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The Soul of South Africa
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The Soul of South Africa:
The Music, Heritage and Wildlife of the Rainbow Nation
The Joy of Jazz Festival
September 21 - October 1, 2025
Join WBGO Host Lezlie Harrison and Wayne Winborne, Executive Director of The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University and WBGO's Jazz Ambassador and vibraphonist and four-time Grammy nominee Stefon Harris, on an adventure to South Africa and to attend the Joy of Jazz Festival.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu dubbed his beloved South Africa “the rainbow nation” because of its political, historical and ethnic diversity. WBGO’s Trip to South Africa will connect you with what Archbishop Tutu found so very compelling.
Your trip commences in Cape Town. There you’ll visit the Cape of Good Hope, savor the wines in Stellenbosch, take a cable car to the top of Table Mountain and enjoy the local Cape Malay cuisine. You’ll have a private jazz concert headlined by Stefon Harris, accompanied by leading South African musicians.
In Johannesburg experience the vibrant commercial capital with a thriving arts and music scene. You’ll walk the streets of Soweto - an incubator of the civil rights movement in South Africa, from where Nelson Mandela began his quest for freedom. Enjoy two nights at the 2025 Joy of Jazz Festival featuring renowned South African and International jazz musicians.
You’ll experience a few nights in the famous Pilanesberg Game Reserve, in a luxury lodge. While there you’ll have the opportunity to encounter the ‘Big 5’ (lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino) – picture taking only(!), on your daily safari drives with your professional ranger and tracker.
We hope you will join us on this memorable trip with Lezlie, Wayne and Stefon. And, since space is limited, we encourage you to make your reservation by reserving online.
What past travelers are saying:
“…A shout out to WBGO radio personality Lezlie Harrison, who traveled with us, and is the host of "Come Sunday." She not only entertained and charmed us with her beautiful jazz vocals, but it was her unrelenting wit and fashion sense that captured our hearts. Wayne Winborne, the executive director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University (Newark), was our musical director, who kept it live from his curated playlist to coordinating all the highly talented and intoxicating jazz musicians. We were intimately entertained with the fusion of South African jazz meets America….” - (Gilda, 2024 WBGO Member and South Africa traveler)
“…our trip was one of the best I’ve ever experienced…” - (Lester, 2024 WBGO Member and South Africa traveler)
Tour Highlights:
- Experience the culture and heritage of the ‘Rainbow Nation’.
- Entry tickets to two nights at the Joy of Jazz Festival in Johannesburg.
- Private jazz concert in Cape Town curated exclusively for WBGO with local South African musicians led by four-time Grammy nominee and vibraphonist Stefon Harris.
- Go on a safari adventure to spot the Big 5.
- Savor the cuisine and wines of South Africa.
- Visit the most south-western point of Africa and gaze out at the Atlantic from the top of Table Mountain.
Your Trip Hosts:
Lezlie Harrison: WBGO Host of Come Sunday
Lezlie Harrison, vocalist extraordinaire, is always in a state of development, always raising the bar higher, pushing the limits of her God-given vocal gift. As a vocalist, she is both bold and subtle in her approach to the music she loves. Her vulnerability attends to the fragile matters of our collective human experience, while her optimism inspires us to rise above any of life's tribulations, to rejoice. Whether taking on a classic Jazz tune, Blues, Gospel, Soul, tracks from the American Song Book, or an original composition, Ms. Harrison imbues each note, each line of a song with her very own styling and personalized delivery.
She carries that over to her regular spot on WBGO, the global leader in Jazz radio, where she is a regular curator and presenter, revealing the love and pride with which she regards America's music. A permanent fixture on the New York and global Jazz scene, Lezlie Harrison is among the three founding members of New York's world-renowned JAZZ GALLERY that includes the late Dale Fitzgerald and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
On occasion Lezlie lends her regal presence to the stage as an actress, bringing to those endeavors, the same organic sensibility that she brought to the runways and photo studios of Paris some years a back. A product of two contrasting communities -- New York and North Carolina, Lezlie Harrison has been shaped by both and educated by her global experience.
Wayne Winborne, Executive Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies & WBGO Jazz Ambassador
Wayne Winborne is the Executive Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University. He’s a jazz record producer with extensive relationships with artists and producers throughout the genre, an historian and advocate, as well as a respected lecturer about jazz. This past June Wayne travelled to South Africa where he met with musicians, producers, the regional minister for arts and culture. In partnership with the Mayor of Cape Town, he is planning a series of joint programs and cultural exchanges. Mr. Winborne brings his passion, knowledge and relationships about and within the South African music and cultural scene to share with those traveling on the WBGO Joy of Jazz trip.
Stefon Harris, Musician and Grammy-nominee/ Educator / Developer / Thought Leader
Stefon Harris is a four-time Grammy-nominated jazz vibraphonist, educator, app developer, and thought leader. He has been heralded as one of the most important artists in jazz” (Los Angeles Times) and is a recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award and the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center. He has been named Best Mallet Player eight times by the Jazz Journalist Association and Best Vibes Player in DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll. Harris currently tours with his Grammy-nominated band, Blackout, and has released eleven albums as a leader.
He has also recorded and performed with The Classical Jazz Quartet, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, the SFJAZZ Collective, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Max Roach, Chaka Khan, Kurt Elling, Buster Williams, Dianne Reeves, Common, and Pablo Zeigler.
Along with performing, Harris has taught at universities throughout the world, led curriculum development at the Brubeck Institute, served as a part of the jazz faculty at New York University, and formerly served as the Associate Dean and Director of Jazz Arts at Manhattan School of Music. He is currently Artistic Advisor of Jazz Education at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and is a tenured Associate Professor of Music at Rutgers University – Newark.
In 2013, he founded The Melodic Progression Institute (MPI) and created a revolutionary ear training app called Harmony Cloud which is widely used by musicians across multiple genres. As a thought leader, Harris leads transformative presentations on corporate leadership and team empowerment for Fortune 100 companies using jazz as a metaphor. His 2012 TED Talk, There Are No Mistakes on the Bandstand,” has gained nearly 900,000 views. Through these presentations, Harris and his band are committed to the proliferation of empathy through the arts and empowering others with the necessary tools to articulate their authentic voices through music.