Jazz luminary Eric Marienthal performs during the MTN Jazz Safari at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

Despite the choking jam and crappy weather that beseeched Kampala last Thursday, by 7.30pm, Victoria Hall at the Kampala Serena Hotel had swelled with Jazz enthusiasts, all eager to enjoy a jazz experience, courtesy of the jazz luminaries Eric Marienthal, Oscar Seaton, Matt Cooper, and Chuck Loeb, helped along by the Black Roots Unlimited all stars.

It was the second installment of the MTN Jazz Safari and like its previous one that was held last December, it didn't disappoint. Kicking off the show with Marienthal on the alto sax redoing Herbie Hancock's classic Cantaloupe Island, the band despite rehearsing together for three days, put up quite a memorable show.

Bass guitarist Tshaka Mayanja was honoured for his 20 years in the music business.

It was a mixed menu of jazz. They played contemporary, smooth, straight forward. They also redid classics in a jazz fashion, from the likes of the late Luther Vandross with songs like Any Love and Never Too Much and Groover Washington Jr's Soulful Strut. They blended in a bit of the local touch, having Steven Oundo show off his vocals on Walk Through The Fire.

The bass guitarist for the night Tshaka Mayanja was honoured for his 20 years in the music business with a plaque handed to him by the host Gonza Kaggwa. He in turn thanked among various people his father Mayanja Nkangi and his mother who were in the audience.

The night ended on high with the veteran saxophonist Joachim Matovu called up on stage to accompany Marienthal on Kool and the Gang's classic Get Down On It.