Dazzling diva Judith Sephuma sets the tone for what’s guaranteed to be another great Cape Town International Jazz Festival. The event at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on 3 and 4 May, 2024, once again features a range of players shaping the future of the genre. She chatted to JANE MAYNE about her music.
As a headline act Judith will be keeping it local, airing her Afro jazz hits. “We are Africa, we carry it in us and it’s in the music, so we have to bring Africa home,” she says. “Performing at the festival is always amazing. That’s besides the fact that performing in Cape Town is just something that I love doing.”
A successful career with beautiful balladry on albums such as I Am A Living Testimony, A Cry, A Smile, A Dance, and Change Is Here has kept Judith in the limelight. The culmination of which now sees her embodying the upcoming festival as a whole – a huge acknowledgement on her musical journey.
“Oh, it’s been such an exciting time in my life. It’s been a journey of evolution, of learning new things, meeting great people and getting to constantly come back to performing even at beautiful events like the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. So, it’s really just been amazing, and I keep growing.”
A big, spread-out band
The singer has appeared on numerous CTIJF bills, so this year’s booking notches up another fabulous showcase for her. “I think I’m coming back for possibly the fourth or fifth time. It’s one of the most grandest gatherings any artist would want to be a part of. What’s special about it is that I started to get my name heard by the world here in those times. And it’s all the days from when I was still at the University of Cape Town studying at the College of Music, where I got introduced to all of this greatness that is happening around me now,” she comments.
Festinos can expect to see familiar faces in her touring ensemble. “In terms of the line-up, for the past over 10 years I’ve kept the same musicians because it’s better for me to just throw in any song whenever. For example, when I’m performing and let’s say the audience don’t like a particular song, I’m like ‘Okay Judith, the next one you got to up the game a bit!’. So, I always have the same guys because it’s easy for me to switch, and we have good energy – a love connection. It’s a very beautiful, big, spread-out band.”
‘A Cry, A Smile and A Dance’
Afro-jazz, gospel, funk, Afro-soul and even a bit of samba can be heard embedded in her work. “For me, it’s all about the heart. So, if for example if I sing gospel, it’s from the heart. But I believe jazz is my first love, and A Cry, A Smile and A Dance came from there. I studied jazz for such a long time and I fell in love with the music, the melody and the lyrical content of it. So, all those styles bring out the best in me in different times, and people love hearing different things. I get afraid sometimes of just staying in the same space for a while.”
“Music is for sharing. It’s important for artists of my calibre to keep releasing music so that our music does not fade. And even if we are going to integrate any other styles into jazz, you know who we are. We cannot forget jazz, we cannot forget African music – it’s important. If I were to do amapiano to branch away, for example, I cannot lose who Judith Sephuma is – that woman has to stay there. I don’t want to confuse my fans, my friends, or myself. So, I would infuse amapiano into jazz,” she adds.
Hits such as A Cry, A Smile, A Dance distil a common experience that people easily resonate with, does she draw on personal experience or societal observations for her lyric writing?
“It’s a combination of all of that. It’s love, it’s children, it’s nature as well. Most of the time if I’m writing it’s about something that will inspire someone else. People are going through so much, so it’s our responsibility because we’ve been given the gift to be able to inspire people to lift people’s spirits up.”
Classical training
When studying at the College of Music the star was trained by opera singer Professor Virginia Davids – does she still draw on that? “Yes. Virginia Davids still until today plays a very, very important part in my career. I know how to handle music now. My voice is so special because of the teachings that I got from sitting under her and being able to control and sustain my voice through any situation because of what I learned. I think everybody should be trained classically – it helps.”
While Judith has an accessible girl-next-door appeal, she’s also a glamour queen of note. “I am very conscious of style,” she laughs. “I love African material, so every summer I go into it. I’ve got a designer and I just tell her, ‘I want African print shorts with a normal top’ and then I get that with sneakers. I can dress up for an interview, or wear heels for an hour on stage, But I try to have the best of both worlds in terms of style.”
CTIJF 2024 will once again showcase the jazz diva’s love of improvisation: “I love being creative on stage, so my performances are never the same, but I know they’ll be good. People will definitely enjoy it, so just go get your tickets guys!”
Get your Cape Town International Jazz Festival tickets here.
Who: Judith Sephuma interview
What: Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2024 (CTIJF)
Where: Cape Town International Convention Centre
When: 3 and 4 May 2024
WS
