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Jazz festival to feature Kenyan artiste Christine

Friday February 17 2017
krist

Christine Kamau plays both the trumpet and saxophone. PHOTO | FILE

The Kigali Jazz Junction, which was initiated in 2015 to celebrate jazz music in the country, will this month feature Kenyan artiste Christine Kamau in a live show.

The multi-instrumentalist, who plays both the trumpet and saxophone, will perform on February 24 at the Kigali Serena Hotel.

The event has previously featured Ugandan and Rwandan artistes. The festival introduces jazz to a cosmopolitan audience in Kigali.

Christine’s performance will be the first for a Kenyan in the Kigali Jazz Junction.

“We wanted to start off small but now people know that we are offering a good quality event. Because our audience is diverse we want to feature as many talents from across the continent as we can,” said Remmygious Lubega, the event’s executive producer.

Other artistes that will perform in this event are Rwanda’s Neptunez Band and vocalist Rosette.

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Christine has performed in many live performances in Nairobi, backed by her three-man band, which comprises talented instrumentalists Johnson Omonije (keyboard player), Ted Mwangi (bass guitarist) and Charles Obuya (percussionist).

Christine’s debut album titled This is For You was produced in 2012, by Romeo Kouemeni, a Cameroonian music producer. Her songs are a blend of benga and rhumba, which comes through in live performances.

Christine has performed in various local and international live events, such as the 2012 Sierra Jazz Festival, Blankets and Wine (which is a monthly event held in Nairobi, Kenya), Jazz Under the Stars Festival, the 2014 Safaricom International Jazz festival (Rising Stars Edition).

In a bid to share her passion, Christine has started initiatives like the Women in Music Forum, a platform she founded a few years ago. The Women in Music Forum links professional and experienced female musicians with up-and-coming women musicians through mentorship workshops and live events.

The Kigali Jazz Junction first featured the Neptunez Band, who are behind this event. Some of the local artistes that have performed in the event are Mani Martin, Herbert Rock, Lilian Mbabazi, Elion Victory and Gabiro Gilbert.

Some of the regional and international guests that have performed in the event are Uganda’s Marsha Davids, MoRoots, Steven Kigozi, Myco Ouma, Maurice Kirya and Cindy Sanyu. Others are Ibrahim Tamfum from DR Congo, Chile’s guitarist Tito Al Uribe and Barbra Bannette from America.