Jazz Village

(Fri 27 & Sat 28 March)

Intimate performances from 3pm – Midnight.

Limited seating
Tickets sold per show.

[Jazz Village tickets are for this stage only. Arches stage passes are sold separately].

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Meet the Artists 

Stacey Kent is an American jazz singer following in the footsteps of the greats. She has a legion of fans, and a host of honours and awards, including a Grammy nomination and most recently, the Prix Ella Fitzgerald from Montreal Jazz Festival. She has album sales of more than 2 million; more than half a billion streams; and Platinum, Double-Gold and Gold-selling albums that have reached a chart-topping positions.

Her worldwide fan base is testimony to her ability to cut to the emotional heart of her songs with delicately nuanced interpretations that transcend borders and defy categorization.

Her unique multilingual repertoire includes originals written by Jim Tomlinson, her saxophonist / producer/ composer/ arranger husband, in collaboration with the Nobel Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro, with whom they have worked since 2006. Her latest album, A Time For Love, reprises her trio collaboration with Tomlinson and pianist Art Hirahara.

Discography: Close Your Eyes (1997), Love Is…The Tender Trap (1998), Dreamsville (2000), Breakfast on the Morning Tram (2007), The Changing Lights (2013), Tenderly (2015), Songs from Other Places (2021), Summer Me, Winter Me (2023), A Time for Love (2025).

Ramon Alexander is a pivotal figure in Cape jazz. His journey is defined by a profound respect for the legends who paved the way, including Robbie Jansen, Merton Barrow, Basil Coetzee, and Ibrahim Khalil Shihab, from whom he has symbolically received the baton.

Featured on Mountain Records’ iconic Cape Jazz Piano album alongside some of South Africa’s most esteemed performers, Alexander honours this legacy as a renowned pianist, composer, and music educator in his own ensemble.

As an architect of contemporary Cape jazz, he fuses the ghoema rhythms of the Western Cape with global improvisation. Notable albums to his credit are Picnic at Kontiki (2011) and Echoes from Louwskloof (2015).

Fronting the Ramon Alexander Trio will be saxman Buddy Wells, widely regarded as a “standard bearer” for modern South African saxophone playing. Wells is armed with unmatched improvisational skills and seamlessly blows his way through any score he plays.

Discography: Taxi 1022 (2010),  Picnic at Kontiki (2011), Echoes from Louwskloof (2015), Essence of Spring (2019), Sounds of Cape Town – Riel, Ghoema & Cape Jazz (2022).

A rare and meaningful collaboration and a meeting of generations that fuses Kunene’s masterful maskandi guitar tradition and Xaba’s exploratory, genre-fluid approach, creating a dialogue that bridges past and present, heritage and innovation.  Known as the ‘King of the Zulu Guitar’, Kunene is revered as the greatest living master of the Zulu guitar tradition. He weaves a tapestry of sound that captures Africa’s heart and the soul of the blues. His awards include an honorary Doctor of Music degree for his work in developing indigenous music; and the Gold Order of Ikhamanga for his contribution to the arts.  

Charismatic guitar savant Sibusile Xaba reframes maskandi and the avant-garde into his own humanist manifesto. His 2017 recording, Open Letter To Adoniah/Unlearning, has garnered acclaim for his voice and guitar stylings, which bring together multiple South African guitar lineages in an original, spiritualised fusion.

From Cape Town to Carnegie Hall, drummer Kesivan Naidoo has played with the legends; led groundbreaking bands; and composed award-winning scores.  Based in Switzerland and performing worldwide, he’s adored for his dynamic stickwork that pushes boundaries in modern jazz.

For Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek’s Jazz Village stage, Kesivan & The Lights present a distinct repertoire from the amaBigBand Experience – this is a tighter, more agile set built around the band’s signature sound.  Here forward-looking jazz is propelled by African rhythms translated using a modern harmonic language – it’s a live energy that shifts effortlessly from introspective to explosive.

The Lights will be joined by The Swiss Africa Horns – Charlotte Lang, Lukas Wyss and Lukas Thöeni, who add bright brass and woodwind colour alongside vocalists: BONJ, whose soulful presence adds warmth and melody.

Band lineup: Kesivan Naidoo (Drums), Bokani Dyer (Piano / Keys), Darren English (Trumpet), Charley Rose (Saxophone), Joan Codina (Bass), Fabio Gouvea (Guitar), Charlotte Lang (Saxophone – Swiss Africa Horns), Lukas Wyss (Trombone – Swiss Africa Horns), Lukas Thöeni (Trumpet – Swiss Africa Horns), BONJ (Guest vocalist).

Discography: Instigators of the Revolution (2010), Brotherhood (2014)

The 2026 Montreux Jazz Festival Miami opened with a landmark Miles Davis Centennial Night at the Miami Beach Bandshell this year, and not to be outdone, Montreux Franschhoek will share in the joy of celebrating the music of one of the most influential figures in music history.

