AfricArise

08/30/2025

We are so excited for Thembi Dunjana and her (very deserved) Best Contemporary Jazz Album win at the Mzantsi Jazz Awards!

We're biased, but we think "God Bless iKapa. God Bless Mzantsi." is a masterpiece!

07/19/2025

Amazing! "God Bless iKapa. God Bless Mzantsi." has received four nominations at this year's Mzantsi Jazz Awards! We are so honored and delighted!

04/27/2025

Aaron Rimbui performs the title track from his album "Imani" at Dizzy's Club!

04/25/2025

The legendary McCoy Mrubata rehearses his band Siyabulela for their gigs at Newport Live Music and at Dizzy's Club this weekend!

03/22/2025

A very happy birthday to the incredible Steve Dyer!

03/08/2025

OUT NOW! Be sure to check out Melanie Scholtz's brilliant tribute to Nancy Wilson with "Sweet Nancy"! Available on all streaming platforms

02/28/2025

"Thembi Dunjana makes her Bay Area debut with a solo recital on March 2 at Oakland’s Piedmont Piano Company. Earlier that same day, she presents a workshop on songwriting with South African jazz harmony at Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory. And on March 3, she holds a community event at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music that includes conversation and performance."

A wonderful write up from Andrew Gilbert about upcoming Bay Area dates for Thembi Dunjana and for Bokani Dyer in March! See you there!

Pianists Thembi Dunjana and Bokani Dyer, along with pop sensation Thandiswa Mazwai, are set to land in the Bay Area soon.

02/25/2025

Thembi Dunjana and her quintet at soundcheck for tonight's show at Dizzy's Club! We can't wait.

02/19/2025

We are so excited that two AfricArise artists are playing Dizzy's Club next week! Join the incredible pianist Thembi Dunjana for her long-awaited return to NYC on Tuesday, February 25, and join vocalist Melanie A. Scholtz for her CD release of her forthcoming project "Sweet Nancy" on February 26! Links below

02/07/2025

New Orleans and Cape Town unite for an incredible new take on Nancy Wilson's songbook! Pre-orders are now open for "Sweet Nancy," the incredible new album from Melanie Scholtz!

12/17/2024

"It took a little while for the world to notice, but South Africa has produced a generation of brilliant jazz musicians...creating a truly African jazz that at its best will leave you with your mouth hanging open. Pianist Thembi Dunjana salutes her homeland with a two-horn quintet on God Bless iKapa. God Bless Mzantsi. (the isiXhosa words for Cape Town and South Africa, respectively), swinging in a way that blends hard bop and hip-hop." - Phil Freeman, Stereogum

Thank you, Stereogum, for including us on the year-end list for Best of 2024!

11/14/2024

"Ropeadope, a record label and much more, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. They’ve put a lot of great music into the world, most notably the work of trumpeter Chief Adjuah (fka Christian Scott) but also, more recently, their new AfricArise imprint, which has already given us killer albums by Aaron Rimbui, Thembi Dunjana, and others."

Thanks to Phil Freeman at Burning Ambulance for the kind words! We are so proud of our relationship with Ropeadope

Should have been 37, but...anyway