The 2025 edition of the BC International Jazz Festival in Nairobi once again proved why it's Kenya’s premier live music event, serving up unmatched vibes and honouring the legacy of Bob Collymore.By Rwandet Choge
The check-in was a breeze.
First, at the main entrance, you’re met by policemen and women resplendent in blue, accompanied by a detection dog and a bunch of private security guards.
They will ask the driver to roll down the car windows and pop open the trunk. They will intently peer inside the car, and a thorough sweep will be conducted all around the vehicle. The dog will also do its thing.
After an ‘all-clear’ is given, you are directed to the parking lot where helpful attendants will lead you to a spot.
Next, you encounter the official welcoming committee – girls, all smiles and courteous. They will ask to see your ticket and point you to the security checkpoint where gentle but burly bouncers will give a pat down and scrutinise your bags carefully.
Thereafter, you head to the ticketing booth where your ticket will be scanned, the event wristband fastened around your hand, and hallelujah! You’re good to go.
The giant banner in front you beckons: WELCOME TO BC INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2025.
Now, glide into the lush Carnivore Grounds, where a feast for the senses greets you. Here, the set-up is not just perfect – it’s regal. From the sponsors’ booths, food tents, to the themed props for the photogenic… take it all in for the day is just getting started.
Now let’s talk about the business of the day. It’s a few minutes to 2pm and inside a massive outdoor concert tent are seated hundreds of people of all shades on picnic blankets, opposite the stage, ready ‘to face the music’.
At 2pm sharp, Kavitha Mwanzia, the ever-ebullient host, starts the proceedings by asking the crowd to stand up for the national anthem as played by event regulars Ghetto Classics.
With patriotic duties done, Ghetto Classics kick off, opening the show for a talent-laden lineup of artists that douses the crowd in unmatched jazz repertoire throughout their entire show.
The other acts are The Kaima Mwiti Quintet together with Kendi Nkonge (Kenya), Moreira Chonguiça (Mozambique), Judah and The Tribe (Kenya), Stephanie Lottermoser (Germany), and The Bėga Quartet (Ethiopia), with DJ D-Lite (Kenya) setting the set breaks on fire with his educated mixes.
It is an afternoon filled with wistful Ethio-jazz, Kenyan classic medleys, mournful saxophone melodies, and beguiling vocals, and, above all, a reminder of what the event stands for.
*****
Now in its third edition, the BC International Jazz Festival, held this year on February 15, is not only an annual day out for the Nairobi sophisticate. It’s an occasion heavy with meaning.
The BC in the name denotes Bob Collymore, the late Safaricom CEO whose name will forever stay in the annals of Kenya’s history. Beyond shaking up the Kenyan corporate culture, Collymore was, until his death in July 2019, Kenya’s unofficial patron of the arts.
Using his influence for good, Collymore injected life into the country’s undervalued arts sector, and the process transformed the lives of thousands through different approaches.
One such approach was the Safaricom International Jazz Festival – one man’s pet project with far-reaching impact.
Ever thoughtful and innovative, Collymore started the Safaricom International Jazz Festival for reasons best known to him, but three stand out for us.
First, as a jazz enthusiast, he wanted to establish a premier Kenyan live music event not too dissimilar to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival or even the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Secondly, he wanted to create a platform where Kenyan artists could play alongside and interact with some of the world’s best musicians as a way of providing them with the much-needed exposure that would no doubt open doors to greater opportunities.
Thirdly, and more importantly, the proceeds from the concerts would be channelled to support arts programmes for young people from poor families.
The inaugural Safaricom International Jazz Festival, which took place on February 23, 2014, was a rousing success, with the subsequent editions going on to become Kenya’s must-attend annual events.
Some of the top artists who performed at the festival included Salif Keita, the late Manu Dibango, and the late Hugh Masekela.
The above-mentioned Ghetto Classics are the direct beneficiaries of his vision that opened up opportunities for kids living in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa.
By arming them with classical music education, these often-neglected young’uns are offered a path out of the unforgiving clutches of poverty, thrusting them into a world of possibilities many would not have even imagined.
Unfortunately, with Collymore’s passing, the Safaricom International Jazz Festival also died, and it was left to his loved ones to find a way to revive the event’s spirit. And thus was born the BC International Jazz Festival.
Organised by the Bob Collymore Foundation, under the leadership of Collymore’s widow, Wambui Kamiru, the BC International Jazz Festival not only intends to keep the legacy of a great man alive but also to continue showing what we are able to achieve when we use our positions for good.
The inaugural event was held on July 1, 2023, and as it was with the Safaricom International Jazz Festival, proceeds from the BC International Jazz Festival will also facilitate arts programmes for youth in Kenyan slums.
