Safaricom International Jazz Festival was held on 25th February 2018 at the Training Grounds, Kasarani Stadium. This was the 5th year Anniversary of Safaricom Jazz.
Headlining the show were highly acclaimed American Jazz trio which is comprised of guitarist Norman Brown, saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun.
While this was Braun’s maiden visit to Kenya, Grammy Award winners Whalum and Brown were no strangers to the jazz festival, having performed alongside Gerald Albright and Sheléa Frazier at the Safaricom Jazz Lounges in Nairobi and Mombasa in December 2016.
[caption caption="Kenyan based jazz band, the Limericks pose for a photo after their performance during the Safaricom International jazz festival held in Kasarani stadium"]
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Safaricom has donated over KES 37 million (USD 365,560) from proceeds of the jazz festival since it was first held in February 2014, enabling the Art of Music Foundation to scale up its Ghetto Classics programme and expand it to Mombasa, with plans to branch out to Kisumu in the next year.
Today over 1400 boys and girls aged below 18 years are benefitting from the programme, which is using the funds raised to purchase music instruments, provide training and finance basic needs such as school fees and shelter for the children and their families.
[caption caption="Ghetto Classics alongside Jimek jazz band performing"]
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Please read more about Ghetto Classics here http://www.artofmusic.co.ke/
This year Safaricom Jazz hopes to raise a further KES 20 million for Ghetto Classics. Also performing at the Sunday show were Jimek, a Polish composer and music producer known for his wildly popular History of Hip Hop composition.
Fans also got electric performances from Kenyan favourites Mambo Tribe and Limericks, as well as The Betty Bears (Israel), Lean (Belgium), Joja Wendt (Germany) and Gloria Bosman (South Africa).
[caption caption="Fans enjoy the tunes, the rhythm and the music of jazz during Safaricom International jazz festival held in Kasarani stadium"]
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[caption caption="BWB. USA based jazz star Ricky Braun enjoys blowing saxophone with a young jazz fan"]
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[caption caption="Fans enjoy the tunes, the rhythm and the music of jazz "]
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