Jon Williams at Weekenz

Just in time for Easter, multi-instrumentalist and producer
Jon Williams brings his inspired and inspirational
stylings to the Weekenz Bistro and Bar in Kingston
Sunday, March 27, beginnign at 7:00p.m. J$800.00
pre-sold; $1000 at the gate email
weekenz@cwjamaica.com for other details

Jazzofonik Live

The Jazzofonik X-perience Live comes to Kingston lounge
the Deck, beginning Wednesday, May 25. watch this space
for artist roster as well as for news on Jazzofonik Mondayz
at Weekenz Bistro.

in the meantime, the Jazzofonik X-perience continues the
jazz spin at the Deck each Wednesday, at the Deck, with
the best in recorded jazz, the blues and beyond by
Mikey Blu, Chiggy and Michael 'My Way" Williams
email bluriter@yahoo.com for details

Violin Trio

A budding master on the violin with an affinity for
Latin as well as roots reggae and other Caribbean
sounds, Kingsley de Passe leads a sprightly trio,
supported by cousin Andrew on percussion and Robert
Grant on keyboards. The group has two regular gigs at
present, appearing every Saturday through the month
of March at D' Roof Restaurant & Lounge, and a
regular Monday night gig- focussing on Brazilian
selections atthe Hilton Kingston poolside.

Ocho Rios jazz line up

Just peeped the lineup for 2005 (15th Anniversary) Ocho Rios jazz festival. Amongthe new faces this year is altoist Ruddresh Mahantappa, who was subject of recent feature in jazz Times magazine (www.jazztimes.com)

returning are tenor man Eric Alexnader, whose new album Dead Centre, is figuring at or near the top of several jazz charts, veteran Houston Person and one of the finds from last year, NYC vocalist and pocket trumpet act Ginetta's Vendetta

CD Recommendations

The following have recently (over the last 8-10 weeks)
come into my possession and are highly recommended:

Lea Delaria - Double Standards (Telarc);
Dave Holland Big Band - overtime (Dare2 Records);
Caribbean Jazz Project - Here & Now Live in Concert
(Concord Jazz ) - this is a 2-disc set;

Jason Moran - Same Mother (Blue Note)

Sakesho- We Want You To Say..... (Heads Up)

Ravi Coltrane - In Flux (Savoy Jazz)

Telarc - www.telarc.com;
Dare2records - www.sunnysiderecords.com;
Concord jazz - www.concordjazz.com
Blue Note - www.bluenote.com;
heads Up - www.headsup.com

Smithsonian Jazz

The link for Jazz Appreciation Month is smithsonianjazz.org.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month [US]

The Smithsonian Institute is for
the fourth year, earmarking April as
Jazz Appreciation Month. legendary
pianist Herbie Hancock spoke at the
recent official launch. A number
of activities, including concerts,
are planned throughout the
period

Locally, June is the traditonal
Jazz Month, withthe annual Ocho
Rios International jazz fest
taking up the Father's Day week
(second week in June, 11-19)
with auxilliary activities in
Kingston and the South Coast.

Go to www.ochoriosjazz.com for more
on this fest, and see www.smithsonian.org and
click on Smithsonian Jazz for details
on Jazz Appreciation

Jazz on the Green review

After the largely jazz-free Air Jamaica
jazz and Blues festival (mostly blues-free too)
its a delightto attend a show that offered a
huge helping of jazz from a variety of artists -
and a smattering of (well played) blues.
Put on by Rotary Club at the upscale home of
one of its members- the well attended, well-organized
event saw some greta performances from saxophonists
Ian and Errol Hird, multi--instrumentalist (and vocalist) Barabra Cadet,
keyboardist Kathy Brown and guitar maestro Ernie Ranglin -
not to mention "pure" singers karen Smith and Sabrina Williams

and the various supporting musicians (Jon Williams, Rupert
bent Sr., Sherwayne Thompson, Dale Brown and Deleon White)

the blues was also represented by mark Pritchett,
showing his best form since he made the move to Jamaica
Print/marketing boss mark was ontime guitarist for David Bowie
but favours the stylings of the Kings (B.B. and Albert)
Santana. Mark is now - along with Dale Brown, part of
jam band called Black Zebra (?)


