Kids Love Jazz founder calls on music lovers to honour genre this Jazz Month

JOHANNESBURG - As the world celebrates Jazz Month this April, founder of Kids Love Jazz, Kwanda Tangweni, is calling on music lovers to honour the genre’s legacy and relevance.

Tangweni, also known as Vuyo Mcglad, said that the melodic sounds that had been created by many legends around the world presented a sense of nostalgia for what it sounded like to be with family.

Jazz Appreciation Month, established in 2001, is dedicated to recognising the genre’s rich musical history.

From New Orleans, jazz found its way to the shores of Cape Town, South Africa, in the 1920s.

It has since become a vital form of expression, which many voices and instrumentalists have taken up and used as a tool for freedom.

Having gone through many transformative eras, Vugo Mcglad said that the South African jazz sound had a unique tune to it.

"It’s very futuristic, you know. It's not really different from old jazz, but then it's very futuristic in the sense that now you find bands using more bass instead of having a horn section. So, it's still melodic, but then with a groove. Jazz has been evolving, man. We had blues from the blues. We had bebop, where jazz was different."

With a new generation of artists bringing their own twist, the genre continues to grow, a testament to its staying power.