The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music hosts its 27th Annual Jazz Jol on Saturday, August 29 at 7 pm. The headline artist for 2015 is Tu Nokwe (guitar and vocals) who appears with Bheki Khoza (guitar), Neil Gonsalves (piano), Mandla Zikalala (bass), and Sbu Zondi (drums).

Tu will play music from her hit albums, Inyakanyaka, and  African Child. An iconic figure in the entertainment industry in South Africa, she is the  ideal artist to round off a month-long series of women’s month concerts at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music.

Tu describes her music as New Age African, spiritual and inward looking with elements of Afro-jazz and funk. She also finds herself very moved by the drum and acoustic sound. All the tracks on the album are named in Zulu and English so that a wider audience are able to connect with the tracks.

“African Child is sending a message to the quintessential African child: Listen to the music and you will find direction; you cannot go forward without going inward, hence the image on the cover of the child in the lotus position,” she says.

The South African Music Award nominated artist has travelled extensively on international tours with her band. Many places like America, Europe and England have become her second homes. In all these counties, she has collaborated with musicians in song writing, performance and music workshops.

The opening band will be an exciting talent, Seb Goldswain, a young guitar phenomenon who is influenced by bluegrass, blues, funk, heavy rock and jazz in his original eclectic material.

Seb, who will play with Sydney Rash (drums) and Ildo Nandja (bass), launched his debut album Pictures of a Thousand Words earlier this month. The CD will be on sale on the night. Go to the website: http://sebgoldswain.com for more.

Proceeds from the Jazz Jol concert go towards the Ronnie Madonsela Scholarship which assists disadvantaged jazz students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal with financial aid or support.

The Ronnie Madonsela Scholarship also provides bursaries for deserving students and also funds students’ travel and accommodation to the National Youth Jazz Festival in Grahamstown and other educational festivals, workshops and conferences.

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music is on level two of the Shepstone Building at UKZN. Entrance is through main UKZN gate in Mazisi Kunene Avenue. Tickets are R120 (R80 pensioners, R60 students). For more details contact Thuli on 031 260 3385 or email Zamat1@ukzn.ac.za

• You can view Centre for Jazz and Popular Music gigs at http://music.ukzn.ac.za/concerts/CJPMTrios.aspx

Tu Nokwe also performs with Bheki Khoza at Rainbow Restaurant, 23 Stanfield Lane, Pinetown on Sunday, August 30. Doors open at 1 pm and tickets are R80. Book at www.webtickets.co.za

Says the Rainbow’s Neil Comfort: “This concert is a long time in the making. Bheki Khoza is a legendary performer. Every time he performs at the Rainbow Restaurant we ask him: When will you come back?

“When he last performed, Tu Nokwe joined him briefly on stage for a number and that was it … Now we have the pleasure of announcing their concert together. They will be joined by the great Melvin Peters on piano, Mandla Zikalala on bass and Sbu Zondi on drums.”

Bheki is a left handed guitarist from Umlazi, Durban. In 1991 he received a Talent Award and scholarship to study music in America. He returned in 1995 after studying at the University of Hartford, Connecticut, with the great Jackie McLean.

While in America, Bheki was resident with Larry Ridley’s Jazz Legacy band playing the whole spectrum of African American music. The band was headed by Larry Ridley himself, who played with Wes Montgomery, Sonny Rollin, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Kenny Burell, George Benson, Dexter Gordon and far too many other musicians to mention.

By the time Bheki left America he was already making a name for himself playing clubs like Blue Note, Saint Mark’s Zinno’s and Smalls, a famous club often referred to as “The Mecca of Jazz”, which has jam sessions every night to all hours. Khoza also played at the famous Shamberg auditorium in Harlem.

Prior to studying in America, Bheki played with the African Jazz Pioneers, Abie Cindi, Sipho Gumede, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, Rene McClean, Victor Ntoni, Mike Makhalemele, George Lee, and Barney Rachabane, among others. He also backed South Africa’s famous songbirds, Sibongile Khumalo, Sophie Mgcina, Dolly Rathebe, Abigail Kubheka, and Thembi Mtshali.

Both concerts are supported by Concerts SA, a joint South African/Norwegian project housed under the auspices of the SAMRO Foundation.

By engaging with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, the project aims to stimulate live music in South Africa by finding and implementing ways to create regular, sustainable performance platforms.

Concerts SA also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.

• For more information go to http://www.concertssa.co.za, follow Concerts SA on Twitter at @ConcertsSA or like the Facebook page: ConcertsSA.