Celebrate International Jazz Day April 30th with the Kenyan Edition of Safaricom Jazz

International Jazz Day takes place on 30th April and this year, Safaricom will be celebrating the day with a Kenyan Edition Safaricom Jazz concert at the Carnivore Grounds.

The concert, dubbed Kenyan Jazz All Stars Edition, will open the 2017-2018 season of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival and will be headlined by a stellar line-up of Kenyan jazz musicians including: Nairobi Horns Project, Shamsi Music, Mwai & The Truth, AfroSync, Edward Parseen and The Different Faces, Jacob Asiyo & Kavutha Mwanzia-Asiyo, James Gogo, Juma Tutu, Eddie Grey and Chris Bittok.

“We’re excited to be marking the 5^th anniversary of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival, and we feel there is no better way to begin celebrating this milestone by kicking off with an afternoon of great performances by some of Kenya’s most well known and loved jazz artists,” said Bob Collymore, CEO – Safaricom.

Also performing at the Sunday afternoon show will be Ghetto Classics, who are quickly making a name for themselves as some of Kenya’s most musically gifted youngsters.

“Working with Ghetto Classics has really opened our eyes to the power of music, and the funds raised through the jazz festivals over the years are helping us transform over 900 young lives in Nairobi and Mombasa. This year we’re handing over a cheque of Kshs 17 million to the programme, up from Kshs 12 million raised during the 2015-2016 edition,” said Mr. Collymore.

Safaricom has been supporting the not-for-profit programme, which equips young boys and girls from underprivileged backgrounds with music skills, since 2014. Ghetto Classics is run by the Art of Music Foundation and has steadily increased its reach since its beginnings in a small church compound in Korogocho, benefitting from Kshs 37 million raised through the jazz festival over the last four years.

Over 10,000 music fans attended the week-long celebrations held as part of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival in February this year, including the themed nights, VIP and schools shows, and the main event.

“It’s an honour to share a stage with Kenyan jazz artists and international greats and to get the opportunity to play in front of such large crowds. This jazz festival is creating opportunities for us to prove that there is great local jazz talent and contributing to the growth of jazz in Kenya,” said Shamsi Music drummer, Kenn Njoroge.

“We’re looking forward to performing on International Jazz Day because we get a chance to celebrate jazz as a universal force for peace, change and unity. We will be paying tribute to the likes of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and John Coltrane who used Jazz as music for social change,” said Mr. Njoroge.

Tickets to the event are available at The Michael Joseph Centre, Safaricom shops and via M-Ticketing by dialing 1511.