In truth, the ill may well have been too heavily stacked
for a non-holiday Sunday evening, but I enjoyed stuffing
my musical palette anyway (Ernie is evergreen)

Jazz in the Gardens

The first (bi-monthly) Jazz in the Gardens showcase for 2005 takes place atthe usual venue, the rear courtyard of the Jamaica pegasus Hotel in Kingston. Artists featured included barbadian Rosemary Phillips, Anglo-jamaican vocalist Diomara and Jazz in the Gardens staple Harold Davis & Friends Links

Ranglin On A Roll

Guitar legend Ernie Ranglin has been on a bit of performance tear. On Saturday last he gave a benefit perfomance at the Pizzaman restaurant in Ocho Rios and then on Valentine's Night he shared the bill with Dr. kathy Brown at a special show atthe Ruins, UWI. This weekend, he's the special guest atthe annual jazz on the Green showcase in the upscale kingston suburb of Cherry Gardens, alongisde kathy Brown, Rupert Bent Sr., and others. see www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle for review of Valentine's show

ferrer foto

ferrer foto
Originally uploaded by mike e.bop.

to accompany the recent Cuban music post here is cover of Ferrer's album

Musica de Cuba

got an interesting -mail about Cuban musician Pedro Luis Ferrer,
whose new album, Rustico has just been released on the
Escondida label. Go to www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/pedro
to check out the CD and get photos and more info

Air J Jazz Review

Its been eons since my last post, so I return this week with a review of the recently concluded Air J jazz & Blues fest. My good buddy Chris Porter - editor of JazzTimes - posted this on the mag's website and since i couldn't have said it better myself, its included here for you to make your own judgements


What if you received a last-minute invite to cover a jazz and blues festival for a jazz magazine and there’s pretty much no jazz or blues on the bill? That may sound like a Zen-like question, but there’s a simple answer: If it’s late January, the temperature’s colder than a well-digger’s ass and there’s snow everywhere, you buck up and say, "I’d love to!" (Luckily, I adore Jamaican music and have a high-tolerance for 1970s pop.)


The Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival has always catered to catholic tastes, while leaning heavily on R&B acts, but it would also present musicians who are traditionally considered mainstream jazz artists (last year that included Monty Alexander and Cassandra Wilson). This year, however, the promoters from Turn Key Productions focused almost entirely on adult-oriented pop.


Because of the fest’s new focus, the catchphrase "The Art of Music" was added, and it’s likely that an overall name change will happen for next year. But it’s hard to blame the folks who put on this show for sticking with this formula rather than trying to wedge in jazz acts. Why? Because the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival was packed all three days, as were Montego Bay’s sold-out hotels. And the people who attended the fest---almost all Jamaicans---simply loved the music they heard, jazz or not.


Thursday


Pocket Band, vocalist Toni Norville and trumpeter Dwight Richards, who was playing Chuck Mangione’s "Feels So Good" when I hit the festival grounds, kicked off the evening, though not many people were on hand to hear them due to the threat of rain.


Bajan saxophonist Arturo Tappin came out next, and he played up his strengths---good looks, Cheez Whiz sound---in a set of songs that big-upped Grover Washington Jr. (a dreamy "Winelight") and Jamaica’s jazz-ska pioneers the Skatalites (a laidback take on "Eastern Standard Time"). About midway through his set the skies opened up, so I joined my journalist colleagues and retreated to the happening hospitality tent sponsored by Digicel Jamaica, an Ireland-based, Caribbean-blanketing cell-phone company that knows a thing or two about public relations.


As the rain cleared up, Roberta Flack, who once lived in Jamaica, came on stage to a tremendous roar. Since some of Flack’s most popular work was in duet with Donny Hathaway (who died in 1979), she was joined by the muscle-bound singer Tony Terry (who drove the crowd’s women wild) for "The Closer I Get to You" and "Where Is the Love?" as well as her duet smash with Peabo Bryson, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love." Flack played piano a bit, as on "Killing Me Softly" and "Feel Like Making Love," but otherwise prowled the stage with microphone in hand, her revealing, sparkling purple shirt threatening to spring open like rain clouds up above.


Lou Rawls was also resplendent in purple, and his polished set meant medley after medley of chart-toppers such as "Groovy People," "Natural Man," "See You When I Get There," "You're Gonna Miss My Lovin'" and "Lady Love" (the last a personal fave of mine and anchorman Ron Burgundy). While there were no surprises from Rawls, he’s a wonderful entertainer and his baritone voice is in tremendous shape. The audience, singing along to every song at the top of their lungs, ate it up.


