Jazz in the City Presents Intergenerational Conversations With Kunene & Xaba

Mission for the Inner City continues its events celebrating Cape Town’s vibrant culture and communal spaces with the return of Jazz in the City.

After launching with son-and-father Steve & Bokani Dyer, the latest winter special continues the inter-generational theme of bringing together young and old for an inclusive musical experience. This edition’s headliners are Madala Kunene and Sibusile Xaba, a duo known for fusing jazz, Zulu blues, maskandi, and malombo into one authentic, progressive mix of South African folk music.

Kunene is a veteran of South African music, starting his career as a young busker on the beaches of Durban and becoming one of the nation’s most celebrated guitarists, working with a diverse array of international musicians while keeping his own sound.

Xaba is also a guitarist from KwaZulu-Natal, mixing a dynamic finger-picking style and passionate isiZulu singing to create an intimate, almost calming atmosphere with his entirely unique blend of folk, jazz, and maskandi. He cites Kunene as his biggest inspiration, with the pair developing as student and mentor over the years.

Jazz in the City: Madala Kunene & Sibusile Xaba

Recently, the duo released their first project together, the soulful album kwaNTU in 2025, and have been performing alongside one another in numerous live shows. With a truly collaborative style that breaks the traditional student-teacher dynamic for a more communal celebration of African guitar and its soundscape – a “conversation between generations”.

With the historically significant Homecoming Centre as the base, Jazz in the City’s winter special offers attendees the opportunity to experience the past, present, and future of South African jazz and folk with a performance that centres indigenous sounds and storytelling. For one night only, Cape Town’s inner city is drawn together by a love for music, with Xaba and Kunene as the two guides at the latest offering of Jazz in the City.