Chistine Kamau – This Is For You

When Christine Kamau was invited for a music audition in South Africa more than four years ago, little did she know that this would be the beginning of a love affair with that country’s jazz tradition. Listening to horn players like Jonas Gwangwa, Moses Khumalo and Moses Molelekwa provided the inspiration for Christine to return home and begin writing and arranging her own music.

That process took the Nakuru-born musician, also widely known as the Jazzist, two years and the result was an eight-song album, suitably titled This Is For You, released in 2012.

“My progression to jazz was natural,” says the trumpeter and composer who at one point was a member of Eric Wainaina’s Mapinduzi band. “I had started by studying classical music and playing the piano at the age of 11 and my teachers felt I had the natural gift for this.”

When I ask her about her name The Jazzist, she says it came about after she played at a concert, supporting the Nairobi based Afro-soul group Afrology in February of 2011. “In the poster advertising that show I was referred to as The Jazzist and from then on the name stuck,” she says.

There are very strong traces of Hugh Masekela’s style throughout the album and when you get to the second song on the album, the title track, 'This is for You', there will be instant reminders of the classic “Grazing in the Grass”. Christine is quick to defend herself from any accusations that her music is a wholesale copy of South African jazz, saying identity comes with experience. “I cannot climb a tree from the top and I am confident that with time my own music will develop into a distinct style,” she says.

This album is actually a very good listen and there’s every indication that even the conservative jazz-loving crowd will love the vibe on the eight songs contained here. There is a certain maturity about Christine and her album, which belies the artist's relative youth. 

All the songs were recorded in a live setting in the studio due to what Christine says are for both artistic as well as cost implications. She says newcomers like her; do not have the luxury of hiring studios for long periods that would allow for multitrack recording of each instrument on every song. “We got my band to rehearse the songs for two weeks and once we went into the studio it was a straight recording session.”

The entire album was recorded at the Rafiki Studios in Nairobi under the guidance of Cameroonian producer Romeo Kouemeni. By the time she released her album, Christine had played with a five-piece group of musicians called The African Band for about two years, a period long enough to gain each other’s confidence. The members of the band are Emmanuel Kute on alto-saxophone, bass guitarist Isaac Khakula, Kennedy Simiyu on keyboards, Daniel Macharia plays drums while Matthew Makumi is on guitar.

In March 2012, Christine played at the monthly Blankets and Wine concert in Nairobi, and while she feels the best is yet to come from her, she looks back at the appearance at Blanket and wine as one of the most rewarding for her as a performer so far. Is she ever awed by the size of the crowd that turns up to watch her?

“When I get up on stage, then I am there to have a good time. As soon as I hold my trumpet I get shortsighted and will hardly be worried by anything else besides the music.”

Besides Aaron Rimbui’s on-again, off-again ‘All That Jazz’, there are quite few occasions to watch homegrown players regularly in concert.  Christine and her band have been trying to give jazz lovers an opportunity to see them in performance with a series of shows, called the Afro Jazz, launched in January 2012.

The first show filled up the auditorium at the Kenya National Theatre and the sequel took place on 31 May at the same venue. She says it took a while to do the second show because, besides rehearsing and performing, the entire organization of the show was her responsibility. “I had to hire the hall, provide the sound and lighting, send out proposals for sponsorship and pay the artistes. It is all very exhausting though rewarding too.”

That struggle of an emerging artiste also extends to the sales and promotions for the new CD. Christine says, thanks to social media websites like Facebook, she has been able to spread the word about her album in a way that she would not have dreamed of. “When I send word out on the internet, I get immediate response, unlike booking a spot on radio whose impact I cannot gauge.” Christine has appeared on the BBC World Service “Africa Beats”, a series showcasing the hottest tipped artists from the continent.

She will not be drawn to single out her favorite song on the new album, but as she looks through the titles, her eyes light up when she mentions “Nakuru Sunshine”. It could be that this melodic tribute to her hometown provides the spark upon which the rest of the songs shine.

Originally published on 10 May 2012 in Business Daily.