Jazz Musician Sibusiso Mashiloane appointed new president of South African Jazz Education (SAJE)
By Funeka Bambalele
Newly appointed president of the South African Association for Jazz Education (SAJE), Sibusiso Mashiloane is full of innovative ideas aimed at elevating jazz and jazz music education to new heights.
This award-winning jazz musician and lecturer at UKZN is committed to enhancing the quality of jazz education and making the genre more accessible to everyone. The talented barefoot pianist will serve on the executive board alongside Phuti Sepuru as vice president, Thulile Zama as secretary, and Natalie Rungan as treasurer, with their term extending until 2027.
The nonprofit organisation has been existing since 1992 to ensure the growth of jazz in South Africa and the development of jazz education in urban and rural areas. SAJE further exists to build the jazz arts community by advancing education and research, promoting skills development and performance. But most importantly to document, preserve and archive our South African jazz heritage.
Mashiloane, one of the young black presidents, is eager to work alongside and honor the vibrant culture of jazz clubs blossoming in South African communities. Through SAJE, he aims to recognize the invaluable contributions of these clubs by collaborating with them.
“Our people have a deep love for jazz, which is why we see jazz clubs thriving across South Africa,” he shares. “I want to ensure they are included in our programs because they are the true connoisseurs of this music. It’s essential for us as an association to connect with them and gain insights from their experiences. There’s so much we can learn from them as we navigate this genre together.”
In terms of development, Mashiloane and his team are dedicated to advancing jazz by conducting master classes and bringing the genre closer to the community.
“We believe there shouldn’t be any jazz project that we’re not involved in. Many jazz festivals host master classes, and we aim to collaborate and provide those opportunities. Currently, we’re reaching out to the Cape Town Jazz Festival to offer our master classes. That’s the true power of jazz—it runs deep within the experiences of the people, not just on the surface.”
Recognizing that jazz is often seen as a genre for a niche audience of a certain age, Mashiloane wants to change that perception. He aims to inspire young people to appreciate and explore jazz from an early age, nurturing a new generation of jazz enthusiasts.
“We want to demystify the misunderstanding that surrounds this issue because our youth are eager to express themselves through their instruments. They often feel frustrated when they have to rely on computerised instruments. True creatives have the desire to play and master their craft. This is evident in bands like Kujenga, an afro-jazz group based in Cape Town. It’s a powerful way for us to create our identities.”
“Last year we had Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra touring South Africa and the young people who were part of it were just amazing. The orchestra truly inspired a lot of young people locally.”
In making sure that young people are not excluded in the jazz and jazz education, KZN has been hosting KZN Schools Jazz Festival for the past three years just to grow the interest. The upcoming event is set to take place on March 28 to 30 in Durban. Mashiloane is also fighting to have South African jazz standards to be written in staff notation for the purposes of learning and teaching.
“For a long time, we have been looking up to America in terms of compositions and I believe that we can learn from our own compositions. This is called a lived experience. The plan is to preserve the information of the previous jazz players. We need to provide enough archives for teaching and learning. For young people not to forget about these jazz legends, we need to write this music down for preservation purposes. If it is archived, it will never be forgotten.”
As much as each president serving in the SAJE board has come up with its own agenda, in the three year stint, Mashiloane wants to encourage that jazz be learned from our own practices.
“Our jazz is full of expression and full of information. We want to have master classes and learn jazz on our own terms and our own language.”
Though many might not know about SAJE, the organisation has done great work in the past 33years years, hosting workshops and master classes in various schools in Cape Town and East London. Most of the workshops were sponsored by the National Lotteries Board. They also have a cultural exchange bursary where foreign music students come to South Africa to learn more about SA jazz.