When artist Benjamin Jephta steps onto the stage at this year's Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF), it won't be just another gig.
It'll be the return to a body of work, to a city that shaped the bassist and composer, and to a place that long served as a creative crossroads for artists from across the world.
"The festival has become this meeting place and, in a sense, a watering hole where all these artists come together," says Jephta. "Some of the artists we know from online - it’s such a global world - and then we actually meet face-to-face.
"Sometimes we hang out, we say, I'm coming to your show,' we share music and ideas.
"We locals show them the city, we take them out. It's just this really cool meeting place of music, and we get inspired by each other."
The CTIJF is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
This year, Jephta returns with Kujenga, a dynamic Cape Town-based band, to perform a reimagined version of Homecoming, his debut album from 2015.
"I released Homecoming 10 years ago," he explains. "Now, we're revisiting the music in a new format. We went to the studio to rerecord and reimagine it - the plan is to release it later this year."
The collaboration with Kujenga brings a fresh energy to the music, but the link runs deeper than just musical chemistry.
"When I created that music ten years ago, it was really about making jazz more accessible to young people, and that's essentially what Kujenga is doing with their music - they're making jazz exciting and relatable for a new generation," says Jephta.
"If you listen to them, they're heavily inspired by that sound. So, I thought it was fitting we do this together."
His connection to the festival goes way back - not just as a performer, but as a teenager attending the festival during his high school years.
As a young and in-demand bassist, he started performing with various bands at the festival, always involved in some way or another.
His first major appearance came in 2015 when he played at the festival under his own name, though he had previously performed with his college band at the annual free concert on Green Market Square.
"I've been attending since I was in high school. I always left feeling inspired by all these local and international acts - specifically musicians we have been listening to - and then we'd see them in real life," he says.
"I remember nerding out and going crazy with my college friends while watching Snarky Puppy perform live at the festival. We were big fans, and we were singing the songs word for word."
He has also rubbed shoulders and struck up relationships with some legends in the jazz industry.
He recalled sitting backstage with legends like Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade.
"It was mind-blowing and nothing short of amazing. These are people you study in jazz history. You don't expect to ever meet the people and see them play. So it really takes the music out of the textbook or out of the speakers, and you see it in real life."
Years later, while studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, Jephta ended up being taught by Patitucci.
"I just had a full circle moment. That was amazing," he says.
From his roots in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, where his music was woven into the fabric of his upbringing, Jephta's journey into music began early.
"My dad was a singer in a Top 40 cover band, and he was also a worship leader in our church. He also played the bass."
His parents also exposed him to various cultural events, concerts, plays and more - sparking his early love for the arts.
His sister, a film-maker and playwright, was also part of his creative environment.
He fondly remembers his Muizenberg High School music teacher at school, Fred Kuit, who played a pivotal role in taking his musical journey to the next level.
After high school, Jephta studied at the College of Music, UCT, and after graduating, he moved to Johannesburg, where he is now based.
He later completed a Master's degree in Jazz at Berklee and spent time living and working in New York.
Back home, he currently lectures at Wits School of Arts and has become an integral part of the local music industry, working as a jazz musician, session bassist, musical director, and composer for TV and film.