What’s Up

Here are three cultural things to listen to or watch

Let jazz quintet Skyjack hijack your musical heart 

Transcending borders and musical boundaries, the trans-national jazz ensemble Skyjack are set to ignite South Africa once again with the launch of their third album, Light Cycle. 

Mark your calendars for 10 and 11 May for shows at the Chris Seabrooke Music Hall at Wits University in Johannesburg. 

This quintet, comprising Kyle Shepherd, Shane Cooper, Jonno Sweetman, Marc Stucki and Andreas Tschopp, blend the rhythms of South Africa with the flair of Swiss horn mastery. 

Skyjack have spent a decade pushing the boundaries of contemporary African and European jazz, captivating audiences with their innovative compositions and avant-garde experimentation. 

• Secure your spot via Quicket for an unforgettable evening of soul-stirring music.

• Skyjack will also play at the UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music on Wednesday 8 May. They will share a bill with A Million O Clock.

Mayibuye iAfrica concert celebrates democracy

The Mayibuye iAfrika Concert will make a second appearance this month after its debut last year. 

Set for 24 and 25 May at the Joburg Theatre, this year’s event promises a line-up of legendary artists, including Ringo, Hotstix Mabuse, Mahotella Queens, Hope Masike, Simphiwe Dana and Siphokazi. 

Commemorating 30 years of democracy, the concert offers a reflective journey through the power of music, highlighting the nation’s progress over the past three decades, a statement says. 

After the success of the inaugural show, it now spans two nights, accompanied by a one-day workshop featuring academics, researchers, musicians and educators. 

Spearheaded by the guitarist and composer Billy Monama, Mayibuye iAfrika celebrates South African freedom songs and their creators, promoting social cohesion and our rich African heritage. The concert aims to honour the nation’s journey towards freedom and cultural diversity.

Exhibition of the mind

Vigil is a solo exhibition of ceramic sculptures and paintings by South African artist Justine Mahoney, on show in Cape Town until 30 May. 

Rooted in a wealth of esoteric theory, Mahoney’s archetypes embody and mythologise facets of the collective human unconscious.

Over a period of isolation during the pandemic, Mahoney began a daily practice of self-enquiry through Jungian meditation. Encountering what Carl Jung referred to as “mythopoetic imagination” — the dark and fertile landscape of active imagination — the artist conjured up vivid manifestations of archetypes.

Jung believed these archetypal models underpin our innate and universal personas, behaviour and motivations. They appeared to Mahoney as messengers, arriving as “giant psychic forces” from within.

She crystallised their final forms into Tarot, Plato’s theory of forms, and a reading of Jung’s journals and manuscripts. She also draws heavily from esoteric knowledge systems that predate Judeo-Christianity. 

Treating imaginative thought and fantasy as vital creative functions, Vigil surfaces from a subversive reality; one that belies rationality to ground itself more freely in the ancient, essential and human.

• Vigil is on at Southern Guild, V&A Waterfront, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm, and Saturday, 10am to 2pm.