Christmas sounds of nostalgia, choir ethos and peroxide jazz
What is Christmas without music? The very theme of the season demands it. Kampala during this last season witnessed man’s allegiance to music as it celebrated the sacred.
It started with Afrigo Band’s choice to celebrate its 36th anniversary during the season that brought back reminiscences we had comfortably bid goodbye to.
For all its longevity and notable success, the night of the “leading live band in East and Central Africa” started out as a low-key event thanks to less than enthusiastic promotion. By 8pm, the Serena Victoria hall was just half-full and kept filling up ever so slowly even though the show had been scheduled to start at 6pm. The stage was set brilliantly and the drums, pianos, a saxophone, acoustic and bass guitar, together with the traditional long drums and cymbals were the only encouragement to those waiting for the highly anticipated performance to relive 36 years of Afrigo band. Fortunately, the momentum built up as soon as the actual show started.
It was Joanita Kawalya doing renditions of her later father, Elly Wamala’s who performed first and her act, characterised by energy and enthusiasm, set the pace for the evening. As soon as the band struck it up, the atmosphere turned electric and nostalgia swept through the hall sending the audience back into the early 90s as the queen dancers wiggled away in their yellow skirts and tops with a bare mid-rife. Kawalya set the hall on fire when he danced the famous rumba with a guest as she did her father’s enchanting ‘Susanna’.
Yet for all the audience’s familiarity and enjoyment of Joanita Kawalya’s songs, it would not be an Afrigo night without Moses Matovu and his beloved Saxophone.
Watching people enjoy themselves, one could not help but notice that it was a vintage event. The only youngish people present possibly had grown to love Afrigo music from listening to it because their parents were enthusiasts.
Mulindwa Herbert, a 40-year old dealer in recorded music in the city ruefully lamented that the band had failed to capture the current generation with its live band music. Its hits have been few over the years and almost dwindling out.
“36 years of Afrigo Music is such a milestone. Very great music is all I can say,” said Michael Ouma, an accomplished acoustic guitarist.
The next main event was Watoto Church Christmas presentation themed, ‘One child’ on Dec.18. After a run through of Christmas carols, the main event opened to a scene of dazzling lights against a background of falling snow, ancient Palestine and choir ethos of “O come Christmas come” resounded powerfully in the ancient former Norman Cinema now turned church.
Men in tuxedos and ladies in red dresses with black sashes, tectonically positioned on a raised carpeted stage, cut the picture of class and elegance. Their soulful voices cut through the hush and eager expectations of the faithful that Sunday morning.
Rather than dive directly into the well-known Mary and Joseph holding the infant Jesus scenes, it was an aged Mary who narrated to the audience through her memoirs the story of the first Christmas as the world came to know of it.
After these frantic scenes, a manger was gently pushed onto the stage, a bright star inside the giant screen loomed over the historically famous quarters of the infant Lord. Ballerinas and vocalists came on but were swallowed up by the multi-coloured lights.
Most in the audience were moved, some into tears while others merely enjoyed just another performance. For a church that has faithfully given the city of Kampala a professionally done Christmas presentation for over ten years, the first performance opened generally to positive reviews.
Post Christmas, December 27 had the pragmatic David Nsaiga at the Serena Garden roof top in a show dubbed “Christmas peroxide”.
‘Pragmo’ - as he is popularly known - is best known for doing acidic jazz, a music genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop and looped beats that emerged in the UK over the 80s and 90s.
Naturally, young adults in their late twenties and early thirties who have inclinations to sophistication and adventure powered by their ability to have well paying jobs, patronize Pragmo.
Pragmo is nervous when he shows up; standing briefly at the entrance donned in a doctor’s coat and his signature trademark hat. He seems to have expected audience not to show up. That was before he hit the stage of three pianos manned by him, a bass guitar by David Mutebi and a drummer dubbed as the machine, Dj Twonjex mixing the music and Solome Ndikatuuga, on vocals.
Pragno’s fingers moved across the three keyboards with speed and precision to produce a sound so definite it appears to project onto a known destination. Tingling, caressing the keys, he evokes sounds and events you cannot easily ignore. The audience is intent, slowly taking in Pragmo who was everything but nervous.
Mostly, he managed to create a relaxed atmosphere for people to carry on their happy banter while not entirely forgetting him.
After a short break midway, he introduced his guest artist, Charlie King who at one time was an international success based in Sweden where he has lived for over twenty years.
Not forgetting the season, Rucci of Limit X fame - when invited by his pals Pragmo and Charlie King to the stage - sang “J.E.S.U.S” a hit popular in the day when Limit X was Uganda’s best gospel music export to the world.
After the song, he declared boldly: “After such a great live performance, playback is dead. We should no longer settle for crap but demand more from our artists because they surely can give more.”
An extended version of this music review has been published online at STARTJOURNAL.ORG.
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