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Saturday, January 31, 2026

THE SONGBOOK SESSIONS

The UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music’s Songbook Sessions is ostensibly a Monday night jam session, in two halves. The first half is a curated set featuring tunes selected by an invited band leader. The tunes are made available in advance, with links to charts and audio, and are ranked from beginner, easy, intermediate, to advanced. The second half is an open jam session.

These sessions intend to bring together musicians from all walks, other performance practitioners, students and teachers, and audiences that appreciate musical conversation and live music. It seeks to unearth new repertoires, to interrogate the notion of ‘standards’, to acknowledge our histories, the multi-cultural society that we live in, and to be more inclusive of mastery that exists on the periphery of our communal practice.

The Songbook Sessions are on Mondays in February 2026 from 18h00 to 20h00 at the UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music. Entrance is free for participating musicians and artists. Doors open at: 17h30.

Tickets R130 (R100 for pensioners, R70 for students with a valid student card)

Tickets at Webtickets: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1587340270

The Songbook Sessions Monday night jam session is made possible with the funding support of Concerts SA, Festival Enterprise Catalyst, SAMRO and the National Treasury Jobs Fund

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, UKZN (Durban) is located at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Howard College Campus, Dennis Shepstone Building, Level 2

For more information, contact zamat1@ukzn.ac.za