Light Years

Light Years represents the cutting-edge of musical excellence in the contemporary South African music arena. Founded by highly experienced pianist Avzal Ismail, the group has been developed into a special brand of service excellence. Their sole aim is to make an event a truly memorable one by providing the very best entertainment available.

The band made history by being the first Jazz group from South Africa to tour Eastern Europe, with appearances in Moscow, Prague, Gdynia, Warsaw and Budapest. Wherever they performed, they received considerable critical acclaim.

This truly world class group specializes in Smooth Jazz, both Modern and African. It also features a mainstream jazz, fusion, Latin / Afro-Cuban and dance repertoire capable of exceeding the demands of any event, function or concert environment.  Not only does the group’s repertoire cover a large range of contemporary and sophisticated styles, but Light Years is also particularly adept at handling background music of a more “complimentary” nature, where volume and ambience are a prime consideration. The band also, wherever possible, supply their own backline equipment at no additional cost.

The musicians who make up the group are all prime players in their field and have a vast range of experience in both the live, television and recording environment. They have featured with the likes of Vicky Sampson, Johnny Clegg, Mango Groove, Ritchie Cole, The Soweto String Quartet, Laurika Rauch, Chris De Burgh, Helmut Lotti, Andy Narrell and both the Johannesburg Festival and National Orchestras.

Each individual member of the group has also worked with numerous top international artists both in South Africa and abroad. Members of the band also formed part of the Jerry Springer Saturday Night house band.

Some of the band's notable clients include:

• Dimension Data
• Major Productions
• Hewlett-Packard  
• Hands On Productions
• The President's Cup Golf (Fancourt)  
• Siemens The Million Dollar Golf Tournament  
• Eskom
• The Altron Group  
• Lucent Technologies
• Afro-Arab Trade Affair  
• Musicon Productions
• Alpha Cement  
• ABSA
• The Events Company
• Nedbank
• 360 Degrees
• SCMB
• The Presidential Inauguration Banquet 
• Standard Bank
• Oracle  
• Toyota
• Freightliner Trucking
• Volkswagen
• The Mad Hatter
• Johannesburg Stock Exchange
• Microsoft SA  
• Vodacom
• British American Tobacco SA  
• The International Veterinary Science Ass.
• L'Oreal  
• World Summit for Sustainable Development
• The Mason Company
• Commonwealth Games - Malaysia 1998
• The Emperor's Palace  
• Tourism South Africa
• About Entertainment
• Entertainment Africa
• Shell  
• Engen