Afro-jazz seems to occupy a special place in the souls of a good number of Nairobi jazz fans.
And as it were, this music was offered in plenty to the audience during the inaugural monthly Safaricom Jazz Night at Hotel InterContinental’s pool-side pub two Thursdays ago.
Two of the three groups featured, Shamsi Music and Nairobi Horns Project, were spot-on in delivering the heavily rhythmic and groovy tunes, whereas one, Mwai and The Truth featured mostly pop and rock inspired jazz. These bands were selected to showcase some of Kenya’s best jazz performers. Also, it’s a prelude to the forthcoming Safaricom Jazz Lounge, which has been slated for August 12.
So it was a delightful revelation when the youthful five-piece Shamsi band (their sixth member, also a saxophonist, was not present) started to play their first song, Dik Dik, which showcased Ken Njoro, the keyboardist and arranger, alongside the other members, most notably the guitarist.
The second song, a local popular gospel tune Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe, was performed as an acapella (vocals only) but as an interlude to another Afro-jazz piece.
Shamsi Music is a highly-energised modern jazz group that is led by the tall, spectacle-wearing alto saxophonist Laka Nyagah. The band also played Birds of Paradise, an instant hit with the audience because of its groove and arrangements. Laka took an impressive solo on his horn, so did the drummer Ken Njoroge, keyboardist Paul Mbithi, bassist Mike Munene, and guitarist Immanuel Mohol.
Two members of the band who deserve some special mention are the drummer and bassist—the anchors of the band. Their youthful age isn’t no handicap that would deny them some interesting musical insights that are, in most situations, rare among musicians of their generation.
Shamsi have been performing as a band for almost two years now. I last watched them perform a year ago (August 2015) at the Michael Joseph Centre auditorium after qualifying for the Safaricom International Jazz Festival alongside other six bands that were selected to perform at the main concerts in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Keyboardist Lawrence Mwai, on the other hand, is not a new act in the Nairobi music scene. He has been performing at various entertainment spots for not less than 15 years. The initial days of his performances saw him pairing with alto saxophonist Chris Bitok. The two instrumentalists were quite popular among young smooth jazz fans and were also the in-demand entertainers at wedding ceremonies as well as corporate events.
But on Thursday he led a new-look line-up, a five-man band that features a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist. The band, unfortunately, though, played only cover versions of other popular American jazz groups. Mwai is a skilled keyboardist with really nice chops; his single-note runs are pristine and his chord work is uplifting. That said, and as stated earlier in this write-up, he has all what it takes to have by now recorded his own compositions and offer his creative works to the market. The time is now for him to take his playing to the next level. Otherwise, his will remain an interesting musical puzzle.
The final band to take the stage was the brass-laden Nairobi Horns Project. This newest group in Nairobi was real fun to watch and listen to. It features trombonist Victor Kinama, trumpeter Mackinlay Mutsembi, and saxophonist Rabai Mokua.
The band’s first song titled The Speech had the brass players perform harmonically in unison in a style inspired by American funk-jazz groups like the early Cool and The Gang, Brass Construction, Earth Wind and Fire, The Memphis Horns, and The Temptations, among others. Their funky-jazz sound was enhanced by the collective impressive funky and Afro beats that were offered by Amani Baya on drums and Kasiva (the only woman in the band) on assorted percussion instruments. The band also features a keyboardist, a bassist, and a guitarist.
The band played the stuff that most urban jazz fans in the late-1960s to mid-1990s the world over were hooked to. On that Thursday evening, some members of the audience just couldn’t resist the funky groove by these young musicians whom I think are in their mid-20s to mid-30s.
But I believe there’s a lot more work to be done by these musicians.
For instance, the horn players will need to sharpen up their harmonics as well as their individual tones. Also, their solos seem to be phrased on specific scales and chord structures that each one of them seems inclined to play whenever an opportunity offers itself. They’ll need also some extra woodshedding to enable them incorporate other formats and styles.
But, having highlighted some of those grey areas, it is important for these young instrumentalists to bear in mind that music is about feelings and let the creative impulses flow.
