music by mwarv

A Gospel According to Jazz

Rarely does one have the privilege of being in the presence of unashamedly God-worshipping musicians who have mastered their craft, won countless awards and accolades, toured the world, mentored other musicians to greatness, and still express themselves in a down-to-earth way that speaks humility at all levels. Mine was last Thursday as I soaked in Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, Gerald Albright, Shelea, Kevin Whalum and John Stoddart perform alongside Kenya’s AfroSync Band.

This was part of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival, at A Gospel According to Jazz concert at Carnivore Gardens, Nairobi.

AfroSync Band was picked from a pool of over 40 bands to be the opening act. Once they got on stage and started playing, we had no doubts they were the best pick.

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MacKinlay Musembi donned a Kenyan scarf on his trumpet, leaving no mistake where his heart is.

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George Mutinda was on percussion and had much fun expressing his passion.

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Uledi Dzidze.

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MacKinlay Musembi.

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Tim Riungu on sax.

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Zach Amunga was on keys. The low position I had while shooting and his placement on stage didn’t allow me to get a good shot of him playing.

After a short break, the main acts got on stage and all of a sudden, we found ourselves in church.

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John Stoddart was brilliant on keys. At one point, he played us the song he sung to his wife on their wedding day!

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Gerald Albright.

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Kirk Whalum.

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Norman Brown.

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Kevin Whalum and Shelea.

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One of the highlights of the concert was when Kevin Whalum sang about loving God in child-like way, using words that though incomprehensible are a genuine expression of love.

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Kirk teared up when he spoke about the mass shootings that have rocked the US. We’re praying with you Kirk.

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Many of us didn’t know until she told us: Shelea was on the ‘Jumping the Broom’ soundtrack!

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We were approximately 2,000 people in attendance and everyone had fun.

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This was definitely several notches above the last Safaricom Jazz concert in February. At this pace, I’m already looking forward to the next one.

You can view more photos here.

1 thought on “A Gospel According to Jazz”

  1. One of the best concerts i have attend. Sound, Ambience, and experience amaaaazing. Thank you for sharing the story with your pictures.

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