Offshore was formed in early 2004 and has provided a creative space for some of the top musicians from the Garden Route in collaborations deeply based in the jazz tradition and, in line with that tradition, always open to exploration into fusions with other genres, particularly world music, funk and reggae.

The ensemble has carved out a niche on the Garden Route, collaborating with visiting musicians such as Chris Tokalon, New York saxophonist Sam Thomas and leading interpreter of Thelonius Monk, Gary Wittner.

In late 2006 the trio began a musical relationship with the masterful classical and jazz guitarist Jonathan Crossley culminating in a recording with Crossley in April 2007 as the rhythm section on the critically acclaimed album Funk for the Shaolin Monk.

In 2007 a series of local gigs with saxophonist extraordinaire, Buddy Wells and world-renowned trumpeter Marcus Wyatt exposed a natural resonance that led to the recording of the band's second album - Incident. The album receives airplay on national jazz radio shows and has created quite a stir, with articles in the Weekend Argus and Classic Feel magazine among others, despite the fact that it is only distributed at gigs. The extended ensemble was proud to perform at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2008 and gave a sell-out performance at the 2009 Standard Bank Jazz Festival at Grahamstown which was enthusiastically praised in the CUE festival newspaper - "had Manfred Eicher been present with a recording desk ECM would have had an instant addition to their catalogue".

The trio also works with vocalists Wendy Oldfield - who moulds her soulful voice gracefully into the jazz genre - and Haydn Gardner - an exciting songbook interpreter in the style of Frank Sinatra.

The core ensemble comprises the following musicians:

Martin Wolfaardt - Piano
Paul Gibbings - Contrabass
Jonathan Sweetman - Drums