Cape Town - As huge fans of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, iconic South African Afro-pop band Mango Groove say they are “thrilled” and “honoured” to be one of the headline acts at the free
concert in Greenmarket Square on Wednesday.
Claire Johnston, whose distinctive vocals along with kwela, marabi, pennywhistle and big band brass sounds make Mango Groove familiar to South Africans of all ages, said: “We’ve never performed at the festival. We’ve performed in Cape Town a 100 times or more and Cape Town is always amazing.
“The festival is an incredible event, so we are thrilled to be involved. We perform at the free concert with En Vogue and then at the Manenberg stage.
"Mango Groove’s roots in African jazz will be a “good jumping off point for jazz fans to understand what our music is all about”, said Johnston. “For me jazz really is about mixing things up, making things interesting, and Mango Groove does that.”
The band sticks to song structures but there are tracks built for improvisation, where the brass section, guitarist and drummer will sometimes “go a bit nuts in a song or two”, and “lose their minds and express themselves”, said Johnston.
Founding member of the 11-piece band, John Leyden, said: “If you listen to our latest album, Faces to the Sun, it is a bit rooted in history but at the same time affected by what is influencing us right now: a sort of eclectic pop sound."
Around for 33 years, the band will showcase new songs and their old standards.