Organisers of the 8th Annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2007 announced a further 12-African and overseas artists that will perform at this year's festival scheduled for Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March.

The 12-artists announced today are: Leela James, Gino Vannelli, Average White Band, Themba Mkhize, Darius Brubeck & the SAPO/UKZN Rolling Reunion Band, Ernest Mothle Quartet, Saskia Laroo, Hip Hop Pantsula, The Stoner, Closet Snare, Yehya Khalil & the Egyptian Jazz Fusion and Bheki Khoza.

Since inauguration in 2000, the popular sounds of the 1970s have swept audiences at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. This year will be no different. To bring yesteryear's music is Canadian vocalist Gino Vannelli and US-based funk unit called the Average White Band (AWB).

A recording musician for more than three decades, Gino Vannelli's jazz-inflected pop songs hit the Billboard charts in the 1970s and 1980s's. In the last 10-years, Vanelli released serene recordings as he turned to more acoustic music.

But the coup for this year's Cape Town International Jazz Festival is the signing of the Average White Band (AWB). With its origins in Scotland, the group moved in the mid-1970s across the Atlantic Ocean. While the band's name will definitely raise eyebrows among South Africans oblivious to the group's fame, AWB's appearance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2007 provides an opportunity for the group to connect with their huge fan base in the country.

Among the musicians added to the line-up is the reigning queen of nu-soul, Leela James. She brings with her the 6-piece band that features in her 2005 debut album, A Change is Gonna Come.

Leading the African troupe is percussionist and drummer Yehya Khalil. In 1957, Khalil formed the first jazz band in Egypt, which is where the title of being the father of Egyptian jazz comes from.

Part of Africa's contingent at this year's festival is pianist Themba Mkhize, bassist Ernest Mothle, and pianist Darius Brubeck.
When singer Sibongile Khumalo described pianist Themba Mkhize as "the one with big ears", this was not to mock him but to praise his musicality and his attention to detail.

Emerging as a member of the African Jazz and Variety Band, Ernest Mothle was the bassist of choice for many of South Africa's jazz musicians in the 1960s.

Bheki Khoza: Last year, an idea to pay a tribute to legendary South African guitarist Philip Tabane came up. The challenge was to find a person that could arrange Tabane's music as well as direct the concert. Given Tabane's unpredictable grooves, the arranger and musical director had to have the ability to take Tabane's earthy compositions and arrange them for a big band and string quartet. And the left-handed guitarist Bheki Khoza was the only suitable candidate for the job.

From Europe is an audacious Swedish quartet The Stoner and indomitable Dutch trumpeter, Saskia Laroo. The Stoner is a band that fuses traditional jazz and popular music.

Closet Snare is the coming together of trumpeter Lee Thomson, guitarist Marc Buchanan, bassist Sean Ou Tim, drummer Kesivan Naidoo and DJ Sibot. Besides being members of Closet Snare, members of this Cape Town-based group are active in bands such as Tribe, Golliwog and Real Estate Agents.

Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP) is the stage name for Jabulani Tsambo's outfit. HHP is one of the pioneers of Motswako - hip hop and rap music sang in Setswana. As the name indicates, HHP's music takes music styles such as rap, hip hop and kwaito and fuses them with the pantsula music of the 1980s.


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