Other than Johannesburg’s historical Sophiatown few other places in South Africa, past or present, can claim as Cape Town’s District Six can, to being the country’s home of jazz. Here in the Mother City jazz is alive and well, evident even at a superficial glance; the city is home to the world-renowned jazz pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, and the Cape Town International Jazz festival. On even closer inspection you’ll discover that music forms part of the city’s DNA.

We meet Sabelo affectionately referred to as Subz, at the Coffee Beans office, a beautiful ground floor space with a generous dose of design sensibility, that supports local creativity by stocking incredible pieces from homegrown talents. From the Coffee Beans HQ we head out into the beautiful Cape night to Lotus River. We arrive at Hilton Schilder‘s home where we are greeted with cold beers and a hot-pot of chicken curry. Our host Hilton has music coursing through his veins and comes from four generations of jazz musicians. In fact we learn that the feat is recorded in a recent book Jazz, Blues and Swing published by Pallo Jordan.

Before the jazz gets under way Hilton shares his vast knowledge of the history of jazz in South Africa. In the 1980s he and Mac McKenzie co-founded The Genuines, a jazz ensemble that primarily played Goema, a type of jazz originating from the Cape area. His influence gave rise to experimental concept bands like Africa Dream and Iconoclast(with Victor Ntoni and Vusi Khumalo ). A longtime goal, even during these early years, has always been to fuse traditional South African musical influences with more contemporary sounds. The legendary Robbie Jansen, one of the juggernauts of jazz, would repeatedly include Hilton in his Sons of Table Mountain band.

Schindler remembers the golden era of jazz in the country with fond nostalgia and laments the discontinuation of numerous key jazz venues after 1994, following the departure of many musicians for greater exposure abroad. When Hilton sits behind the piano and demonstrates his virtuosity, it is easy to see why he is counted amongst some of South Africa’s great jazz musicians.

The next and final spot for the evening is the "Straight no Chaser Jazz Club", where we experience a covetable lineup of jazz musos improvise some of their magic on stage while we look on spellbound. The club was established on the 22nd of December 2014 and temporarily closed its doors to re-open in earnest in April 2015. Resident players are Casivan Naidoo (drummer), Lee Cooper (trumpeter) co-founder of the “ Straight No chaser“ Jazz club and a SAMA nominee. Prominent jazz artists such as Hugh Masikela, Abdullah Ibrahim and Hilton Schilder have played on this stage.

The experience is intimate and enriching, and we leave full of music and incredible memories of yester-year.