February 2016 theme: Jazz in Africa

Today many of Africa’s leading music festivals showcase jazz in particular. These include Jazzablanca in Morocco, Madajazzcar in Madagascar, Jazz Kif in DR Congo, the Saint Louis international Jazz Festival in Senegal and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in South Africa. Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa have proud jazz traditions dating back several decades, while in recent years other countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have also started promoting the genre with regular events for a growing fan-base of jazz enthusiasts.

Due to the importance of this often overlooked genre, we have chosen Jazz as our theme for the month of February 2016. We have commissioned overview texts covering the jazz scenes in numerous African countries (with many more still to come), complemented here by various reviews, features and news – essential reading for anyone interested in this timeless genres.

• Jazz in Ghana
• Jazz in Nigeria
• Jazz in South Africa
• Jazz music on the rise in Uganda
• Kigali Jazz Junction to promote jazz in Rwanda
• New book celebrates South Africa's jazz legacy
• All-star line-up for 17th Cape Town International Jazz Festival
• Mte Wambali to usher in ‘new era of jazz in Malawi’ with latest album
• Lagos comes alive with jazz
• Femi Koya’s musical journey to the south
• Cape gypsy: Hilton Schilder
• Zim Nqawana: Music Of The Spirit
• Hugh Masekela - I Am Not Afraid 
• Interview: Kyle Shepherd