Line-up for Safaricom International Jazz Festival out

They include Belgian Taxi Wars, Ray Lema & Saka Saka Band from Congo, Bokani Dyer from Botswana, the all-girl Israeli trio The Hazelnuts and British Asian clarinet player, Arun Ghosh.

From Kenya, the bands on the line-up are Shamsi Music, Nairobi Horns Project & Mwai, and The Truth.

Sanborn joins a star-studded cast of international jazz musicians to have headlined the festival, now in its fourth year. They include Jonathan Butler, Richard Bona, Brandon Marseilles, Roberto Fonsecca and Salif Keita.

With 24 albums – eight gold and one platinum – to his name, Sanborn has mastered a blend of traditional jazz, instrumental pop and soulful R&B in his 40-year career and has played with legendary musicians such as the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Luther Vandross, David Bowie, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

Proceeds from the festival, which have since its inception topped KShs19 million (Kenya shillings), the equivalent of US$183 000 go to supporting Ghetto Classics, a non-profit programme that teaches music skills to youth from underprivileged backgrounds. The programme supports about 650 children from several low-income neighbourhoods in Nairobi.

Here's a clip of Ray Lema & Saka Saka Band from Congo performing live: