Jazzwrld & Thukuthela join the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) 2026 line-up. Cape Town’s most famous musical export is reinventing itself… without losing its soul. With three months to go before theCape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF)returns on March 27 and 28, 2026, organisers have unveiled a bold new visual identity and a first wave of artists that signals confidence, ambition and a clear message: jazz is not standing still.
The refreshed logo and look are more than cosmetic. They mark what the festival calls a moment of renewal and a response to changing audiences, changing sounds and a changing world. Jacob Collier, a seven-time Grammy Award winner whose genre-defying work has made him one of the most influential musicians of his generation, is on the CTIJF 2026 bill.
Behind the scenes, CTIJF has spent months in conversation with musicians, cultural thinkers and creatives through a series of open “Jazz Conversations”, asking difficult and exciting questions about where jazz is going, and who it must speak to next. The opening artist announcement reads like a statement of intent: global, local and unmistakably forward-looking. At the top of the bill isJacob Collier, the seven-time Grammy Award winner whose genre-defying work has made himone of the most influential musiciansof his generation.
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His appearance at CTIJF promises not just a performance, but an experience with jazz as a living, evolving language. Also returning to Cape Town are jazz fusion icons Yellowjackets, back for the first time in nearly 20 years. With a career approaching five decades, their inclusion bridges past and present, honouring jazz history while celebrating its restless drive to innovate.
Crucially, the line-up places South African voices at its centre. Rorisang Sechele blends jazz, soul and gospel with emotional honesty.
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