If you haven’t heard of Breakfast Included – Jazz Band, you soon will.  Their tongue-in-cheek name belies the caliber of Jazz they play, and this quartet has its sights firmly set on the top.

The band was formed just over two years ago, in the under-ventilated dungeons of UCT’s College of Music’s A-level; and from small beginnings at their first Café Camissa gig, these four UCT music students have become a force to be reckoned with.

Always striving for a high level of professionalism often seen lacking in the Jazz world, they have appeared live over 350 times since their debut at the ’99 UCT Jazz Festival.

This high play-rate, combined with their study schedule, has resulted in Breakfast Included becoming an experienced professional band in a very short space of time.

Don’t let their young age fool you – as a headline article in Argus reads:  BREAKFAST’S NO BOY BAND!

Although they look like one; with an average age of just 21 – in an idiom almost solely dominated by established, older musicians, they won the coveted title of Best Band in the Western Cape (two years running ’00 & ’01) in the Old Mutual Jazz Encounters program, and have performed at the Davidoff International Vocal Jazz Festival with vocalist, Nonthutuzelo Puoane; an honour and show of confidence in the band’s abilities – (two of their members were then only 19 years of age.)

Breakfast Included has also played many other high profile gigs, sharing the stage with British band, Shakatak, opening for the Soweto String Quartet at a packed Appletiser Kirstenbosch Sundowner Concert, then the following year performing as the headline act.

Things were going so well at the end of 2000, the band went into the SABC Beach Road studios in January, and recorded a 10-track CD, and were lucky enough to acquire the services of Gavin Minter (production) and Richard Mitchell (engineering) who has worked with numerous artists (Dollar Brand, Moses Taiwa Mololekwa).

The CD has subsequently been released through South Africa, Europe and has recently been released on an International Compilation by the Passion Jazz record label.Launched at a packed-to-the-rafters Green Dolphin, the self-titled album is received extensive airplay on both P4 and Fine Music Radio.

Breakfast Included are: David Poole (saxophones), Jason Gien-Reolon (piano), Dominic Peters (acoustic Bass) and Shaun Michau (drums).