Standard Bank Jazz: Music which Entertains & Educates

Standard Bank Jazz is both a collaboration and celebration of the musical genre.The sponsorship is an active, evolving and vibrant property, which aims to connect in meaningful and relevant ways with a broad spectrum of customers and stakeholders.

Three Standard Bank Jazz Festivals strive to discover and explore both the heritage and the riches of home-grown talent. They play host to international artists, and they are the vehicles through which local music lovers are introduced to the young jazz stars of the future. The Festivals are highlights on the social and cultural calendar; not-to-be-missed events that bring together jazz lovers from all over the country.

Specifically, Standard Bank Jazz aims to entertain and educate:

Through a focussed client entertainment platform at three diverse events, Standard Bank gives jazz fans the opportunity to embrace and enjoy internationally acclaimed performances. The Festivals are a valuable tool for connecting with customers through the shared passion and entertainment of jazz, as well as an ideal vehicle to interact with the broad spectrum of clients.

Standard Bank Jazz also educates a host of young musicians who are invited to perform on their programmes; they engage new audiences; facilitate learning from visiting international artists, strive to generate new levels of interest and support for jazz, particularly amongst younger South Africans, and encourage jazz lovers to preserve and promote the genre.

Most significantly, the sponsorship allows Standard Bank to support the development of young talented jazz musicians who have embraced the genre. Underpinned by a dedicated long-term programme of education and development, Standard Bank has successfully encouraged youth participation - and excellence - in both jazz professions and performances.

Standard Bank customers and staff experience both the living art of jazz, as well as the brand values in ways that are relevant and tangible. Through the sponsorship they recognise how Standard Bank makes a real difference to their lives by bringing top quality international and local jazz to their doorstep.

In turn, the Standard Bank sponsorship means much for jazz in South Africa. It has facilitated the exposure of world jazz in South African concert and music venues. The sponsorship has contributed in positive ways to developing and growing a section of the music industry that was previously neglected and has helped contribute to the employment, training and skills development in all the related fields of eventing, hospitality, and technical production including sound engineering and lighting.

The Standard Bank Festivals

Beginning in 1997 Standard Bank's association has made the brand synonymous with jazz. The sponsorship incorporated three large jazz events:

• The Standard Bank Jazz Festival at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown.
• Standard Bank Joy of Jazz (previously known as the Johannesburg International Jazz Festival).