Giuliette Price poised for a career-defining performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival

South African jazz vocalist Giuliette Price is stepping into a defining moment in her career. The rising artist is set to make her debut at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, where she will perform on the Molelekwa Stage on 28 March - an appearance that signals both arrival and promise.

“I feel extremely grateful and honoured to be selected for this year’s lineup,” Price says. “As a young and upcoming artist, I understand how much trust the festival has placed in me by giving me this opportunity so early in my career. It truly feels like a blessing.”

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It’s a milestone that feels as significant as it does surreal. For Price, who only recently transitioned into life as a full-time musician, the booking represents more than just a performance slot. It is an affirmation - of years spent honing her craft, of quiet persistence, and of a belief that her voice, both literal and artistic, has a place within South Africa’s ever-evolving jazz landscape.

“Performing at this festival has been a dream of mine for a long time,” she adds. “Seeing my name on the same lineup as artists who have inspired me for years is a real pinch-me moment.”

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What makes the performance even more meaningful is the collaborative energy behind it. Price will take to the stage alongside a dynamic ensemble—Brathew van Schalkwyk on piano, Matthew Keswell on drums, Joshua Nemire on upright bass, and Gilson Amaral on saxophone—bringing her original compositions to life in a way that feels both expansive and intimate.

“I’m most looking forward to sharing this performance with such an incredible group of musicians,” she says. “This ensemble is set to breathe new life into my music, and I’m excited for audiences to experience the energy we’ve been building together.”

That upward momentum is matched by her growing body of work. With the release of her sophomore EP, Anxiously Preoccupied, in late 2025, Price continues to position herself as part of a new generation of musicians reshaping jazz with intention. Her sound is rooted in tradition but refuses to be confined by it—blending the elegance of classic vocal jazz with contemporary storytelling and emotional depth.

Her musical foundation, however, stretches back much further. Raised in a home where music was both spiritual and communal, Price’s earliest memories are shaped by the rhythms of church life, where her mother served as a worship leader. Watching rehearsals from the sidelines as a child, she absorbed the power of performance long before fully understanding it.

“One of my earliest memories is being in awe of the musicians, especially my mom,” she reflects. “Watching her lead with confidence and grace made me believe from a young age that I could follow in her footsteps.”

It wasn’t until her late teens that she began to pursue music seriously, eventually enrolling in jazz studies and immersing herself in the discipline of the craft. There, she was trained in the traditions of classic jazz vocalists, drawing from the legacy of icons like Ella Fitzgerald. While that grounding shaped her technical precision, it also became the springboard from which she began to explore her own voice—one that feels both reverent and refreshingly modern

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Before stepping fully into jazz, Price experimented across creative spaces—from school plays to pop collaborations and songwriting in solitude. That range continues to inform her sound today, allowing her to move fluidly between influences while maintaining a clear sense of identity.

Today, her artistry exists at the intersection of identity, heritage, and experimentation. As a proud queer artist, her work leans into vulnerability without losing its sense of strength. Her music reflects lived experience—navigating themes of self-discovery, belonging, and emotional complexity—while offering listeners something deeply resonant and human.

Her influences are unmistakably local, drawing inspiration from a lineage of South African jazz innovators including Thandi Ntuli, Zoë Modiga, Bokani Dyer, and Tutu Puoane. From them, she has learned the importance of storytelling, experimentation, and staying rooted in cultural authenticity while embracing sonic evolution.

Growing up in Johannesburg also played a defining role in shaping her perspective. Initially drawn to mainstream global sounds, it was only through her studies that she began to fully appreciate the richness of South African jazz.

“My upbringing taught me social awareness above all else,” she explains. “Being a city girl exposed me to different cultures and perspectives, and that continues to shape how I approach my music and the stories I choose to tell.”

Still, Price approaches her place within jazz with a sense of openness and curiosity. She speaks of being in a process of discovery—of understanding how her voice contributes to a genre so steeped in history, while also creating space for new narratives.

“I’ve come to realise that being a young femme artist rooted in jazz, while offering a queer perspective, brings something unique,” she says. “By honouring the tradition and staying true to myself, I believe I can find my audience and contribute something meaningful.”

As she prepares to take to one of the country’s most iconic stages, Giuliette Price stands on the edge of something transformative. Not just for her career, but for the broader narrative of South African jazz—where new voices like hers are not only emerging, but redefining what the genre can hold.

Grab your CTIJF tickets here.