Cool cats and hot jazz as SAJE brings the beat to UKZN

By Lebone Rodah Mosima 

The South African Association for Jazz Education (SAJE) is bringing the jazz conversation and live music back to Durban next week, with its 16th conference set to take over the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) from 25 to 27 February.

The three-day gathering will bring together educators, artists and researchers for a deep dive into this year’s theme, “Indigenous Musical Elements in South African Jazz: Exploring Theory and Practice,” with a hybrid format that lets people join either in person or online.

“This year’s theme places indigenous musical knowledge at the centre, asking not only what we play, but how we credit, teach, transmit and