24th April, 2015
Funsho Arogundade
Inspiro Productions, organisers of Lagos International Jazz Festival, have unveiled a list of performing acts for this year’s concert.
Leading the pack are Nigerian-born United Kingdom-based two-time Grammy Award winning mega-percussionist Lekan Babalola; United States-based multi–instrumentalist Adeniji the ‘Heavywind’; Bass virtuoso and director of the Span Academy of Jazz and Contemporary Music, Bright Gain; veteran musician and classical clarinetist Tee Mac; vocal sensation Ego and neo-highlife musical icon Nomoreloss amongst a long list of other accomplished and upcoming musicians.
This year’s concert tagged ‘Jazz In The Megacity’ will run for three days between 30 April to 2 May at The Freedom Park.
Ayoola Sadare, festival founder and director, said the dream was not only to make the Lagos International Jazz Festival just another entertainment event but one that adds value to both the Lagos Megacity as a tourist destination, contributes to its GDP and presents an international platform for the indigenous musicians.
“We believe that the festival should be one of the leading Jazz festivals in Africa in the near future and are working tirelessly to fully integrate Lagos into the global jazz tourism circuit,” he said.
Sadare noted that the beauty of this year’s event is that apart from the musical performances there will be master-classes and art exhibitions to showcase some pieces. The Jazz festival will also climax the April Jazz Appreciation Month and starts on the International Jazz Day celebrated globally on 30 April.