Home » Jazz Musicians » Christine Kamau
Christine Kamau
In 2012, Christine Kamau released an 8-track instrumental Afro-Jazz album titled 'This is for You'. The album offers an exciting listening experience, the music being a fusion of jazz with African music elements of ‘Benga’ and Rhumba’. This debut release earned positive reviews from the music community and also saw Kamau featured on a BBC music program titled ‘Africa Beats’ a series that showcased emerging music talent from Africa.
A keen collaborator and campaigner for music as a tool for propagating unity, Christine Kamau has graced various stages on the continent and is steadily becoming an established name on the African Jazz scene.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Sierra Jazz Festival, Kenya (2012) Blankets and Wine Festival, Kenya (2012) The ‘Jazz with Isaiah Katumwa TV Show’, Uganda (2013) Safaricom Jazz Festival Rising Stars Edition, Kenya (2014) Sondeka Festival, Kenya (2015) MASA Festival, Ivory Coast (2016) Doadoa Festival, Uganda (2016) Jahazi Literary & Jazz Festival, Zanzibar (2016) Capital Jazz Festival, Nigeria (2016) Karibu Music Festival, Tanzania (2016) Kigali Jazz Junction, Rwanda (2017) Yaounde Jazz Festival, Cameroon (2017) Green Space Festival, Kenya (2018) Lagos International Jazz Festival, Nigeria (2019)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2019: PANELIST GTABC Conference (WASHINGTON DC, USA) Christine Kamau was a panellist at the 4th Georgetown University Africa Business Conference (Music for Development Panel). https://www.georgetownafricabusinessconference.com/
2018: JAZZ from Germany Visitors Program (GERMANY) Christine Kamau was invited to join 16 jazz music industry players from 15 countries for a tour of the jazz music scene in Berlin, Munich & Stuttgart organized by the German Federal Foreign Office.
2018: MEMBER, ACCES Curation Committee (KENYA) Music In Africa's ACCES Curation Committee members comprised influential music industry players who were responsible for selecting the artists that showcased at ACCES Conference in Kenya.
2017: SPEAKER ACCES Conference (SENEGAL) Christine Kamau was a speaker at the Music In Africa ACCES Conference held in Dakar, Senegal. She gave a presentation on the Women In Music Forum, an initiative aimed at promoting female musicians.
2017: RECIPIENT, British Council Mobility Grant (ETHIOPIA) This British Council East Africa Arts Mobility Grant saw Christine Christine Kamau travel to Addis Ababa for music exchange and collaboration with Ethiopian Jazz Musicians. https://www.britishcouncil.org/east-africa- arts/projects/mobility/chritstine-kamau-in_motion
Awards
Nominee - Best Foreign Jazz Artist, Mzantsi Jazz Awards (2019) Nominee - Best Jazz Act, Cafe Ngoma Awards (2017)
Tags
Christine Kamau: Delivering Afro-Jazz Power
by Nicholas F. Mondello
In the blockbuster film, Black Panther (Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, 2018) the power of and quest for “Vibranium," an all-powerful element, plays a pivotal role. Like a latter day female T'challa (The “Black Panther") and through her music, Kenyan musician Christine Kamau delivers a unique and powerful perspective of her own, melding jazz with its ancient and current African roots. The results are intriguing, inviting, and offer much for listeners to discover and enjoy. An award-nominated ...
read more"-with hindsight her 2012 debut was a seminal moment in this decade’s African Jazz". (africanjazz.info)
"To many jazz lovers who gathered at Kigali Serena Hotel, Kenya's Christine Kamau was that thrill which quenced most jazz thirsty souls". (Andrew Kazibwe, Arts Glo, Rwanda)
"Christine Kamau may have one of the most popular surnames in her native Kenya, but she stands out as being the only female jazz trumpeter, writing her own material for herself and her band". (Victor Owusu-Bediako, Ghana Star)
