Legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is due to perform at this year’s Joy of Jazz Festival in Newtown at the end of August.  The amazing line up includes  America’s Dee Dee Bridgewater, McCoy Tyner, Gerald Veasley, Jeff Lorber, Alexander O’Neal and Frank McComb who will be joined by Brazil’s Tania Maria, Croatia’s HGM Jazz Messengers and Belgium’s Brussels Jazz Orchestra who perform with our own Tutu Puoane.  …    A number of top South Africans are also in the line-up; jazz greats Hugh Masekela and Sibongile Khumalo, as well as Mango Groove, Simphiwe Dana, the African Jazz Pioneers, Tu Nokwe, Kwela Tebza, Victor Ntoni, McCoy Mrubatha, Ringo, Julius Schultz and pianist Bokani Dyer, who was the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz.   They join performers from the African continent including Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi, Angola’s Bonga and Nigeria’s Olufemi.

The Joy of Jazz will be on seven stages including a brand new venue The Conga Stage, which is being specially built between Bassline and Newtown’s Turbine Hall. The Dinaledi Stage and the Mbira Stage will once again be erected on Newtown Park (formerly Mary Fitzgerald Square), creating three purpose-built venues to showcase this year’s line-up. Other venues include The Bassline, Sophiatown, Shikisha and Nikki’s Oasis.

Ditto the Cirque de Soliel Saltimbanco on at the Coca Cola Dome from 9^th March to 3^rd April is billed as a breath-taking spectacle of what the human body can do.   Book through Computicket.

Entrance is free but book early as there is limited seating.  Seats can be reserved with with Amber van Winsen  (amber.van.winsen@gmail.com). I haven’t checked but I am sure that The Canteen at Arts on Main will be open for meals beforehand.

Dinner at the Turbine Hall in May

Anglo- Gold Ashanti has done an amazing job of redeveloping Joburg’s first power station, including the orginal space which housed the massive turbines.  Located in Newtown this development is a very succesful example of sustainable and sensitive adaptive re-use of  industrial heritage. I have written about this before: http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/the-old-and-the-new-more-on-anglogold-ashantis-turbine-square    If you missed the last evening at The Restaurant at the Turbine Hall book your seat now for 2nd October.  It’s a great evening – get a table together of 6 to 8 people, go along and listen to Christopher Duigan playing Chopin and have a fab dinner.   It is not cheap at R400 per person but it’s a special evening:  sophisticated,  hip and a great way to see and experience Joburg’s first power station!!   

See  http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/fiftytwo-no-18-chill-out-amongst-the-turbines-this-friday-night  

Contact Hhlaka Mathemnjwa on 011 575 3890 or email dinners@theforum.co.za