Opening-night closers Third World are known as the "Reggae Ambassadors," and it’s true that over the past 30 years they’ve managed to score numerous chart hits by assimilating disco, R&B and funk into their reggae mix. But when playing live Third World stays close to its roots, which means performing classics such as "Reggae Ambassador," "Reggae Party," "Now That We've Found Love," "Try Jah Love" and "Forbidden Love" (amorous band, them) and engaging in a surprise duet with Toots Hibbert on Bob Marley’s "Lively Up Yourself." But because Third World’s conservatory-trained musicians are anything but ordinary, they often extended the tunes with impressive improvisations and dubbed-out grooves. Steven "Cat" Coore is a virtuoso guitarist, displaying flamenco influences on his acoustic and psychedelic rock on his electric, especially on the band’s greatest hit, "96 Degrees" (about the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion). When Coore brought out his electric cello and tore down the house during an encore of "Rastaman Chant" it just seemed like he was showing off---which is a very good thing.


Friday


Definitely the weakest night of the festival, I could have gone the entirety of Friday without seeing a headlining performance and still felt like I hadn’t missed anything. Luckily I did hang around, which allowed me to see, on stage left, a 30-foot scaffolding supporting several giant speakers buckle, bend and lean precariously. Thankfully, it did not collapse. There was but one announcement to the crowd about what was happening, and that happened about a half-hour into the near-disaster. It took more than two hours to get the scaffolding righted and secured, but the audience was surprisingly blasé about the delay.


The show finally resumed at 1:45 a.m. (45 minutes after the whole evening was supposed to have ended), but the momentum was lost. Boyz II Men, who are now three not four, performed a forgettable set backed by prerecorded tunes. ("They come all the way here and sing to tracks?" asked an incredulous Michael A. Edwards of the Jamaica Observer.) While the audience loved the music and had obviously waited a long time to hear the Boyz' four-part (er, I mean three-part) harmonies, there’s no denying that the group is about this far away from being a Vegas or Disney stage act.


Julio Iglesias played a set heavy on Spanish-language tunes broadcast by a faulty P.A., pretty much guaranteeing that he had a steady stream of exhausted people leaving the venue throughout his performance, which finally finished at 3:45 a.m.


Other international headliners on Friday included the Cuban dance band Azucar Negra and smooth-jazz harpist Roberto Parrera of Paraguay, but the highlights of the evening were from the local talent.


The multitalented Dr. Kathy Brown---a physician and music teacher in Kingston during the day, a jazz and reggae pianist at night---played a really fun but too-short set, mostly consisting of standards such as "Caravan" and "Afro Blue."


Robert "Dubwise" Browne, the son of legendary reggae bassist Glen Browne, wowed the crowed with his Hendrix-ian ax slinging and charismatic stage presence. Dubwise has played with everyone from jazz pianist Monty Alexander to dancehall deejay Shaggy, and his music touched on elements from many genres.


Throughout the night the biggest buzz was happening in the Digicel tent, especially during the scaffolding delay and the sporadic rainfall. The Black Zebra Band, featuring guitarists and singers Wayne McGregor and Mark Pritchett (managing director of the Jamaica Observer) kept the crowd happy---including, for a spell, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson---by performing loosey-goosey versions of everything from Willie Dixon's "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" to the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Radiohead’s "Creep"---not the first tunes you expect to hear from a "bar band" in Jamaica.


Saturday


The final night featured by far and away the best lineup, boasting Norah Jones, Toots & the Maytals, Dionne Warwick, Rosanne Cash, Abdel Wright, To-Isis and VC. The only mistake was ending the show with Jones, whose sleepytime music was a major letdown following crowd favorite Warwick and the electrifying Toots Hibbert. Jones should have performed midway through the evening, just after the equally sedate Rosanne Cash, whose father Johnny lived in a hilltop mansion that can be seen from the festival grounds.


The evening’s opening acts---singer VC and six-member vocal group To-Isis---demonstrated the strong tradition of soulful crooning in Jamaican music. Valton "VC" Craigie has the strong voice of an R&B balladeer, but he sings roots reggae. He performed several original, conscious tunes, such as "Gwaan," "Roughneck" and "By His Deeds," the last of which was a big hit in Jamaica a few years back as proven by the crowd passionately singing along. Unfortunately VC has yet to put out a full-length CD, but here’s hoping it happens soon.


