Famous Jozi jazz club The Orbit to close its doors

It is a sad day for live jazz music lovers in Johannesburg with The Orbit in Braamfontein announcing that it is closing.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of The Orbit Live Music and Bistro. We have unfortunately not been able to overcome the financial constraints that we have found with running a live music venue like The Orbit,” the club said on Thursday.

The club opened its doors in March 2014.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their dedication and service, without whom The Orbit would not have been possible. Many of them have been with the venue since the beginning and have added their own characters to the character of the business.”

The Orbit hopes audiences will continue “embracing creativity and live music wherever they may find themselves”.

“I would like to thank all the musicians who have performed on our stage, for baring their soul to us all and for giving us world-class performances five to six days a week for almost five years. We are truly blessed with extremely good talent in the country and continent and hope that musicians will find a space in society to continue their much-needed work.”

An online crowd funding campaign started in the hopes of raising R1m to save The Orbit only attracted R32,530.

It is unclear when the final curtain will fall on the club.