Christine Kamau, Alune Wade and Afro4Band to perform at jazzahead! 2024

jazzahead! is one of the world’s largest jazz trade fairs held annually every April. Its showcase festival presents contemporary jazz with 40 music performances from around the world.

For the first time in its history, the 2024 edition of jazzahead! will spotlight jazz from Africa, with the three above-mentioned acts being the first cohort of jazz musicians from the continent to perform at jazzahead’s  ‘Jazz from Africa’ showcase. The three African acts were selected by the festival’s jury comprising international jazz industry experts. 

“This year, a special place will be given to African Jazz, a topic which we believe deserves much more attention,” jazzahead! artistic Advisor Gotz Buhler. “By working closely with a specially assembled jury of experts from the African continent, the organisers of jazzahead! have succeeded in selecting some of the best bands and musicians from Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal as part of the showcase programme.”

“I am thrilled to have been selected to perform at jazzahead! with my band from Kenya,” Kamau said. “Our European debut will be at this significant jazz industry event, and I truly can’t wait to share my music with the jazz world gathered in Bremen.”

Kamau is a trumpeter, composer and performing artist. Her music has been described as a “wide-eared approach to jazz, paying attention to various styles without losing the jazz tonality.” She has performed in various countries such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Uganda, Zanzibar and Tanzania, among others. Kamau is also the founder of the Women In Music Concert series, a live-performance showcase that promotes Kenyan women musicians by providing a platform for them to showcase their stage performance skills.

A bass expert, composer and vocalist, Wade is hailed as a leading talent in the global jazz and Afrobeat scene. A truly cosmopolitan artist, Wade bridges Africa and the world through his music, captivating audiences with his global sound and unique musical vision.

Afro4Band is a Lagos-based four-piece jazz-influenced African groove music group founded by Afrodyssey Music Limited in 2022.

See the complete list of showcasing artists here.