Jazz Cruise with Kaya FM
Kaya FM invite you to embark on a magical music packed voyage on the ‘superiously’ luxurious 5 Star MSC Opera as they cruise to breath-taking destinations, for the best in classic cruising.
The Kaya FM 4 Day Jazz Cruise will take place from the 10th to the 14th of Dec 2012 on the 5 star MSC Opera. The ship departs from Durban harbour, South Africa and cruises to Maputo, then Inhambane, Mozambique and then makes its way back to Durban. Along the way enjoy two days on the beach, filled with activities and a beach party that promises to be one you won’t easily forget.
The real draw card will be the Entertainment program which will encompass all that is great about Kaya FM. Live unplugged shows inside and outside under the blue skies, entertainment under the stars, private VIP moments, some of the best mixes brought to you by some of the best DJ’s and loads more opportunities to mingle and enjoy time with their top radio DJ’s are some of the top reasons to secure your tickets now. This is a cruise not to be missed by discerning music lovers.
Artists that are confirmed: Jonathan Butler, Louie Vega, Anané, HHP (Hip Hop Pantsula), DJ Black Coffee and Josh Milan. More artists to be announced soon.
Jonathan Butler
If you love jazz, then Jonathan Butler's guitar is a familiar sound. Jonathan Butler is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, Jazz Fusion or Worship Music. Born and raised in Cape Town, Butler started singing and playing acoustic guitar as a child. He began touring at the age of 7 when he joined a travelling stage show, and was later signed up to perform on a string of hit recordings, turning him into a local teen idol.
His first single a Burt Bacharach song called 'Please Stay', was the first by a black artist played by white radio stations in the former racially segregated South Africa and earned a Sarie Award, South Africa's equivalent to the Grammy Awards. Butler was signed to Jive Records in 1977, and in the early 1980s he moved to the United Kingdom where he remained for 17 years. His international breakthrough came in 1987 with his Grammy nominated hit single, "Lies" and his cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", which he performed with Ruby Turner. Butler maintained a loyal following in the 1980s and 1990s, in South Africa, the United States and Europe.
Louie Vega
Luis Fernando Vager, better known as "Little" Louie Vega, is an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters At Work musical production team. He was born to a musician family, as his father, Luis Vager, was a jazz saxophonist, and his uncle was singer Héctor Lavoe of the Fania All-Stars, and he started his DJ career spinning records at the age of 13 years. By 1985, Louie who is cousin to Eric Vega, popular event creator and promoter in New York City began playing house and block parties in his local Bronx neighborhood of New York, as well as engineering and mixing. During the 1990s, Vega was playing at one of the most influential nightclubs for house music, The Sound Factory Bar. By the mid 1990s, the Masters At Work team had Vega spending less time behind the turntables and more time in the studio as part of the team's remixers.
The past few years have seen Vega produce albums (on his label Vega Records) for artists including Anané, Luisito Quintero and Elements of Life (his live band project), as well as releasing individual tracks and over 25 compilations on the industry’s most revered imprints, Defected Records, Kingstreet, Azuli, Division (Italy), & Strictly Rhythm records all the while building Vega Records into the independent powerhouse it is today. Ultimate recognition came in 2006, when he received a Grammy Award for the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category, with his remix of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Superfly.’ After being asked to compose and produce the song ‘One Dream’ (which he co-wrote with Blaze) for Cirque Du Soleil, Louie and Elements Of Life - with Anané on lead vocals - performed the song during the 2007 Superbowl Pre-Game Show in front of an estimated worldwide audience of over 140 million people.
Anané
From the islands off the West Coast of Africa comes the artist Billboard magazine described as “combining earthiness with glamour and roots-deep house music knowledge with pop wise diversity”— Anané. Music has been in Anané’s blood since growing up in the Cape Verdean capital of Santiago. Anané eventually decided to bring her talents to New York City where she immersed herself in the city’s club culture. She met DJ/Producer Louie Vega, who tapped her as an integral member of the Elements of Life Collective, and Anané used that as a stepping stone to an international career that has included appearances at Japan’s world-renowned Blue Note, Europe’s celebrated Montreux Jazz Festival, Finland’s Pori Jazz, Holland’s North Sea Jazz Festival, Cape Town’s Jazz and Britain’s Womad Festival.
The singer, songwriter, producer and DJ follows up the 2006 Japanese release of her debut album “Ananeselections” with “Ananesworld,” a mixture of dance, reggae, rock, R&B soul, world and Caribbean influences. Perhaps her biggest gig yet was in 2007 when world-famous entertainment empire Cirque De Soleil personally approached Anané to perform the opening song for the Super Bowl XLII pre-game show. Her performance of “One Dream” was seen by more than 140 million people worldwide.
Josh Millan
Josh Milan has influences that range from Stevie Wonder to James Taylor and beyond. But it’s the combination of deeply soulful melodies, his blend of Afro, Jazz, Soul and Gospel, and the positive world views in their lyrics that makes most people compare his music to the legendary Earth, Wind & Fire. Josh Milan’s music career started with a single moment. Milan was a mere 12 years old when he saw an opportunity to show off his skill on the organ and, without a second’s hesitation, he took it. The Brooklyn native made a habit of sitting near his cousin, the church organist, each and every Sunday. “Instead of sitting down where normal people sit in the church, I sat next to him and watched his every move,” Milan recalls. One Sunday, his cousin was so moved by the energy in the church that he jumped up from his perch and began dancing, leaving the organ completely unmanned. Like a passenger jumping behind the wheel of a runaway car, Milan took his place at the organ and played like he’d never played before and that was the beginning for him.
Milan would go on to team up with DJ Kevin Hedge and singer Chris Herbert to form the group Blaze, a band that became known for its unique brand of house music laced with heavy gospel, soul and afrobeat rhythms. Blaze released three albums on Motown Records and drew the attention of the industry with their remix of Lisa Stansfield’s “People Hold On.” They also worked with such notables as Diana Ross, Babyface, El DeBarge and Jody Watley. Having long since parted ways with both members, Milan is now making the transition from artist to label executive with the launch of Honey Comb Music, a record label specializing in house music.
