Good evening and welcome to this week's Arty Beats, my name is Thuto Ngobeni. This week we focus on South Africa's 33 year Standard Bank Jazz Festival. For the first time in its over 3 decades of existence, the event will take place entirely online, from the 25th of this month until July 5th. Musicians and art lovers will unite in a celebration and experience of Jazz Reimagined. Traditionally, the festival takes place in the town of Makhanda formally known as (grahamstown) in the country's Eastern Cape province for a gathering of what has been dubbed 11 Days of Amazing during the National Arts Festival. This year, the SBJF will reimagine what it means to keep the flame of culture and community, creativity and celebration alive during challenging times by embracing the requirement to be socially distanced, but culturally connected. I caught up with the Festival's Director Alan Webster to take us through what will happen at this inaugural virtual event...