The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Cultural Exchange Programme is an integral part of the annual Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in which South African artists perform at international festivals and in a reciprocal deal overseas acts play in South Africa.
This initiative, which has been successfully implemented over the last few years, recently saw Thandi Ntuli perform at the Amersfoort Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.
Now, T-Musicman, producers of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, is proud to announce that as part of the cultural exchange programme South Africa will be hosting the Nairobi Horns, and the New York Round Midnight Orchestra, with Izaline Calista, at this year’s Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival from September 27, 28 and 29 at the Sandton Convention Centre. South Africa will be represented at the Safaricom Jazz Festival next year in Kenya, as part of this exchange programme.
Nairobi Horns Project
The Nairobi Horns Project (NHP) brings together musicians bonded by the love for new music and committed to building a sound around horns in African and contemporary music. Our sound is influenced by our love for Jazz, African rhythms, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Electronic music. What was conceived as a three-member commercial for-hire horn section whose members have worked on music TV shows, concerts, recordings and tours has since grown into a complete live act.
Growing into one of Kenya’s leading live acts and instrumental music brands, NHP’s very first performance was in 2016 opening for trumpeter Hugh Masekela at the Safaricom International Jazz Festival; and since then, NHP has grown a reputation as one of Kenya’s most hard working and and energetic acts, not just in the jazz genre, to garnering crossover success and followership, and had the opportunity to perform on jazz and pop stages, and is the only instrumental music band to play at the Koroga Festival alongside Eric Wainaina and D’Banj. As a concert and festival act, NHP draws inspiration from jazz roots, but fusing Kenyan folk and pop music to collaborations with some of Kenya’s leading names fusing jazz and pop to great acclaim.
The band comprises Mackinlay Mutsembi, the band’s Music Director, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and orchestrator, is on trumpet, saxophonist Rabai Mokua, and Victor Kinama on trombone. On percussion is Kasiva Mutua, Jack Muguna is on guitar, Amani Baya on drums, George Nyoro on keyboards and Moise Basinza on bass.
Standard Bank Joy of Jazz celebrates its 21st edition this year with a diverse line-up of all-star talent. Five stages will be used where Jazz lovers will be treated to groundbreaking collaborations and tributes by new masters to older Jazz giants.