Rainbow Room jazzes up Cape Town

Hear great South African jazz in this cool basement venue at Mandela Rhodes

== The Rainbow room has unfortunately closed - read our overview of live jazz venues in Cape Town ==

During the past year, the Mandela Rhodes development downtown has taken the Mother City by storm. An impressive residency/hotel with shops and restaurants in the lobby, it also boasts an arts centre where South African writers, painters, sculptors, and musicians gather to learn and share. More importantly, it’s a space where they showcase their skills through exhibitions and performances.

We visited The Rainbow Room to dine on a tasty meal and listen to live jazz, for what turned out to be a great treat. The jazz club is spacious yet intimate with candle-lit tables and a shimmering stage. The club – a former wine cellar – is robed in black, but decorated with colourful paintings of heroes like Mandela, Tutu, and Makeba, all painted by means of handprints. Unique. And the vibe is appropriately chilled, as is the music.

Showcasing South Africa’s Talent

The Rainbow Room not only delivers top-flight performances by some of South Africa’s best bands, but also nurtures up-and-coming local talent. The Rainbow Academy provides a platform for young jazz performers to gain experience and critical exposure, in a safe but professional environment. Often, before the headline act comes on stage, younger talent get to show off their stuff for a bit. When we were there, we got to hear jazz students from the American International High School. They looked thrilled to play for us and we could tell they learned a lot during the process. And that’s the point. (This is going to be one of those places where future jazz stars say, “Yah, I got my first break at the Rainbow Room.”) 

The youngsters were followed by the brilliant band Offshore, featuring Buddy Wells. They were tops. The packed crowd of about 150–200 tapped their feet throughout. Many closed their eyes and just soaked it up. What we loved was how each musician seemed to be going his own random direction, but the band kept ending up at the same destination. That’s jazz. And it is compelling on so many levels.

As we nodded our heads to lekker grooves, we did so while lapping up tasty meals. For starters, I had the prawn and avo salad dressed in coriander, lime & sweet chilli. For mains, I enjoyed the butter chicken curry wrapped in roti, served with aloo jeera, cucumber raita and sambals. Then for desert I polished off a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream while sipping a smooth cappuccino.

Jazz and so much more

We like the Rainbow Room not only because we get to hear great jazz in a cool venue, but because we’re invited to contribute to the development of the next generation of local musicians. That’s awesome. And the folks at the Rainbow Experience take their empowering mission very seriously. 

So the colours of the rainbow shine a little brighter because of what happens in this little nook of Mandela Rhodes. But you should get a glimpse, and take a listen, for yourself. The Rainbow Room boasts a solid selection of performances every week.

Wednesdays and Fridays: The Cape Town Show tells the story of Cape Town from the beginning of time up until the present day, via music and dance.

Saturdays: Occasional mainstream jazz vocalists.

Headline performances start at 8pm while opening acts start at 7pm. For more information contact +27 (0)86  163 2121

Mandela Rhodes Place | 23 Church Street | Corner of Wale & Burg Street | Cape Town

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