Arguably the musicians’ favourite festival, the National Jazz Festival, Makhanda is known for its ambitious collaborations across styles, continents and generations and manages to attract year after year serious musicians to a small magical corner of South Africa. For 10 days, the DSG campus – “Jazztown” - and the Monument are jam-packed with performances which continue long after the lights have gone down, where the performances move to the jazz café in downtown Grahamstown where the musicians hang out for some serious spontaneous improvisation. The festival is probably South Africa’s best-kept jazz secret and the launch pad for South Africa’s next generation of jazz stars. Incorporated into the NJF is the National Youth Jazz Festival (NYJF) which is the most significant jazz development programme in the country. www.youthjazz.co.za
