The Joy of Jazz

The wonderful feeling that we get from listening to music, especially the type of music we appreciate. I have said in my last few blogs  that South African women are very lucky to have handsome artists llike John Legend and Anthony Hamilton, come and perform for them. This week, we are all very lucky to have musicians who cater not only to young people or females, come to perform for us. The Standard bank Joy of Jazz festival is taking place this weekend in Newtown, with the opening tonight.

 Lovers of Jazz music can go see their favourite Jazz musicians do their thing on stage.International musicians include Earl Klugh and Clarence Carter, local artists include Caiphus Semenya, Thandiswa Mazwai and there will be a special tribute to the legendary, Miles Davis. August was a great month for the South African music industry and we are sure ending it in a great, jazzy way. We look forward to a great September!www.joyofjazz.co.za

Soul is here!

New-age soul singer, Anthony Hamilton

Oh, how I love being a woman! South African women are being appreciated so much this year, with many international acts coming to perform for us. We were blessed to have Grammy-winner, John Legend perform for us last week. This week, we are going big again.

We have the soulful, amazing, one-woman man, RNB artist, Anthony Hamilton blessing us with his talent this week. His songs are forever playing on our local radio stations and that has created a huge fan base for him in South Africa.

 We all know him for songs such as 'Pass me over', 'Lucille'and the wonderful remix he did for 2Pac's 'Dear mama'. The weather is beautiful, love is in the air and music still keeps the world alive so, be sure to check this amazing artist out this coming weekend. www.myspace.com/Anthony Hamilton

The legend is in South Africa

Award-winning RNB star, John Legend

We have just started an awesome month, August, which means a lot to the people of this country. Women's month is all about love, music and all things nice. We have a lot to celebrate as women and as South Africans. It is at this time of year where women of South Africa are celebrated and should be celebrated and shown major respect. Women are usually celebrated through music and as usual, celebrations are in order for this year's Women's day.

There are a lot of celebrations to look out for this month, but one that I am excited about is the John Legend one. With the cold weather we're having in Johanneburg, John Legend is what every woman needs right now. He has songs that will keep us warm for days! Supporting acts for this show are Mi Casa and the lovely Metro Fm presenter and SA Idol judge, Unathi Msengana. Let's go and support this event. Also look out for him as he makes an appearence on SA Idol this week. www.myspace.com/John Legend

Women of power, women of song

women marching to the Union buildings, Pretoria, in 1956

August is Women's month and we, South Africans, remember the bravery of the women of 1956, who took to the streets and marched against the Pass law that the then government had against them. Since then, women have been motivated to speak their minds and stand for what they believe in.

In this day, women suffer different forms of abuse, they are killed by their lovers, little girls are raped by their fathers, children go to bed hungry, mothers die of HIV and its related illnesses... what is amazing is that, the women who took part in that 1956 march were united through music and  even in this day, we have women who stand tall and enrich lives and fight for their emancipation through song. We have women like Simphiwe Dana, Ntsiki Mazwai, KB, Zamajobe, Tu Nokwe and many others who use their voices to reach out to the world and make lives of people better.

This is the month to celebrate our political icons and musical icons who have helped shape the future of this nation and won democracy for the women of this generation and future generations. Like they say, wa thinta'bafazi, wa thint'imbokodo. Let's celebrate the women of this nation through music.
www.sahistory.org.za