American Jazz Trio BWB To Headline Safaricom Jazz Festival February 2018

Safaricom Jazz Festival has been a fixture of the festival calendar in Kenya and rightly so, with an unparalleled music event that has seen some of the biggest jazz musicians from around the world including the late Hugh Masekela, David Sanborn, Jimmy Dludlu, Richard Bona and Salif Keita grace its stage. The festival has also introduced and given a stage to talented Kenyan jazz acts such as Edward Parseen and the Different Faces Band, Mwai & the Truth, Nairobi Horns Project, Shamsi Music and Afrosync Band.

Jazz has been thought of as an elite genre of music in Kenya, and that is why a festival like Safaricom Jazz matters. Its existence has made jazz music more accessible to the general public and given local jazz musicians the opportunity to play alongside internationally acclaimed jazz legends.

Safaricom Jazz Festival also has a social aspect to it, with all proceeds of the festival going towards Ghetto Classics, a music programme for underprivileged kids based in Korogocho. Safaricom has donated over KES 37 million from proceeds of the jazz festival since it was first held in February 2014, enabling the Art of Music Foundation to scale up its Ghetto Classics programme and expand it to Mombasa, with plans to branch out to Kisumu in the next year.

Over 1400 boys and girls aged below 18 years are benefitting from the programme, which is using the funds raised to purchase music instruments, provide training and finance basic needs such as school fees and shelter for the children and their families.

2018 marks 5 years since the Safaricom Jazz Festival began, which is quite a feat for any festival and Safaricom has not only managed to keep the festival going, but has been consistent in delivering a fantastic event.

Headlining Safaricom Jazz on Sunday 25th February at the Kasarani Training Grounds will be the highly acclaimed American jazz trio BWB, which is comprised of guitarist Norman Brown, saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun. While this will be Braun’s maiden visit to Kenya Grammy Award winners Whalum and Brown are no strangers to the jazz festival, having performed alongside Gerald Albright and Sheléa Frazier at the Safaricom Jazz Lounges in Nairobi and Mombasa in December 2016.

BWB is expected to perform a wide selection from its massively popular Human Nature album. The album was released in 2013 and earned the group great reviews for its adaptation and arrangement of some of pop legend Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, including eponymous track Human Nature, Billie Jean, Man in the Mirror and The Way You Make Me Feel, among others.

This year Safaricom Jazz hopes to raise a further KES 20 million for Ghetto Classics who will be performing alongside Jimek, a Polish composer and music producer known for his wildly popular History of Hip Hop composition. Fans can also expect electric performances from Kenyan favourites Mambo Tribe and Limericks, as well as The Betty Bears (Israel), Lean (Belgium), Joya Wendt (Germany) and Gloria Bosman (South Africa).

Tickets are already on sale and can be purchased through M-Ticketing by dialling 1511.

• Main show on 25^th February  – Ksh2,000/- for regular tickets and Ksh500/- for students who must show their student IDs.

• VIP show on 23^rd February – Ksh150,000 per table or Ksh10,000/- per person.