David Sanborn Delivers The Dream at the Safaricom International Jazz Festival

I have been attending the Safaricom International Jazz Festival ever since it launched in 2014 and I have to say that it has gotten better with each edition. The first one was headlined by the incredible Richard Bona and I remember how taken aback I was by the ambiane and the music; everthing just worked perfectly together. I hadn’t has the opportunity to attend festivals around the world and so was grateful that Safaricom was setting international standards right here. Since 2014, the festival has been graced by some of the biggest jazz musicians in the world including Branford Marseilles, Jonathan Butler, Salif Keita, Jimmy Dludlu and for the latest edition, David Sanborn.

I’ve talked incessantly about my love for David Sanborn to pretty much everyone that I talked to about the festival. I had promised to cry if he played, ‘The Dream” which is one of my favourites from him and on my if I ever get married wedding playlist. Already, the anticipation for Sunday had been building from Tuesday with the themed nights that were happening in different locations around Nairobi. Tuesday was African night at the Kenya National Theatre, Wednesday was UK night at The Alchemist and Israeli Night at Michael Joseph Centre, Thursday was Belgian Night at Michael Joseph Centre and Jam Session with David Sanborn at The Intercontinental Hotel, Friday was the VIP show at Kasarani, Saturday was the school’s show at Kasarani and the main show was on Sunday at Kasarani. Basically, it was a week of discovery, appreciation and collaboration and it was wonderful.

On D day, Sunday 26th February, I packed my picnic bag with home fries, cheese sandwiches, wine and cider and headed out with my sister for the Safaricom International Jazz Festival at Kasarani. There was traffic which was expected but getting in wasn’t too much of a hassle and I was appreicative of the thorough security. After settling somewhere near the front with my leso and picnic basket, I took in the sights. The setup was fantastic – the stage was great and I loved the decor. Other than the main tent where the stage was, there were tents by the various sponsors with my favourite being the Safaricom tent that was giving 1500 free airtime to 4G phone users and the Belgium tent that had plenty of chocolate on sale. There were also food and drinks tents for those who didn’t pack a picnic or wanted to top up on what they had.

The festival kicked off with a performance from Ghetto Classics, the beneficiaries of the festival, followed by Taxi Wars from Israel. Every performer on that stage brought their A game and it’s hard to say who was the best. I must mention though that the Kenyan bands, Mwai and the Truth, Nairobi Horns Project and Shamsi Music, really brought it! I especially loved the fusion of Kenyan traditional sounds with jazz from Shamsi Music and the covers of popular Kenyan pop and genge songs by Nairobi Horns Project. Other notable performances were Ray Lema from DRC who had a unique sound and Arun Ghoush from the UK whose performance was a wonderful collaborative effort with Nairobi Horns Project and Hussein Masimbi from Tanzania courtesy of the British Council’s East Africa Arts Programme. I also enjoyed The Hazelnuts who are an Israeli swing trio and award-winning South African pianist Bokani Dyer.

When David Sanborn finally got on the stage, the ambiance changed. We had been on our feet jamming to the various acts but this was something else. Everyone was on their feet but stood in silence to appreciate the force that is David Sanborn playing the saxophone. I was a little overwhelmed as I realized that this was a man whose music I had been listening to for years and here I was watching him perform live. He has won multiple grammys and has sold millions of albums worldwide and we were at a festival in Kenya he was playing at. He delivered a beautiful performance and we pretty much knew we were in the presence of greatness. When he finally played, ”The Dream”, I had one hand in the air and the other wiping the tears off of my face. Just as I had promised, I cried when he played it.

This was the best edition of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival and I can’t wait for the next one. Only thing that needs improving is the washrooms; they weren’t enough and the water ran out. Otherwise, the execution of the festival is top notch with the music and the setup getting better. It’s no wonder that the festival draws more crowds with every passing year. The Safaricom International Jazz Festival is proof that the jazz scene in Kenya is growing and is no longer for the wealthy and advanced in age. Even better, that there is room for Kenyan jazz bands to thrive in the Kenyan music industry.