Mbilia Bel et al

Mbilia Bel was in town!!!! Her concert was at the Godown Art Centre Friday and Saturday. I went for the Saturday show and let it suffice to say that I am still recovering from the experience.

But first, about Atemi, the curtain raiser: I had never heard her before, the woman is GOOOD!!! Her music feels very Eric Wanaina and it is understandable since she background sings for him. This is not a bad thing; Eric is really good as an afro- fusion artist and his music is pretty original and what may be called authentic contemporary Kenyan music. Back to Atemi, what I loved best about her is her voice. She didn't try to ape anyone or do with it what it cannot do, what we heard was Atemi pure and simple. She was very comfortable in her performance and strongly reminded me of Miriam Makeba. She has the same husky yet clear sound that Mama Africa carries. It was announced that her second album is almost out; I am getting the first one, and waiting eagerly for the second.

Atemi, you Rock!

After dear Atemi, we all had a chance to go have a drink, grab a quick bite or visit the "toohoo" in preparation for "Mama wa Amani". Let me quickly mention that the show was one of the many events Joy Mboya's Godown Art centre had organized in celebration of women artists. There was an art exhibition showcasing great indigenous pieces- my favourite being the Red face" series, "the pots", "my first car" and "the conversation". Actually, in my opinion, the best pieces were done by the artist of "the conversation". (I can't remember her name for the life of me). The images were implied rather than outlined; it felt like looking through smoke and that is what made her images so powerful. I would definitely have bought her work if they didn't cost an average of Ksh.50,000/= which, they are worth every penny. Very original work at the Godown, nothing like the Maasai faces that bombard us everyday... There will be readings from Kwani? and a few other items that I can't remember right now but can be accessed from http://www.thegodownartcentre.com/

I don't know how old Mbilia Bel is but I remember watching her as a girl on Urtna Exchange Program on KBC, then VOK, where she used to sing beside Tabu Ley. I thought she was the most beautiful African woman I had seen; she is graceful in her movement, her voice is soft, soothing, and penetrating to the soul. Élegante! That's the one word that describes this amazing woman. She sang, she danced, she won our hearts by simply being on stage. What I enjoyed the most about her performance is that she was enjoying her music as much as we were. She wasn't just performing for us her paying fans, it seemed to me that if she was in her own house alone, she would sing and dance as much as she did Saturday night. Her music has some Benga, Lingala, Salsa, Merengue and Samba. I was sad that she didn't have a bigger crowd to perform to, this is the kind of performer I would want people to experience. Sorry, no pictures, my camera can't take good photos at night :-)

This was a busy weekend for me. The next day I was at the Braeburn theatre for Sterling Quality's musical "Sterling Quality at 10". Sterling Quality is celebrating it's ten years of existence. Sterling Quality is well known for it's annual musicals. This year's musical was a run through of all their performances; what was incredible is that even though the original cast of most of the musicals was not present, excerpts from previous productions reflected the original spirit and at times superceded it. Great artists! Great orchestra! Great authors and script writers! Wonderful composers!

Lwanda Magere- Man of stone was the best work in my opinion. The story as was written is alive. The music, the dances, the human relationships ring true to our cultural background and human nature. There were three actors whose performance carried the story in my opinion. Steve, Mwamzee, and the young man that played Lwanda Magere- I didn't get his name... All the performers at the show were exemplery and I thank Sterling Quality for sharing these amazing talents with us.

For more on Sterling Quality Entertainment Co. please visit http://www.sterlingq.com