PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING TRUMPETER WYNTON MARSALIS TO HEADLINE BC JAZZ LOUNGE 

Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis is set to bring his legendary sound to Kenya as the headline act of the inaugural BC Jazz Lounge. 

The event, announced by The Bob Collymore Foundation (BCF), is a featured part of the BC International Jazz Festival Series (BCIJF).

Marsalis, the music director of the acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), will lead two curated performances in Nairobi on October 1st and 2nd, 2025. 

The 15-member orchestra, comprising virtuoso instrumentalists, soloists, and educators, will also dedicate a day to mentoring Kenya’s next generation of musicians through masterclasses for emerging artists and students from programs like Ghetto Classics.

His visit to Nairobi becomes a key stop on the JLCO’s inaugural multi-country tour of Africa. “We are incredibly honoured to be able to host the Orchestra as they take on their first multi-country Africa tour. The Tour indicates that our Festival has achieved yet another milestone in its quest to become an integral part of Africa’s growing jazz ecosystem,” said Wambui Collymore, Festival Director of BCIJF.

The two Nairobi shows will be held at the Tamarind Gardens. The October 1st event will be an exclusive VIP show, followed by a general performance on October 2nd, which will be preceded by a special show for schools.

The tour will feature a premiere of Marsalis’s new work, Afro!, building on his previous celebrated opuses. The orchestra will be joined by special guests drummer Herlin Riley, percussionist Weedie Braimah, and vocalist Shenel Johns. JALC’s Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis says, “The JLCO’s first tour of Africa is deeply profound. In the globally influential music and dance concepts of Africa, we can perceive how to find harmony and balance with nature, how to perceive and interact with the supernatural, and how to create endless variations on fundamental themes in pursuit of a good time.”