The role of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival in the career development of six local musicians, especially jazz musicians
Date
2012-02-09
Authors
Masemola, William
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Abstract
Most previous academic studies undertaken on music festivals in South Africa have been largely
done through economic lenses. They have dealt with growing the festival; financial benefits for
the festival organisers; management styles and models of festivals. This research interrogates the
impact of music festivals on the participating artists’ social, creative, intellectual and sustainable
growth. The research studied these aspects through the analysis of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz
festival, which in 2010 was celebrating its diamond jubilee, and following six musicians who
have participated in the festivals at different levels. Being a jazz artist myself, I became
interested in what constitutes the development of a musician who participates in a jazz festival.
This research seeks to depart from the socio-economic based studies by analysing the role of the
Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in the lives of six South African jazz musicians and the
perceived benefits. It also draws on a wide range of literature that covers issues ranging from
socio-political scenarios to arts and culture policies from around the 1920s to the present day.
What the research found is that music festivals had varying impact on developmental bands in
comparison to established bands and musicians. It also looked at the effectiveness of arts and
culture policies, legislations and their implementation in the South African music industry. Due
to the width and breath of this research topic it must be stated that there are other areas that the
research did not delve into due to the researcher’s limited tools - such as the psychological
analysis capacity.
Description
M.A., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011
Keywords
Festival, Pre-apartheid, Post-apartheid, Jazz, Musicians, Development, Benefits, Policies