The Delft Big Band, under the musical directorship of Ian Smith, was launched in August 2008 as an initiative by the Department of Social Development, and NGO Cape Outdoor Adventure Service and Training ( COAST ). The objective of the project was to take youngsters off the gang-infested streets of Delft, one of the most violent suburbs on the Cape Flats, and give them a focus in life, in addition to enabling them to contribute to their household income. The band, consisting of 17 musicians and two vocalists, has developed into one of the most exciting big bands in South Africa, with many of the founder members now earning incomes as music teachers and professional musicians, as well as progressing to studies at the UCT College of Music.

Members of the band have undertaken two tours of Sweden, a tour of France, and performances at the Liverpool Brouhaha Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and the London Jazz Festival.

The Delft Big Band also performed at the 2015 Cape Town International Jazz Festival, one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind globally.

Hans Kennel is a different sort of trumpet player, one who hardly fits any mold. His style looks back, perhaps to the 1950s, yet the Swiss improviser also has performed with moderns such as Steve Lacy and Albert Mangelsdorff. His tone has a distinctly lyrical quality, a full sweetness that is accentuated by the tunes, which appear mostly improvised. On two pieces, he blows Alphorn, which sounds like a French horn. John Wolf Brennan is Kennel's partner on the 18 tracks, where he plays organ instead of his customary piano, and Marc Untern„hrer joins on a lovely tuba for four selections. At times, the going is a bit slow, to be sure, and with repetitive patterns, isolated notes, extended tones, and minimalist structures, this is far from the kind of innovative avant-garde offerings often appearing on the Leo label. Still, it is a different take, with Charles Ives, Erik Satie, and even a traditional 17th century "melody form Picardie," each contributing to the eclectic diversity of song. The remainder of the "compositions" are by Kennel and Brennan, with the mood distinctly backward looking through the lens of the present. ~ Steven Loewy