Fu Jazz to celebrate six years

WINDHOEK- The Fu Jazz is celebrate its  sixth anniversary on Thursday with Windhoek jazz lovers.

The Fu-Jazz All Stars were borne from a Warehouse Theatre music project with an identical name in 2007. From March 2007 until the end of 2009, every second Sunday, Fu Jazz produced  beyond a hundred shows with varying jazz artists at the Warehouse. Fu Jazz embodied a pivotal mosaic-stone of the Bank Windhoek Arts festival through the years. In the process a permanent rhythm section was created that later formed the back-bone of Fu Jazz performances.

On September 16, 2007, they performed live at the Warehouse Theatre.It was the birth of the Fu Jazz All Stars Band. That evening created an entrance into the Jazz scene for artists like Erna Chimu and Lize Ehlers – amongst others.

Fu Jazz injects new blood into well-known jazz standards like Blusette (Toots Thielemans), Mister PC (John Coltrane) or A Night in Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie) with novel arrangements and red-hot solos. As the evening progresses fusion grooves from Spyro Gyra to Michael Manson and Maceo Parker take centre stage followed by a set of let’s-face-the-music-and-dance rhythm & blues featuring songs of Towering Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Afrotraction and Al Jarreau – courtesy of Raymond Pande.

To-day they are a band of seven, complete with brass section, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums and fronted by two impressive vocal talents, Raymond Pande and Romancia Shoonga. Doors open at 20h and the show starts with an opening act at 20h15. Tickets cost N$ 60 in advance (available at the Warehouse Theatre, 48 Tal Street, Tel 402253 – or N$ 80 at the door. Advance ticket sales close at 16h00 on the date of the performance.