Zimbabwe: Out Goes Joe, Here Come the Masters of Jazz

BARELY a week after Joe Thomas gave a five-star performance in Harare, music lovers should gear up for another magical moment with United States- based jazz musical group, Ryan Cohan Quartet.

From the adrenalin-pumping guitar of the Rhythm and Blues to the soulful and pacifying sound of the saxophone in jazz, music lovers are set to remember the month of February with fondness.

The Chicago-based Ryan Cohan Quartet, which is already in the country, start the Zimbabwean tour with a concert at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton at 4PM tomorrow.

They will also perform on Wednesday at the Harare International School in Mount Pleasant. Both concerts are free.

The group will conclude their tour with a concert at Harare's premier jazz club, the Mannenberg, on Thursday at 9PM.

The tour is part of The Rhythm Road -- American Music Abroad programme, co-sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre programme, which offers professional American jazz and urban music performers the chance to perform their music in countries with limited exposure to American culture.

The jazz outfit, which comprises composer and pianist Ryan Cohan, Geoff Bradfield on saxophone, Lorin Cohen on bass and Kobie Watkins on drums, will also be holding workshops and educational sessions with students and musicians. None of the group members has ever travelled to Africa before.

Paul Engelstad, Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy described the tour by the jazz group as "a musical homecoming of sorts that will allow the group to bridge cultural divides and communicate with their audiences through the universal language of jazz."

"While on tour, the group will introduce their music within the context of the great repertoire of jazz and open up dialogue, meet Zimbabwean musicians, interact with them and play with them," Engelstad said.

He added that one of the great features of jazz is its ability to incorporate music from all over the world and the communication that goes on among the musicians that get together to play.

Saxophonist Bradfield told a news website before their departure from the US that the prospect of hearing local musicians is exciting.

"We would not necessarily be able to hear a jazz band from Zimbabwe in the United States. A lot of people are saying they do not have the opportunity to hear jazz from the United States very often. Well we -- to a much greater degree --- do not have the opportunity to hear them. So I am excited to hear what it will be like. Many times when you go to a different country, you hear a different flavour of jazz," he said.

The Ryan Cohan Quartet constantly searches for new musical territory to explore while remaining deeply rooted in jazz and blues traditions. Conversant in a variety of world-music styles and rhythms, the group has distinguished itself on major stages throughout the US and Canada by balancing dynamic and tight ensemble playing with explosive, expressive solos.

The group's tour to Zimbabwe concludes a marathon tour of countries in the Middle East and Africa that saw the group visit Jordan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda since 29 January 2008.

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