Jazz might be regarded as the epitome of creativity in the music industry but festivals are proving to be the genre's lifeline. Ahead of next week's 10-day Standard Bank Grahamstown Jazz Festival - part of the National Arts Festival - artists say that the lack of jazz clubs across the country is a problem.Jazz festival director Alan Webster said there were not enough venues at which artists could perform."Jazz in South Africa is interesting and cutting edge. The difficulty is with venues. There is a lack of institutional support for jazz in this country. Almost no South African artist can make a living just off jazz," Webster said.The National Arts Festival has run for 24 years, making it South Africa's oldest.It is also the world's second-biggest arts festival.Put down the champers, here's the problem with the SABC 90% rule...There's been a lot of hoopla around the SABC's announcement last month that radio stations across its platforms would be enforcing a 90% music quota. Webster said the Grahamstown festival was the "barometer of jazz". But local artists say that although the genre is dynamic, survival is difficult.Carlo Mombelli, one of South Africa's foremost jazz musicians, said musicians had to fund themselves."Surviving as a creative artist means having places to perform at and having an audience to support that. Record labels are less supportive of the new wave [of jazz artists]. New artists end up paying for their own recordings."Mombelli said although there were funding opportunities from the SA Music Rights Organisation and promoters such as Concerts SA, there was very little funding for new artists from the SA National Arts Council.Siya Makuzeni, winner of the 2016 Standard Bank Young Artist award for jazz, said that to survive in the music industry she had to run her "own show" as an independent musician.Although they have few venues to perform at, artists are optimistic about South African jazz.Everything you need to know about US music legend Steve Tyrell's SA tourGrammy award-winning US jazz maestros, Steve Tyrell & Diane Schuur are heading to South Africa for a short tour in September. Mombelli said: "There is a new young breed of innovative jazz musicians giving inspiration to the older, more experienced jazz musicians. The mix of the two is amazing."Jazz musician Nomfundo Xaluva said the new wave of jazz was breaking down the stereotype that the genre was exclusively for a particular age or class of aficionado.But she said jazz would not be able to thrive without local festivals."We've taken the baton from the jazz legends. South Africa has a definitive jazz sound that people around the world are hungry for," Xaluva said...