Jazz in the Cradle

Jazz in the Cradle is a program of contemporary jazz concerts promoted by the NIROX Foundation and Gallery MOMO in the lawn amphitheatre of the NIROX Sculpture Park, which lies at the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, 45 minutes west of Johannesburg and Tswane city centres.

The program was conceived in response to an intimate performance by Zim Ngqawana in the music room at NIROX following his brief residency as artist, in the wake of the traumatic vandalization of his acclaimed Zimology Institute.

In 2012 the first concert in the program saw Herbie Tsoaeli and his band mesmerize an audience of 500 aficionados. The promoters were pressed by the audience and musicians to extend the program.

We hope that this Tribute to Zim, performed by some of the leading musicians of our time – Feya Faku (trumpet), Ayande Sikade (drums), Herbie Tsaoeli (bass), McCoy Mrubata (saxophone) and Nduduzo Mkhatini (piano and musical director) - will give further impetus to the burgeoning jazz movement in South Africa and consolidate Jazz in the Cradle as a fixture in the local circuit.