Thirteen South African acts will perform jazz, hip-hop, house and pop music. The last names to be added to the list are Planet Lindela, Afro'traction, Blaklez, DJ Kenzhero and Jonas Gwangwa. The organisers announced that, this year, jazz pianist Paul Hanmer, Soweto locals BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness), AKA, as well as Cassper Nyovest, Mi Casa, Toya Delazy and Max-Hoba will also be part of the line-up.
Jonas Gwangwa has been an important figure in South African jazz for over 40 years. He first gained significance playing trombone with The Jazz Epistles. After the group broke up he continued to be important to the South African music scene and then later abroad.
In the 1960s he began to gain notice in the US and in 1965 he was featured in a "Sound Of Africa" concert at Carnegie Hall. He became important as a composer doing the scores of films like Cry Freedom and at the 60th Annual Academy Awards in 1988 he performed his nominated song of the same name. Also in 1988 he performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in Wembley Stadium. In 1991 he returned to South Africa and in 1997 he composed the theme for London Olympic bid.
Pretoria-based Blaklez started shaping his career with appearances on Slikour's Ventilation Vol2 and Tuk's album Footprints. In 2013, Blacklez released his debut album 'CapCity', which includes his radio hits Hush and Don't Be Scared. Blaklez made such an impact on the industry that he was nominated for four SA Hip Hop Awards in 2013 including Album of the Year, Most Valuable, Best Video and Best Male.
Tickets: R160 presale via Computicket (online and at stores) and R180 at the door (if available).
For more information, go to www.drumbeatconcert.co.za
