It’s the melody that makes us whole

PUBLISHED: April 25, 2025 | www.baltimoresun.com

I went to South Africa to view the sights — Table Mountain, Robben Island — and couldn’t resist staying for the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

The festival started in 2000 as part of the North Sea Jazz Festival. It outgrew its first venue, the Good Hope Centre, which in those early years housed about 6,000 jazz fans. In order to give the event more space, it moved to the Cape Town International Convention Centre in 2004, where it has made its home ever since. Attendance steadily increased from 14,000 to 32,000 by 2009, making it the biggest jazz festival in Africa.

“Armstrong Williams, can I ask you to come up and say a few words?” said Dr. Iqbal Survé, a local and international business tycoon, close friend of mine and the organizer of the jazz festival, as he introduced me during a music and dinner event. Dr. Survé’s background is inspiring. He was Nelson Mandela’s personal physician. He built strong, internationally recognized businesses and today is the organizer and main funder of the festival. The festival is attended by ambassadors, dignitaries and businesspeople from across the world.

When I stepped up on the stage, I began with what felt most honest: “It’s such an honor coming from the United States, flying 14 hours to attend the jazz festival weekend.” I then got to the heart of the matter. “No matter the strife and the tension that sometimes exists between countries,” I said, “it is the people which are the greatest asset of all nations.”

I made sure to highlight the work of Dr. Survé. “Dr. Survé, who I have so much respect for, and his family continue, not because of, but in spite of, to build businesses, to build people, to build communities and support people where the government can’t.” His example, I highlighted, shows that “there’s only so much the government can do, but there’s no limit to the individual who believes in the free market system.”

Then I turned to a more personal note. “Enjoy your relationships, your family, your friends, your colleagues,” I urged, “because someday the good Lord is going to need them more than you. And you’ll find yourself with a spot that cannot be filled.” I pleaded with the audience to cast aside “the angst, the pettiness, the jealousy, or whatever river may divide you and embrace the greatest gift that God has given all of us. Mankind.”

As I closed, Dr. Survé quipped, “Would you like to run for president of South Africa?” The room erupted in laughter. It is moments like these, surrounded by melody, good food and loved ones which remind us why we travel, why we gather, and why, above all, we stay connected.

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.