Melorie Jane Jazz Artists

BIOGRAPHY

Award-winning South African jazz artist, Melorie Jane hails from Pretoria, where she completed her bachelor's degree in music and started her music career performing with her afro-jazz and funk band, ALL the MORE. 

She soon started composing her own music, of which she released her debut EP in 2018, Different View. This EP featured her quintet, showcasing music in a contemporary South African Jazz idiom, delving into the contemporary style she encountered as a student while attending the National Arts Festival in Makhanda regularly. The artist mentions that this is where she was exposed to the contemporary jazz of musicians to the likes of Kyle Shepherd, Bokani Dyer, Kesivan Naidoo, Carlo Mombelli and more.

Melorie Jane went on to study her masters at the University of Stellenbosch in 2020 and released her debut album, More or Less in November 2021. This release has claimed a double victory at the Mzantsi Jazz Awards in August 2022, for Best Jazz Female in 2021 and for the Best Jazz Album in 2021. The album has been applauded as “absolutely brilliant” by Nothemba Madumo on the Urban Jazz Experience on Metro FM  and “such a refreshing style to listen to” on Expresso Morning Show on SABC 3. 

The artist, who is currently based in Franschhoek, has since performed at respected jazz venues such as Alliance Française, The Blue Room and The Piano Bar in Cape Town, she has also made an appearance at the Spier Amphitheatre with the Stellenbosch University Big Band, sharing the stage with Anna Davel and Gloria Bosman. Book the trendy Melorie Jane Jazz quintet for a dazzling performance of contemporary jazz, funk and afro-jazz, perfectly styled for an up-market event.