Jazz @ it's Best

Baaba Maal will tonight be performing first, at the Nairobi National Museum at an exclusive invite-only event, then there after head down to The Sarakasi Dome, Ngara to perform alongside our very own Eric Wainaina . Baaba Maal, an internationally renowned artist, is a Senegalese singer, guitarist and also known to play the percussion. Though Tuesday is not the best of days for an event of such stature it's definitely one you don't want to miss. See you there...

We're sorry to inform you that the highly anticipated Sierra Jazz Concert 2010 has been postponed from the proposed date, to Sunday, November 7th 2010.  The announcement from the organizers send out through Facebook read as follows: Dear Sierra Jazz Safari Supporter, We apologize that we will have to wait for the legendary Jazz Guitarist, Jonathan Butler a little longer. Sierra Jazz Safari 2010 has had to be postponed from the proposed date, to Sunday, November 7th 2010. This has occurred due to some unforeseen events beyond our control. However, the venue and time for the proposed event remain the same. We appreciate your continued support and apologize for any inconveniences caused. Ticket sales begin on the 10th day of October at Sierra Yaya Center. Sierra…Beyond Ordinary

As promised some of the exciting stuff I was hinting about are just around the corner I hope you'll get your ticket fast and easy to ensure you're part of these exciting events.....sign up it promises to be super exciting.. Safaricom Kenyan Classical Fusion Concert 2010 For the 2 nd Year running Safaricom Kenyan Classical Fusion Concert will be happening in the following days and venues are also indicated therein: Dates: Wednesday 22 nd September 2010 Venue:  Great Lake, Butterfly Pavilion (Haller Park), Mombasa For more Info: click here Dates: Friday 24 th September 2010 Venue: The Nairobi Arboretum For more Info: click here Dates: Sunday 26 th September 2010- The Kenyan Classical Fusion Grand Concert Venue: Impala Club Grounds, Nairobi For more Info: click here Featuring: Soweto String Quartet- award winning group from South Africa, Eric Wainaina, Rhoda Ondeng, The Kenya Conservatoire of Music, Nairobi Orchestra, Safaricom Choir, Nairobi Chamber Chorus, Strathmore ...

After a hiatus of a week or so….. I’m back ‘gun blazing’ and fired up. And, looks like this last quarter of the year has some pleasant surprises…  What am I talking about? Stay Tuned…. Now back to our review... ******** To describe this album some of descriptive words that come to mind are: generally mellow; soft; every note counts; feels like a series of interconnected tracks; instrumental with the exception of a few tracks with vocals. Bottom line: Exceptional. The CD features Pragmo N’Saiga on the Keys, who is also the lead in this album and finally you have TShaka ‘TSBR’ Mayanja on Bass Guitar providing the contextual or background sound. The tracks come with several sounds and beats to them but more predominately you’ll pick more of a soulful R&B sound, reggae (I guess this must be TShaka’s influence having had a career in the past in reggae) is also thrown in there and also Afro Cuban sound (Latin, Salsa, South American rhythms come to mind) particularly on the last ...

Oh …It’s been a while and I’m sorry for starving you (my very loyal fan) of some juicy notes on Jazz Music. So to pick up from where we left I kick off with a review of MTN Jazz Safari 2009. I just finished watching the amazing MTN Jazz Safari of 2009 on DVD, thanks a million to TShaka Mayanja. This is certainly a great piece of work, professionally recorded despite all the inherent issues that accompany a live performance recording. The team behind it did a superb job in capturing the experience and energy of the whole concert in a recorded media- DVD Disc. All this took place, live, on the 8 th October 2009 at the Kampala Serena Hotel (Victoria Ballroom), Uganda. On Stage you had Chuck Loeb (Guitar), Eric Marienthal (Sax), Oscar Seaton (Drums), Matt Cooper (Piano), TShaka Mayanja (Bass Guitar), Pragmo (Keyboard/Synths), Wakake Otieno (Percussions) and Steve Oundo (Vocals) The DVD features original recordings by Eric Marienthal and Chuck Loeb. That apparently were the first they wer...

On the evening of the 17 th July 2010 I went down to the Goethe-Institut, in downtown Nairobi, for the highly publicized show titled Karibuni Windhund , featuring Windhund, an Austrian Band.   Windhund which features Otto Lechner playing the accordion, Melissa Coleman on the cello and Karl Ritter on the guitar and is greatly known for their improvised music which explores different culture and sound-worlds. Without much ado, after the pleasantries of welcoming everyone and brief bio on the group, the show kicked off with the Windhund Trio first, doing a composition and then thereafter treated us all to an hour or so of pure improvised music. To capture the scene for you in words: We witnessed and experienced instances where one (from the trio) would provide the lead and the others picking on it or backing him/her to produce amazing music. In another instance you had the artists going off on each other, trying to outdo the other; it was improvisation at its best. Also at dis...

I stumbled upon an article authored by one TShaka Mayanja (Bassist to the Band- BlackRoots Unlimited from Uganda) in the one of Uganda’s Dailies which in a sense validated some of the issues that I raised in a past blog. The article seeks to answer the following answers: Is Jazz music for the elite, “wannabe”, show-offs and the rich? What are the origins of the genre? What constitutes Jazz music? How is Jazz marketed in Uganda? TShaka (Pictured on the Left) kicks off by arguing that the high pricing of the various Jazz Concerts organized tend to attract only those that can afford (who are not necessarily Jazz fans) and there by marginalizing real Jazz fans that would love to attend but cannot afford. He then gives a short and enlightening history of Jazz. He defines the genre -Jazz music- or what constitutes Jazz music. He goes further and outlines the various sub-genres that are within the larger Jazz music. He also argues that a majority of the concerts or shows...