Jabu’s music lights up ‘the Village’

WEARING a red African suit, beadwork, headband, and carrying his trademark fly-whisk, the symbol of royalty, Jabu Khanyile lit up the Lidj Yasu Omowale Village stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Saturday night, as he delivered song after song for over an hour and a half. Backed by his full band Bayete, Khanyile who has successfully mixed the West African sound with township jazz style made music that was most appealing to the ears.

During the course of the night too, one could have actually picked up other Caribbean beats such as soca, skar and zouk. This prompted some patrons to express their feeling through dance. The award-winning Khanyile showed some charisma during parts of his performance and at one time when he sat on the stage, he literally had the audience eating out of the palm of his hands. His exploration of African musical styles, that he combines with history and contemporary musical ideas, made his performance a most entertaining one. While on stage, patrons also got some lessons in traditional African moves from Khanyile and his background vocalists. He sang in both African and English.

Earlier patrons were treated to vintage performances by Brother Resistance and Ella Andall. Andall’s repertoire included “Missing Generation”, “Different People, Different Races”, and her road march “Bring Down The Power.” Then she sounded a warning to the kidnappers with “Fire Go Burn Them”, but especially for the evening, she chose to close with Eddie Grant’s “Hello Africa.” This selection encouraged the audience to get up from their seats and the dancing started in the stands. The Ujaama Dancers closed the first half of the show and after the break, it was all Khanyile. Here are some highlights of the event.