To-Isis’ performance is one of the reasons why Boyz II Men’s show seemed even weaker a day later. This young vocal sextet can nail harmonies with envious ease, and their exuberant stage show engaged the early-evening audience. Like VC, they shared the same backing band, who easily ran through Bob Marley numbers and reggae-fied versions of pop tunes, such as Bryan Adams’ goopy "Heaven"---which was actually pretty darn good thanks to the lead tenor pipes of Richard Morgan (or perhaps it was twin bro Robert). A Jamaican boy band, sure---the guys double as models and actors---but To-Isis has the singing talent to break out to a large audience outside of their homeland.


Abdel Wright (shown in photo at top) is a hotly tipped Jamaican singer-songwriter, and his long-delayed debut CD is scheduled for release this spring. Inspired by Tracy Chapman and Johnny Cash as much as by Bob Marley, Wright’s heartfelt tunes reflect his difficult upbringing in an SOS Children’s home, his rehabilitating stint in prison and his deep spirituality. Offstage Wright is charming, funny and engaging, but the two previous times I saw him perform he was deadly serious onstage. Granted, he was touring small rock clubs in the U.S. and, though he was warmly received, nobody knew who he was, so perhaps it was just nerves then. But at home in Jamaica, Wright was very relaxed, and his winning performance reflected that.


Wright’s portion of the show began with technical difficulties---there was no sound for several minutes---but he just cracked jokes about it while strumming his guitar. When his instrument's level was finally raised, Wright told the crowd to "clap ya self" for being patient this night as well as during the scaffolding crisis. He then noted with a laugh that if this were Sting, the raucous dancehall music event in Kingston, he would have had to dodge "missiles" from the notoriously confrontational crowd.


Joined by a percussionist on cajon, Wright played acoustic guitar and harmonica like a folk troubadour. The duo ran through tunes off Wright’s self-titled debut, such as "Quicksand," "Ruffest Times" and "Babylon Wall" (a stirring anti-war protest), but the biggest response was for their version of Marley’s "Redemption Song," which had the entire audience singing along.


After a lackluster performance by Roseanne Cash---people just didn’t know her songs---Dionne Warwick came out and did a set brimming with classic tunes that her fans responded to with glee. Even when Warwick introduced a slightly crass and too-long commercial for her 40th anniversary tour program ("Buy one as you leave!"), the audience merely chuckled. It’s tough to lose a crowd with classic songs such as "Walk on By," "Heartbreaker," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?," "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again," "What the World Needs Now" and "That's What Friends Are For," to name but a few of the hits that Warwick and her band breezed through.


Frederick "Toots" Hibbert is a giant of Jamaican music, with his 1968 hit "Do the Reggay" providing the now-modified name of a sound that is known the world over. While he’s getting more than a little thick around the midsection (hey, who isn’t?), Toots is still a tireless performer, and his concert was the highlight of the festival. He leads his band like James Brown, cueing them for explosive accents and encouraging them to kick out the jams during extended sections, which he enthusiastically danced to or joined in on by playing keyboards.


Toots and the Maytals have been touring the world in support of their Grammy-nominated CD True Love, which features remakes of classic material in duet with singers from country and blues (Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Beck, Willie Nelson), rock (Gwen Stefani, Keith Richards, Ryan Adams) and reggae (Shaggy, Ken Booth, Bunny Wailer), so they were a tight unit. The hits, and the energy, never stopped: "Come Down," "Pressure Drop," "Sweet and Dandy," "Bam Bam," "Country Road" ("take me home / to the place / where I belong / West Jamaica"), "These Arms of Mine," "Still Movin'," "Monkey Man" and the set closer "54-46 (Was My Number)," which was all but reduced to the chorus and a vamp---all the better for droppin’ legs.


Just as Toots was finishing a rain began to fall. It lasted through the early part of Norah Jones’ performance, which further hampered her soggy set. It’s not that Jones’ concert was bad; it just felt severely out of place following Toots, especially at two in the morning. The crowd that stayed got to hear radio hits "Don’t Know Why" and "Sunrise," and they were thankful for that, but there was also a large number folks who had peaked with Toots and were ready to go to bed on a high (literally and figuratively).

Kenny garrett levels Barbados Jazz

Kenny Garrett Brings Big Thunder to 2005 Barbados Jazz Festival
from Allaboutjazz.com

By Bill King

“If there were one defining performance that can be certified jazz and most memorable it would be the blistering session saxophonist Kenny Garrett levelled the landscape with.”

