CAPETONIANS are attentive and diverse, that’s how headline act Jill Scott, described her audience after her performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
The American singer and actress said it was her first time in the city and she was in awe of its scenic beauty.
“I have never been to Cape Town and I was amazed by all the diverse people and the mountains here are beautiful,” she said.
Scott entertained a packed crowd for nearly two hours at the Kippies Stage inside the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Saturday evening.
When asked on Sunday what the audience was like she said they were really attentive and focused on what she was doing.
“When I was quiet they were quiet, when I went big they went big,” Scott said.
She gave the audience a taste of her new interest, Spanish opera, when she sang a few verses at the end of her performance.
Scott was one of 43 acts who shared five stages at the festival.
Local jazz legend Ibrahim Khalil Shihab, Cuban group OrquestaBuena Vista Social Club and the house music group Mi Casa played on Friday.
Meanwhile on Saturday, Netherlands group Chef’Special got the crowd jumping at the Moses Molelekwa Stage.
Scott said she didn’t get a chance to see the other musicians at the festival.
“I have a hard time with jet lag and I’m still not sure in which time zone I am,” she said.
Scott said she went straight to bed after her performance and slept until on Sunday morning.
She greeted journalists and her fans in Setswana at a press conference.
“I would really like to learn Zulu, it seems to be everywhere and Xhosa too. But I can’t even say it, it is so hard,” she said.
Scott learned Setswana in 2009 when she filmed the TV series Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana.
“I try to keep my Tswana going but there aren’t a lot of people speaking it where I am from,” she said.