A Durban night where brass power meets new voices — and every ticket keeps jazz education alive.
The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal brings back a local institution on Saturday, 1 November 2025: the 35th Annual UKZN Jazz Jol. What was once a modest campus showcase now arrives as a polished fundraiser, a showcase for Durban’s top players and a must-see moment for anyone who loves big-band swing, soulful vocals and the thrill of discovery. Proceeds support the Ronnie Madonsela Scholarship and CJPM’s outreach to the next generation of jazz students.
Expect a night that alternates between full-throttle brass and intimate vocal tributes. Headlining is Horns Horizon, a 17-piece big band directed by trumpeter, vocalist, composer and arranger Siyanda Zulu — a roll call of Durban’s leading jazz, pop and gospel players who wrote many of the arrangements on the bill. The band debuted at The Chairman earlier this year to glowing reactions; organisers say the Jol booking is proof the ensemble is more than a one-off crowd-pleaser.
Complementing the big band power is the UKZN Large Ensemble, a student-heavy cast now led by saxophonist and composer Linda Sikhakhane — a homegrown maestro whose work as a performer, arranger and mentor makes him a natural fit to guide emerging talent on stage. Audiences can expect fresh arrangements and the kind of ensemble playing that marks a conservatory-trained cohort with swagger and soul.
The evening also highlights two final-year jazz recitalists: BuyieGold and Thembalethu Bhengu. Both are performing vocal tribute sets — BuyieGold honouring Gloria Bosman’s luminous catalogue and Thembalethu paying homage to the late Sibongile Khumalo — a rare opportunity to hear new voices interpret South Africa’s greatest jazz singers. These recitals underscore the Jol’s dual mission: celebrate the music’s legends while launching tomorrow’s interpreters.
This year’s Jol is also built on purpose. Ticket proceeds go to the Ronnie Madonsela Scholarship, a long-standing UKZN award that provides financial support to needy jazz students and underwrites jazz education projects and outreach across the province — a tangible example of how a single concert can seed long-term learning and opportunity.
Practical details for Durban jazz lovers: the show opens at 18:00 at the CJPM, Dennis Shepstone Building, Level 2, Howard College Campus. Tickets are available at the door and online; pricing is deliberately accessible — listed at R200 (general), R150 (pensioners) and R100 (students) — making it easy for communities, families and students to attend.
Why you should go (three quick reasons)
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Big-band theatre — Horns Horizon’s 17-piece sound promises a cinematic brass wall and arrangements that swing, groove and surprise. Quicket
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New voices, deep roots — final-year recitalists performing tributes to Bosman and Khumalo show how South African jazz lineage is being taught and reimagined. Webtickets
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Your ticket matters — every rand raised funds scholarships and outreach that keep music education alive in KZN. music.ukzn.ac.za
Voices from the scene
Local coverage and the CJPM’s own listings emphasise that the Jol remains one of Durban’s most reliable cross-generational music nights — a place where seasoned professionals, students and curious new listeners trade energy and ideas. Horns Horizon’s formation and early success this year are cited repeatedly as a highlight that pushed organisers to make the band a headline act for 2025.
A closing note: the Jazz Jol is an invitation as much as a concert. It’s where pedagogy meets party, where scholarship funds are raised with swing, and where Durban’s music community gathers to applaud its past and invest in its future.