Day five, the much anticipated Alicia Keys performance was a dressy affair. Tickets sold for $120 a p

If there was one defining performance that can be certified jazz and most memorable it would be the blistering session saxophonist Kenny Garrett leveled the landscape with. Garrett plays for keeps. With Carlos McKinney at the keyboard, Chris Bond bass and Ron Bruner firing on all cylinders behind the kit - Garrett and company spanked the crowd with a fierce opener played at top speed. Ideas spilled from all directions many colliding and dispersing into fragments. Garrett knows how to entertain. Hip-hop is no sideline with the wizard as he goaded the audience into a good time call and response on the “Tick Tock Tune.” Garrett never lacerated the ears with the relentless screeching many smooth jazz saxophonists prefer. Instead, there was a method to his improvisations - there were peaks and valleys - conflict and resolution. Drummer Ron Bruner was the perfect foil. Bruner can stir more interest and heat with a repetitive rhythmic figure than most certified drum Gods. The pulse was most hypnotic causing Garrett to keep the sing along moving absent any clue to when and how it would conclude. The effect was mesmerizing. Even when the ninety-minute performance was assured and nearing the end, Garrett and Bruner drove the beat even harder.



Photo Credit
Bill King

Air jazz Update - Ticket prices

TICKET PRICES

Thursday, January 27th -   US$  45.00

Friday, January 28th -     US$  50.00

Saturday, January 29th -   US$  50.00

Season ticket: all 3 days US$135.00

Two day pass   Fri & Sat   US$  95.00

Nicole's Sun Is Rising

With her debut CD,The Nearness of You reaching the #2
spot for five weeks and staying in the Top 10 for
over five months on the Vocal Jazz Charts in Japan,
Banister Records artist Nicole Henry, who performed
in Jamaica this past August (at the Royal Plantation
in Ocho Rios), earned the “Best New Artist award
in the retail chain HMV Japan Jazz Awards 2004.
 
The artist gave much thanks goes to her partnering
label, Norma Music, who imported The Nearness of You,
and to all her fans in Japan!!
 
Henry has also been inivted to record with the
Eddie Higgins Trio, another album "Teach Me Tonight"
will be released in Japan this March on Venus Records. 
This set was produced in NYC by Todd Barkan and Tetsuo Hara,
shortly following the artiste's performance in the Allen Room
at the new Jazz at the Lincoln Center. The release will pre-empt
her April tour of Japan with the Eddie Higgins Trio.
 
Nicole will spend the next few months working on another
CD for Banister Records, expected for a summer release
in the U.S. and abroad!!

Air J Jazz - Media Launch

The media launch for this year's event takes place on Thursday, January 13, at Red Bones, the Blues Cafe, Braemar Avenue, in New Kingston

Mickey & Co. Do Bossa at The Deck

Trumpeter Mickey Hanson and his band laid down a nice set of mostly bossa nova -type arrangements at The Deck alst Thursday. Hanson, along with Mallory Willams on keyboard; Larry Silvera on base, Richie Cunningham on percussion and Andrew Jackson on drums started kind of safe with a cover of 'How Could I Live" a song made famous by late reggae star Denis Brown, and "Rise" by Herb Alpert.

Set got proressively bette thereafter, with stirring renditions of Horace Silver's "Song for My Father" Jobim's "Desafinado" "I'll Drink to That Blues" and closed in rousing fashion with free-wheeling versions of "Maputo" and "Mas Que Nada"

Also on the bill were singer-guitarist Charmaine, and 70s pop-reggae hitmaker Pluto Shervington.

Zanzibar fest

Just got this email this morning.
Sounds interesting.

Greetings from Zanzibar and we hope that this note finds you all well.
 
By popular demand, here is an update for the many of you traveling to Zanzibar for Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) Swahili Music Festival, taking place Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th February, 2005.
 
The main venue for this year’s festival is again in historic Stone Town: the grassy side of Zanzibar’s Old Fort (“Mambo Club”) facing Forodhani Gardens and overlooking the Indian Ocean. Fittingly described by Ian Anderson in fROOTS magazine as “the big club venue most world music festival organisers would die for”. Freshly grilled prawns, octopus, squid, fish kebabs are all prepared on site, with a bar and stalls selling local crafts.
 
