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      Shamsi Music Sophmore Album: Afrosynthesis

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Jazz Symphonic

  • Home
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  • Review
    • Review

      Jack Muguna: Journey of the Soul

      April 20, 2021

      Review

      Geco Café: Slithering with good vibes in Nairobi

      February 18, 2021

      Review

      How to work with producers in Kenya by…

      February 26, 2020

      Review

      The Love Zone Thrills fans on Valentine’s Day

      February 21, 2020

      Review

      Shamsi Music Sophmore Album: Afrosynthesis

      February 6, 2020

  • Events
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      Nairobi Music Society and Nairobi Orchestra Love; Liberty…

      May 4, 2022

      Events

      Beneath the Baobabs Live: A Kenyan live music…

      April 5, 2022

      Events

      Down memory lane: An Evening Remembering Whitney Houston

      December 2, 2021

      Events

      Nairobi Orchestra Returns! at Kenya National Theatre

      July 2, 2021

      Events

      An Evening Celebrating Stevie Wonder in Nairobi

      June 10, 2021

  • Artist Spotlight
    • Artist Spotlight

      Ngewa: Kasiva Mutua rhythmical tales on percussion

      April 26, 2022

      Artist Spotlight

      Herbie Tsoaeli Spiritual Dialogues: At This Point in…

      December 10, 2021

      Artist Spotlight

      Sage Chemutai: Love is all we need

      April 26, 2021

      Artist Spotlight

      Jack Muguna: Journey of the Soul

      April 20, 2021

      Artist Spotlight

      WYNTON MARSALIS interactive session with Kenyan artists: Mythology…

      November 26, 2020

  • Classical Music
    • Classical Music

      Nairobi Music Society and Nairobi Orchestra Love; Liberty…

      May 4, 2022

      Classical Music

      Nairobi Orchestra Returns! at Kenya National Theatre

      July 2, 2021

      Classical Music

      A Kenyan Opera: Nyanga The Runaway Grandmother

      November 17, 2020

      Classical Music

      Beethoven 250 Years on, A Spirited awakening in…

      September 25, 2020

      Classical Music

      David Ralak: A visionary pioneering figure with great…

      June 16, 2020

  • Jazz
    • All Jazz Opinions Jazz Spotlight My Afro Jazz
      Artist Spotlight

      Pilani Bubu: Jazz Breaks Me Open. Songs from…

      April 29, 2020

      Jazz Opinions

      CoronaVirus: Kenyan Artists in a time of a…

      March 19, 2020

      Jazz Spotlight

      How to work with producers in Kenya by…

      February 26, 2020

      Jazz Spotlight

      Shamsi Music Sophmore Album: Afrosynthesis

      February 6, 2020

      Jazz Opinions

      CoronaVirus: Kenyan Artists in a time of a…

      March 19, 2020

      Jazz Opinions

      Experience Nairobi Horns Project Debut Album – Black…

      July 18, 2019

      Jazz Opinions

      Artists from the coast revolutionizing Nairobi’s Jazz scene

      April 9, 2019

      Jazz Opinions

      Jazz in Kenya: A beginner’s guide to artists…

      February 26, 2019

      Jazz Spotlight

      Pilani Bubu: Jazz Breaks Me Open. Songs from…

      April 29, 2020

      Jazz Spotlight

      How to work with producers in Kenya by…

      February 26, 2020

      Jazz Spotlight

      Shamsi Music Sophmore Album: Afrosynthesis

      February 6, 2020

      Jazz Spotlight

      ALBUM REVIEW: MAIA AND THE BIG SKY

      September 26, 2019

      My Afro Jazz

      Dan Aceda, Juma Tutu to Grace Ricky na…

      November 17, 2015

      My Afro Jazz

      Eric Wainaina Thrills fans at An Evening of…

      August 31, 2015

      My Afro Jazz

      You can’t Miss An Evening Of Afro Jazz…

      August 20, 2015

EventsReview

Review: Joss Stone Total World Tour in Kenya

by Maureen Shelmith December 1, 2016
written by Maureen Shelmith December 1, 2016

There is always that one event that happens in the downpour, it so happened to be one of the most anticipated events of the year, Joss Stone was live in Nairobi Purdy Arms as part of the total world touur events.

