Fast music, slow craft: Inside Cape Town’s jazz revival

By Mariana del Carmen 

In a recent conversation with one of Cape Town’s most beloved pianists, Brathew van Schalkwyk, known for his roaring Sunday jam sessions at Open Wine and his virtuosic, expressive playing, we spoke about the craftsmanship behind jazz and how it continues to endure in a world of convenience.

Music, like so much else, has become easy to consume and easy to make. While there’s beauty in the simplicity and pleasure of a simple tune, the art of deep musical study and complex melodies seems increasingly rare. Could this be linked to the decline in live performance attendance, as audiences turn to recordings and streamed concerts instead?

Brathew and I compared the current landscape of music to that of food. Much of today’s music is made like fast food, produced quickly through mechanised, efficient systems. Chords and rhythms are pre-packaged and ready to use at the touch of a button on digital audio workstations, requiring little understanding of harmony or rhythm’s cultural lineage. With artificial intelligence now capable of generating entire compositions in seconds, the gap between convenience and craftsmanship widens further.

And yet, amid this shift toward automation, Cape Town’s jazz musicians continue to uphold their traditions. They practise, study, and perform - keeping alive the delicate balance of improvisation and technique that defines the genre.

As with cuisine, one can still thoroughly enjoy fast food or “fast music”. Though a small part of me does wonder if future studies will show that it has an effect on our health. Lucky for us, there remains a wealth of “gourmet” artistry in venues across the city: Muneeb Hermans’ Thursday sessions at Amber on Bree, Jazz Alley at Gorgeous George, The Commons in Muizenberg, Ganesh in Observatory, Athletic Club & Social, of course Brathew van Schalkwyk at Open Wine and countless others where the spirit of live jazz thrives. One can often find the week’s curation of events to attend on Word of Mouth Online and Let’s Get Local on social media.

In an era of distraction, live music offers something increasingly rare: collective presence. Rather than lamenting the decline of craft, perhaps it’s time to celebrate those who persist in nurturing it: the musicians who continue to play, and the audiences who continue to listen.

Listening, after all, is not a passive act and to watch live music is not convenient. Neither is exercise, nourishing food or most things that are good for you. Witnessing and making live music together is a sacred, ancient practice that does the important work of safeguarding the arts: the soul of our civilisation.