The main aim of the festival is to showcase the wealth and diversity of Swahili music and we are proud to announce that many of East Africa’s finest groups are confirmed to participate:
 
FROM EAST AFRICA
 
DANCE / GUITAR BANDS: Kilimanjaro Band (“Wananjenje”), Zanzibar Moonlight Jazz Band
 
MUSIC FUSION: Saida Karoli, Manyani Nani, Sisi Tambala
 
HIPHOP AND URBAN MUSIC: Juma Nature & Wanaume, Wazenji Kijiwe, Klear Kut, Stara Thomas, Solo Thang, BTB, DJ Saleh
 
TAARAB & KIDUMBAK: Nadi Ikhwan Safaa (Malindi Taarab), Culture Musical Club, Segere Original, Sosoliso Kidumbak, Zein l’Abdin Trio, DCMA Student Group
 
NGOMA & TRADITIONAL MUSIC: Bi Kidude, Chibite Group, Beni ya Kilua, Black Roots, Jagwa Music (Mchiriku), Hiyari ya Moyowo (Kirumbizi), Imani Ngoma, Matimba Arts, Ngoma ya Kibati, Kidutani & Jang’ombe Nursery Schools
 
RELIGIOUS SUFI MUSIC: Maulidi ya Homu ya Mtendeni
 
THEATRE, COMEDY, ACROBATICS: Jambo Brothers, Halikuniki Comedy Group
 
FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD:
 
El Tanbura Group (Egypt), Seiyun Popular Arts (Yemen), Imena (Rwanda), Ndeef Leng (Senegal), Pamuzinda (Zimbabwe)
 
(final festival programme pending 100% confirmations will be published end of January)
 
Guest of Honour for 2005 Festival is Bi Kidude, Zanzibar’s 93-year old cultural ambassador, traditional healer and bare-foot diva of taarab and unyago ngoma, who has been traveling the world to sing, drum and entertain since the 1920s.
 
TICKET INFO:
 
Free admission to all before 8pm daily (standing room only)
After 8pm, residents 500/-TSh (US$0.50) (standing room only)
After 8pm, non-residents 1,000/- TSh (US $1) (standing room only)
VIP Daily Pass 5,000/- (US $5) (with seating)
VIP All Festival Pass (4 Days) 10,000/- (US $10) (with seating)
 
 
On Stone Town Zanzibar: “The pace of life is gentle, time itself seems flexible, and a combination of the surroundings and a very low level of trading hassle from genuinely friendly locals turn it into the most relaxing, stress-reducing place I've ever encountered. Turn off your mobile phone: this town should be available on the National Health”.
Ian Anderson, fROOTS Magazine
 
 
Welcome to Zanzibar for the friendliest music festival on Planet Earth!
 
10 – 13 February, 2005 – Sauti za Busara Festival #2
09 – 12 February, 2006 – Sauti za Busara Festival #3
 
 
Full line up, timetable of performances, more information for press/media including pictures of many of the performing artists available on request.
 
Hotels are filling up fast for this period so be sure to book quickly if you need accommodation in Stone Town within walking distance of the Festival. For assistance with hotel bookings, local travel and tours contact zenjtours@zanlink.com (cc to busara@zanlink.com)
 
 
 
 
SAUTI ZA BUSARA is organised by Busara Promotions - a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit cultural organisation registered in Zanzibar “to promote and develop opportunities for local and international music and performing artists within the East African region, work to strengthen the local arts infrastructure and build networks internationally, for the social, cultural and economic growth of Africa and the dhow region”.
 
Busara Promotions extends thanks to the following without whom the Festival would not be possible:
Ford Foundation, HIVOS, Mfuko wa Utamaduni Tanzania, Embassy of France,
Dhow Countries Music Academy, Memories of Zanzibar, fROOTS Magazine, Afropop Worldwide, Zanzibar Gallery, Zenj Travel & Tours, Alliance Francaise, Emerson & Green Hotel, Kidude Cafe, Countrywide Destination Tanzania, thephatplanet.com, and most of all to the people of Zanzibar: “Shukurani kwa kukubali kuwa tamasha hili ni letu sote na mchango wenu ndio ambao umelifanikisha.”
 

Air ja Jazz update

This year, Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues will showcase upcoming artistes
on a special stage located in the food court.  Performances will
commence when the main stage breaks for band changes, giving patrons
of The Festival the opportunity to enjoy these new artistes.

 Here is the Line Up for the showcase stage:
 

Thursday January 27th

Wide Grin

Airplai

C Sharp
 

Friday January 28th

Rootz Underground

Wayne McGregor

Kathy Brown

 

Saturday January 29th

To Isis

Christine Fisher

VC


While certainly obscure & unknown from an int'l standpoint, at least these artists should help to relieve the severe jazz deficiency in the main lineup