The A Kind of Blue Band, featuring Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson, Donald Harrison, George Colligan, Buster Williams and Lenny White, is an all-star collective that performs music from the iconic 1959 sextet session Kind of Blue, and the hard bop and exploratory music of Miles Davis in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Together they bring all the weight of the trumpeter’s modal jazz to the Cape Winelands.

Band lineup: Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Javon Jackson (tenor sax), Donald Harrison(alto sax), George Colligan(piano), Buster Williams(bass), Lenny White (drums).

Discography: Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (1959).

Asanda Lusaseni Mvana, fondly known as Msaki, is a much-loved composer, singer, and songwriter. Trained in fine art, graphic design, film photography, and curation, she embodies the rare fusion of musical and visual storytelling.

She contributed to Black Coffee’s Grammy Award–winning Subconsciously album and her Fetch Your Life collaboration with Prince Kaybee became one of South Africa’s most iconic anthems – topping national charts.  Her debut EP Nalithemba (2013) and full-length album Zaneliza: How the Water Moves (2016) also established her as a formidable songwriter. 

Msaki was honoured as the Standard Bank Young Artist for Music (2022) and featured in the South African Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2024). Often described as a “song catcher,” she creates atmospheric soundscapes that bridge traditional African rhythms with contemporary global sounds.

For her presentation at Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek, Msaki unveils ENTROPY: The Heart as an Echo Chamber, a deeply intimate and emotionally layered work exploring love, vulnerability, healing and transformation. She is joined by Jesse Clegg, whose melodic sensibility, expressive vocal presence and songwriting depth add a powerful complementary voice to the performance, creating a moving dialogue between two of South Africa’s most compelling contemporary artists.

Discography: Nalithemba (2013), Zaneliza: How the Water Moves (2016), Platinumb Heart (2021), Entropy (2026).

Bokani Dyer and Gareth Lockrane present a heartfelt tribute to the late Bheki Mseleku – a giant in the legacy of South African music. As a key member of Mseleku’s group in the UK before the jazzman’s passing in 2008, virtuoso flautist Lockrane doubled as band co-ordinator tasked with notating the compositions they would perform. At the time of his death, Lockrane had built up a sizable collection of unrecorded works, and now for the first time these songs will be performed in the country of Mseleku’s birth. 

The tribute will feature a group of incredible South African musicians who have been handpicked to bring this music to life. Multi-award-winning pianist and composer Dyer has long studied Mseleku’s previously recorded compositions, and Home at Last marks a new chapter in the airing of Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku’s sonic journeys.  

Discography:
Bokani Dyer: Radio Sechaba (2023), Kelenosi (2020), Neo Native (2018), World Music (2015), Emancipate the Story (2011)
Gareth Lockrane: Fistfight at the Barndance (2017), The Strut (2012), No Messin’ (2008), Put the Cat Out (2003)

Kyle Shepherd has emerged as one of the most distinctive and influential jazz musicians of his generation. His performances are marked by a strong sense of narrative and spiritual intention, often blurring the line between composition and improvisation while remaining grounded in groove and form.

The pianist released his debut album, titled fineArt, in 2009, quickly establishing himself as a major new voice on the local jazz scene. This was followed by A Portrait of Home and South African History! X, recordings that further explored themes of identity, place, and memory.  His trio work, particularly on albums such as Dream State and A Dance More Sweetly Played, has earned acclaim for its maturity, clarity, and expressive power.

Shepherd is also the Artistic Director of Journey to Jazz and has become a respected composer and creator in film, television, and theatre.

Band Line-up: Kyle Shepherd (piano), Benjamin Jephta (bass), Jono Sweetman (drums)

Discography: fineART (2009), A Portrait of Home (2011 ), South African History! X (2012), Dream State (2014), A Dance More Sweetly Played (2024).

An ensemble comprising exceptional artists Herbie Tsoaeli, Andile Yenana, Ayanda Sikade and Sisonke Xonti. Together, they represent a powerful cross-section of South Africa’s contemporary jazz excellence – musicians celebrated for their sensitivity, depth and collective improvisational strength.

Rooted in the legacy of artists such as Bheki Mseleku, Abdullah Ibrahim and Winston Mankunku Ngozi, Kwanti Leeh! reimagines this music with deep respect, creative freedom, and a modern sensibility. Their performances honour history while keeping the music alive – their playlist is forward-looking, and deeply connected to its cultural origins. Between them, this crew of jazz heavyweights have amassed a range of individual awards – this includes Herbie Tsoaeli’s SAMA for Best Jazz Album; Sisonke Xonti’s 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz; and Andile Yenana’s 2005 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz title.

Discography:

Herbie Tsoaeli – African Time (2012), African Time Quartet in Concert (2014), At This Point In Time: Voices In Volumes (2021), Ndiyakudinga (2023)
Ayanda Sikade – Movements (2018), Umakhulu (2021
Sisonke Xonti – uGaba the Migration (2020), Iyonde (2025)
Andile Yenana – We Used To Dance (2002),Who’s Got The Map? (2005), One Night At The Market Theatre (2021)