03 Feb 2013

 

Local jazz lovers on Friday night enjoyed melodies from the Swedish song bird, Anna Christofferson who performed alongside renowned local jazz maestros at the first session of 2013 Mascom Live Session at Botswana Craft.  

This collaboration project of the Swedish band and Batswana Jazz artists help artists to exchange experience and culture.  

The renowned local Jazz maestros, Lister Boleseng, Shanti-Lo and Nnunu Ramogotsi staged a marvellous performance at the show.

Nnunu Ramogotsi performing alongside Lister Boleseng were a marvel to watch. The songbird who just won herself  Album of the Year Award at the Botswana Music Union Awards sang her favourites Mmasonoko and Bula Wee. Anna joined the two to sing Lister’s Molato to the delight of the audience who could not stop clapping hands for the Swedish songbird.

She beamed with confidence as she backed Lister and profoundly pronounced the lyrics “Molato ga o bole”, o tla tshabela kae, o tla siela kae” fluently.

Lister Boleseng said in an interview that he was delighted to have been part of the collaboration.

“For the first time, I played my usual songs with a different feel and direction and enjoyed it most”, he said. The Swedish artist,  was here for the second time, after she performed for the first time at the No.1 ladies Opera house in Kgale. 

Pablo Donaldo who is Anna’s producer and base guitarist sang Spanish songs with Jonatan Allgulin on the drums and Jophan Hansen-Larson on the lead guitar took the audience to yet another feel when they performed Bob Marley’s reggae song Is this love, with a jazzy feel.

Music promoter and organiser of the show, Soares Katumbela said the collaboration started in 2011 when John Selolwane and Shanti – Lo got an invite to perform in Stockholm Pride Festival.

He said ever since then, they started the collaboration project which was funded by the Swedish government, with Anna who was one of the artists playing at the festival.

Katumbela said the collaboration has been so beneficial to most Batswana artists and musicians who attended the week long workshops that were held before the show.

“Through this partnership, we have also been able to network with yet other musicians from Ireland and we are hopeful they will join the collaboration”, he said.

It is also through this project that Shanti –lo got a deal to perform at the international Joy of Jazz annual festival and a scholarship deal to study music in Sweden, Katumbela said. Katumbela also revealed that the collaboration ended with a live CD recording. ENDS