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06 Mar 2023

 Music renditions by different artists at the Afro Jazz Live with Jonathan Butler struck a chord with jazz enthusiasts who thronged Molapo Piazza Saturday night.

Revellers who attended the event to witness performance by Jonathan Butler, his fellow South African musician Lloyiso alongside Botswana’s finest KhoiSan and Sereetsi and the Natives described the show as amazing, intimate and diverse.

“I quite enjoyed the show and the set up here was also beautiful,” said Anthea Reed who together with her husband said a performance by Jonathan Butler took them down memory lane as they remembered the good old days.

Another music lover Yaya Noge said she enjoyed local groups, KhoiSan as well as Sereetsi and the Natives, describing them as  ‘the country’s best export when it comes to music’. 

“The show had the best lineup,” said the delighted Noge.

Butler who last performed in Gaborone seven years back during the Gaborone International Music Concert (GIMC) gave his fans a night to remember. 

The soulful jazz crooner hit the stage to close the show at around 11pm with an impressive performance. 

Clad in black, the 61-year-old one-time teen idol from Cape Town, now based in the US, stirred the already charged crowd with Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry in a duet with Lloyiso.

Not to be outdone in their own yard, Sereetsi and the Natives and Khoi San brought the homegrown flavour to the show and had the fans thrilled. Sereetsi and the Natives, with old hits such as Thaa Kokome and Robete thrilled the crowd. 

The band’s latest hit, Petere was a favourite with the audience.

Taking to the stage after a exhilarating performance of Botswana’s two exports was Lloyiso. 

The former South African Idol contestant kept the audience’s attention as he rendered his most loved songs among them Speak, and Let me Love You.

Afro Jazz Live with Jonathan Butler was put together by Leapfrog Communications, and the organiser, Fish Pabalinga in an interview his excitement  with all the performances. 

He applauded Botswana groups, which he said were brilliant. 

“The creative sector is getting better by the day in Botswana. Whenever we bring great artists such as these, we can only hope for the best turnout as we see tonight,” Pabalinga said

Pabalinga called on the corporate sector to sponsor the creative industry, saying ‘it is no use to always say the creative sector should diversify the economy whilst they (corporate sector) do not channel funds to the entertainment industry.’

He noted that the show was self-sponsored by Leapfrog. ENDS