, Cape Grace, BMW, CD Wherehouse, etc … to be continued…
Moving the Second stage to the Clock tower
The second series of concerts in the park - 6 concerts

2004
THE STANDARD BANK JAZZATHON on 16 February 2002, took place on Robben Island and featured Judith Sephuma and Mori Kante. The festival was sold out
The Addition of the third stage
The addition of the corporate marquee
The third series of concerts in the park - 8 concerts

2005
JAZZATHON features 2 Stages. Again breaks all previous attendance records
Second compilation released. Sponsors include Standard Bank, V&A Waterfront, Cape Grace, BMW, CD Wherehouse, etc … to be continued…
Moving the third stage and corporate marquee to The North Wharf

…" JAZZATHON COMMITS TO THE PROMOTION OF SOUTH AFRICAN AND AFRICAN MUSIC GLOBALLY. JAZZATHON WILL EMBARK ON AN INTERNATIONAL CRUSADE TO SPREAD THE THIS RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE"…


Visit the Jazzathon website.