Tasting Kaz's Blue sugarcane

A cold and a rainy weather accented Kaz Kasozi’s show dubbed 7projects – episode 4; Gravity.
An event that was rich on sound assortment; from the trumpets to the guitars, an eclectic mix of Kaz’s genius with poetry, jazz and other interesting ideas, the approach and delivery consistency couldn’t doubted, but the weather.
These shows are usually slated to kick off at 8pm, but this could not because the skies were still shading the place, being an outdoor concert, the organizers at Goethe Zentrum and Alliance Francaise had to improvise with a tent.
Later when the skies cleared, the weather was no longer an issue; we were now waiting for what Kaz was bringing on the table.
The intimacy Kaz and many acts of his nature have with this venue is great and it somehow showed especially with the faith he and the crew had in them. The audience – not your ordinary Bebe or Chamilli crowd started grooving even before the man himself stepped on stage.
But as you could imagine, these concerts never attract crowds, despite their authentic sound, they choose to play within their comfort zone which may be undoing for them; I would love to see more of them on TV than the excuse of artistes we have.
Kaz turned the Goethe Zentrum compound into a music capsule on Thursday with a mash up of classics like Destiny (a soundtrack of a TV show of the same name), Stand back, Nakaseeta waala and Kampala to new songs as well as his groovy unmatchable skill on the guitar, which the majority of the crowds were there for, anyway.
But there was a unifying thing about this particular concert, the trio performances by relatively new kids on the block like Rashida Namulondo, the Poet, Ernest Otim, a bass player and runaway Jazz sensation Jazz Kitanda.
They beautifully collaborated with Kaz’s mastery on songs like the opening Book of Graduation, written by Otim, the soulful jazz balad comes strong on the bass and drums, I guess this is what disseminates it from the many traditional jazz songs we are used to. It’s a song that makes you feel like the writer was trying to find his own way, sound and probably himself.
Then Rashida Namulondo, I’ve seen her perform very many times at various poetry sessions and I must admit she’s getting better each day. She performs with such pangs of pain that would convince you she’s got the poem from her life story.
Johnny was memorable though it was her second If my father loved me that left a lasting impression.
Michael Kitanda on the other hand continued his streak of proving that he’s not just a fad but here to stay, his chemistry with both Brian Mulindwa and Timothy Nabulwa- trombone/flute and trumpet respectively was magical but this didn’t leave out the entire Blue sugarcane band.
Gerald Mbuga came on strong on the dying minutes of Cherry lips, which may have been one of the most cheered songs of the night.
“The three acts were to depict the theme of the night, we’re grounded and thus anyone can shine,” Kaz noted.
The Kaz Kasozi 7project is a series of seven music shows performed over seven months by the funk band Blue Sugarcane. The series began in April 2014 and each show is unique in theme, repertoire, presentation and venue.