Too marvelous for words

No, I didn't hear anyone playing Sinatra this weekend, but there were a couple of Stevie Wonder covers, some Miles, a few old standards and a ton of great new innovations. Being at a music festival is a lot like being a kid in a candy shop - tasty treats everywhere I turn - and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival was no exception! I swear some of those musicians are super-human, the stuff they're playing is just impossible! It is really inspirational and kind of depressing at the same time. So close but so far away...

In keeping with great travel moments, standing in a jam-packed crowd enjoying the beautiful sounds and sights of Oliver Mtukudzi and co, I realized that half of the audience was singing along with all the words I've never been able to understand. People were so into it, it was exciting. Then later there was this guy from - I think Benin? - who was playing guitar in a trio, his singing mixed with clicks and mouth sounds that only someone used to African languages could begin to make. It was nice to feel a taste of Africa even in a town like this.

In a flash it's already time for me to move on, I am truly sorry to say. Africa is the kind of complex place that I think needs a lot of time, a little energy and an endless supply of dreams. In the meantime, tomorrow I'm scheduled to fly to Argentina. South America, the cool cousin to our continent!