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Kenya: City's Musical Podium Becomes Cultural Hub
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Business Daily (Nairobi)
8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008
Mwenda Wa Micheni
The season of international music concerts at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi has been shaping up. First it was 3MA, a charming musical trio that expressed their imaginations through poetic lyrics escorted by stringed instruments from Mali, Morocco and Madagascar.
With their musical instruments, they entertained fans in Nairobi last month.
This evening, Dobet Gnahoré, an Ivorian singer and dancer whose career is currently rocketing through the African and European skies, is set to perform at the venue.
At the moment, Dobet's music enjoys international acclaim with critics prophesying an even brighter future for the singer in the international arena.
Her soulful tunes cut across Mandingue melodies to Congolese rhumba, from Ivory Coast's Ziglibiti to Cameroon's Bikoutsi, from Ghanaian High-Life to Zulu beats.
With a slash of jazz-like sounds, the music sounds varied in a colourful way.With sounds of traditional instruments like the sanza, the balafon, the calebasse and the bongos joining the guitar and vocal backup, the acoustic music is magnetic.
Dobet sings in a range of African languages including Bété, Fon, Baoule, Lingala, Malinke, Mina or Bambara.
But it is the poetic flow in her voice, charisma and huge stage presence - the result of several years of theatrical performances - that tells resonating stories beyond her lyrics.
No wonder her song is one of the few included in the Putumayo's Women of Africa album.
A week after Dobet exits the stage, Habana Sax will enter. This is an incredible four-man band that plays saxophones and percussion . It promises plenty of Afro-Latin jazz straight from Cuba.
The group comprises Cuban jazz musicians with an array of musical styles.
Some critics argue - and rightly so - that with the group's vibrant performance of Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, Salsa, Latin jazz and Brazilian rhythms, it represents the continuing evolution of the fiercely energetic Cuban music.
Habana Sax members are graduates of the prestigious Superior Institute of Art and Culture of Cuba. They are all highly respected music professors.
Although the group is described as a jazz ensemble, music scholars have also noted that like jazz itself, its musical experimentation is rooted in traditional music forms.
Its distinct sound is the result of a clever borrowing from diverse traditional genres and experimenting with them to create unique flavours.In their performances, African chants may spin into salsa and, without warning, it becomes the opening movement of a traditional symphonic composition that abruptly becomes a richly textured jazz piece anchored on pounding Latin percussion.
Representing the evolution and confluence of Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, Salsa, Latin jazz, and Brazilian rhythms, this group offers a rare musical concoction.
But why would a foreign organisation occupy itself with what a host government does not care about?
"The hosting on a regular basis of international artistes aims at widening the public's appreciation of the richness and diversity of other genres of music originating from other African francophone countries," says Mr Jean-Michel Frachet, the Director of Alliance Française and Cultural Attaché at the French embassy in Nairobi.
In the last couple of years, the French Cultural Centre has been involved in a major campaign to deliver diverse art and cultural activities, besides improving communication to reach larger audiences.
There have been consistent gigs at the centre's garden, offering music fans a variety of sounds and dances.
There are the monthly Spotlight on Kenyan Music concerts punctuated with performances by seasoned artistes. The efforts have brought much needed awareness of the rich menu offered at the centre.
In 2007, Alliance Francaise organised and hosted 177 cultural events which were attended by nearly 57,000 spectators. Live musical performances remain the strongest activity, with 58 concerts attended by 13,000 spectators, alongside cinema and theatre (22 plays).
With 28 concerts held in 2005, 31 in 2006 and 58 in 2007, a growth trajectory clearly forms.
Looking at what he has achieved, Mr Michel, who has headed the centre in the last four years, is a happy man.
"It is very gratifying to see more artistes striving to make a career out of their talent and that the public is paying more and more interest in their own country's music and that from the African continent."
On stage, Alliance has become the hub of popular theatre in the country. Currently, Heartstrings Kenya and Festival of Creative Arts (FCA) have pitched tent at the theatre. Only last weekend, FCA staged a record four shows daily attracting full houses.
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This contrasts sharply with the sparse performances at the Kenyan National Theatre (KNT).
KNT has been struggling to create a positive image and critics have constantly pointed an accusing finger at the authorities, accusing them of sorely neglecting the cultural facility.
While others laud the growth of Alliance Francaise, terming it a "fertilisation of Kenyan arts," others equate its growth to "re-colonisation of the Kenyan arts."
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