The festival, which last year moved to the Sandton Convention Centre to accommodate its continued growth trajectory, attracts over 20 000 concert goers from across the globe, drawn by line-ups of South African, African and international jazz stars.

In addition, Standard Bank has partnered with Johannesburg’s leading live jazz venue, The Orbit, to present bi-monthly live concerts. The Standard Bank At The Orbit events will be curated by the venue.

Completing its live jazz sponsorship portfolio, is the longstanding Standard Bank Jazz at Grahamstown Festival, part of the National Arts Festival.

Standard Bank’s support of jazz extends into education, through the National Youth Jazz Festival and the National Youth Jazz Band; as well as career development with the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards, which for over 30 years have played a role in establishing and enhancing the careers of young artists.

The 2015 Young Artist for Jazz, Nduduzo Makhatini, will be performing at both the National Arts Festival and Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, as well as releasing his album later this year.

Hazel Chimhandamba, head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank explained the renewed commitment: "We are privileged to have been able to forge a close relationship with such an exciting and progressive genre of music – jazz."

"It’s inspiring to watch the incredible progress of musicians as they move from small stages through to massive concert venues and win the accolades of their peers. We hope the fingerprint we are leaving on jazz will continue to drive the genre."

The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival takes place from Thursday, 24 to Saturday, 26 September 2015 and the Standard Bank Jazz at Grahamstown Festival takes place from Thursday, 2 to Sunday, 12 July 2015. Standard Bank Young Artist 2014 Jazz winner Kyle Shepherd performs on Tuesday, 30 June at a Standard Bank At The Orbit session.

For more information, visit the Standard Bank Arts website. Alternatively, connect with Standard Bank Arts via Facebook and Twitter.