Christine Kamau

Christine Kamau is a Kenyan Trumpeter, Composer and Performing Artist. Her trumpet playing has been described as 'a wide-eared approach to jazz, paying attention to various styles without losing the jazz tonality'. Kamau credits her musical influences to Hugh Masekela, Miles Davis, Roy Hargrove, African Jazz Pioneers among others. Known for her distinctive sound and dynamic trumpet performances, her compositions fuse jazz with East African music
elements of benga, chakacha and rhumba. Since her 2012 debut afro-jazz album 'This is for You' which was featured on the BBC music program 'Africa beats' showcasing music talent from Africa, Christine Kamau has gone on to gain recognition for her work, becoming a trailblazer in the Kenyan jazz scene and one of Africa's few professional female horn players performing at festivals internationally.

Cultural & Social Impact
As a keen collaborator and campaigner for music as a tool for propagating unity, Christine Kamau has participated in intercultural music exchange
collaborations with musicians from Ethiopia, Ghana, Cameroon and Germany. Working at the intersection of music, cultural diplomacy and social change, she participates regularly as a panellist/speaker/moderator at key music industry conferences in various countries and provides an advisory role in the fundraising & membership committee of the pan-African arts
organisation Music In Africa Foundation. She is also the founder of the social initiative 'Women In Music Concert Series', a live-music event held in Nairobi that seeks to promote women musicians by providing a platform to showcase their stage performance skills in an effort to increase representation, create connections and expand opportunities in the music industry.

REVIEWS

"_with hindsight her 2012 debut was a seminal moment in this decade’s African Jazz". (africanjazz.info)

"She creates soundscapes that are inspired by a wide variety of influences including her ethnocultural roots, urban orientation and Kenya's contrasting cultural heritages". (The Nairobian)

PRESS

Delivering Afro Jazz Power
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/christine-kamau-delivering-afro-jazz-power

AWARDS

Nominee-Best Foreign Jazz Artist, Mzantsi Jazz Awards (2019)
Nominee-Best Jazz Act, Cafe Ngoma Awards (2017)

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Jazz & World Music Festival, Ghana (2025)
• Jazzahead! Festival, Germany (2024)
• UNESCO International Jazz Day Celebrations, Virtual (2021)
• New York Festival of New Trumpet Music, Virtual (2020)
• South Africa National Arts Festival, Virtual (2020)
• Lagos International Jazz Festival, Nigeria (2019)
• European Union Green Space Festival, Kenya (2018)
• Fendika Gallery Jam Night, Ethiopia (2017)
• Kigali Jazz Junction, Rwanda (2017)
• Yaounde Jazz Festival, Cameroon (2017)
• Capital Jazz Festival, Nigeria (2016)
• Doadoa Festival, Uganda (2016)
• Jahazi Literary & Jazz Festival, Zanzibar (2016)
• Karibu Music Festival, Tanzania (2016)
• MASA Festival, Ivory Coast (2016
• Sondeka Festival, Kenya (2015)
• Safaricom Jazz Festival - rising stars edition, Kenya (2014)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Member, MIAF fundraising & membership committee (2025)
• Moderator, Global Artivism Convening, Brazil (2025)
• Speaker, Amplify Uganda Music...