Kaya Collective on stage

Kaya Collective on stage

The heavy rains didn’t stop avid music lovers from flocking the Purdy Arms for a night of good soul music.  Starting off the show was Kaya Collective. They are a band that combine percussions, brass and vocals to create a unique musical experience. The band performed most of their songs purely on improvisation, creating a unique live set that made you ogle at their musical ingenuity of fusing a little bit of reggae, rock, jazz and some afro punk.

Kaya Collective is made up of Ronjey on drums whose strength was to bring out dynamism and rhythm, Samuel Baluka on bass, Lebanese duo Charif and Fouad on lead and rhythm guitar respectively. The horns section is comprised of Dennis Maley, Jackson and Joel Watatua. Mathew Swallow hold it down on vocals.

Labdi Ommes

Labdi Ommes

Labdi Ommes was the second act to grace the stage. Her music authenticity and ability to evoke an imaginary journey towards Kisumu Dala (popular Kenyan word referring to the Nyanza Region countryside). Her music was characterized with a blend of traditional rhythms with her orutu – a single stringed fiddle from the Nyanza Region of Kenya, and modern style of music.

Tetu Shani

Tetu Shani

Tetu Shani a self-taught guitarist gave us a dose of his mood music. He was able to shake off the cold from most of the audience members who were seated, cuddled together to generate some heat. We all got up and danced to great music such as cheerio koko and six degrees, despite hitches from the light engineering system that kept going on and off, it didn’t dim off our enthusiasm to dance and sing along with Tetu Shani.

Iddi Aziz

Iddi Aziz

Various Kenyan acts such as Iddi Aziz and Swiga performed as well.

Joss Stone on stage at the Purdy Arms

Joss Stone on stage at the Purdy Arms

The free spirited Joss Stone was togged out in a pink floral dress, barefooted with a wide grin on her face. Everyone stood in honor of the amazing lady. We stood on stools, others got lifted by their significant other’s shoulder just to get a good view. With such great effort to just have a perfect shot of her on stage, the most unimaginable thing happened,  the sound was off! Angry fans at the back  yelled out for her to stop as we looked at the sound technicians to save us from the situation,  luckily after a 1-minute ordel, we could all sing along with her.

The purdy arms gardens was packed. Most of the audience members were white Kenyan citizens, and at some point this shocked Joss Stone, she stopped to pose a comment, “I thought I was in Africa?” However, music knows no boundaries it is a unifying factor, we all swayed along to her songs. She served us with a generous amount of reggae hit songs from her latest album- water for your soul. As well as doing a Dhaluo song with renowned Kenyan Producer and songwriter, Winyo.

Joss ended the show with ‘Right to be wrong’,  which she mentioned has become a ritual – as, it is meant to make up for all the notes she sung off- key. When she tried to finish her song with the line, “so just leave me alone”, the audience members backed her up with the line “never” to do so.

She crowned the night by handing the audience members with sunflowers as a symbol of appreciating her music.

Light technician sorting out the situation

Light technician sorting out the situation

It was a beautiful night that was marred with bad sound and lighting, which was a disappointment, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the show.

 

 

 

 

 

cold-drinks-wont-hurt-at-all-in-this-cold

Horns Section for Kaya Collective

Horns Section for Kaya Collective

Labdi Ommes

Labdi Ommes

Kenyanpoet- Njeri Wangari

Kenyanpoet- Njeri Wangari

No Lights bu the phones shone bright in the darkness

No Lights but the phones shone bright in the darkness

Matthew Swallow of Kaya collective

Matthew Swallow of Kaya collective

Winyo

Winyo

Yay! Thank goodness we made it

Yay! Thank goodness we made it

Image Credits: Quaint Photography

Bad MamboIddi AzizJazz ReggaeJoel WatatuaJohn Udulele.Joss StoneKaya CollectiveKenyaLabdi OmmesMatthew SwallowNjeri WangariOrutuPurdy ArmsRaymond Dennis MalesySamuel MbalukaTetu ShaniTotal World TourTrina MungaiWater For your soulWinyo
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About Me

About Me

Maureen Shelmith

My mission here is to take you on a Kenyan musical journey that is exceptional.

Featured Posts

  • Herbie Tsoaeli Spiritual Dialogues: At This Point in Time

    December 10, 2021
  • Sage Chemutai: Love is all we need

    April 26, 2021
  • Geco Café: Slithering with good vibes in Nairobi

    February 18, 2021
  • WYNTON MARSALIS interactive session with Kenyan artists: Mythology of Jazz, improvisation and creativity

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  • A Kenyan Opera: Nyanga The Runaway Grandmother

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