Season Three of the Kigali Jazz Junction Friday evening opened in style, with ecstatic performances by Kenyan instrumentalist, Christine Kamau, Rwandan sensational vocalist Rosette Karimba and the Neptunez Band.

A blend of classical music with jazz music and instrumentals was what ruled the night at the Kigali Serena Hotel.

With its growing fan base, the seasonal musical event gave an exhilarating performance to the audience and loyal fans of the Kigali Jazz Junction.

Despite the unusual delay, due to the late arrival of the audience, that saw the show begin 30 minutes late, revelers left the show satisfied people.

First on stage was the Neptunez Band that have mastered the art of engaging the crowed with outstanding performances.

Serge Dior performed ‘Save the last dance’, before Billy Jean paid tribute to legendary singer Michael Jackson by performing his song ‘Love never felt so good’, while Lydia performed Mohabut Buri, an Indian love song.

Drummer Raphael who replaced Steve thrilled the crowd as he gave a hip hop mash gave an outstanding performance while Steve appeared on stage to sing Cape Town to the crowd.

The band also did a five minute performance with a touch of Rwandan traditional sound and dance that wowed the audience.

Rosette Karimba, famed for her strong vocals was next on stage, with an outstanding comeback to a big audience, after she took a break from her career to concentrate more on motherhood.

The multi lingual vocalist engaged the crowd performing songs in French, English and Lingala songs such as ‘Pour que tum’aime  encore’ by Celine Dion, ‘Open arms’, ‘One Night only’ by Jennifer Hudson and her own composition ‘Nga na we’. With her powerful voice and dance moves, she kept the audience excited all through her performance.

Her last show ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ got the audience to their feet, singing and dancing along.S he was given a deafening standing applause by the satisfied audience, with fans screaming out her name, as she concluded her performance.

Remmy Lubega, the CEO of RG Consults, the organizers of the monthly event, who doubled as the event host of the night,cracked up the crowd with his rib cracking jokes.

He expressed gratitude to the number of loyal Kigali Jazz Junction fans that has made the event a success over the years.

"Two years into the Kigali Jazz Junction event, so many people assured me of how this monthly event was going to fail because Kigalians are not party goers but see how far we have come,” he said.

He then introduced Kenyan instrumentalist Christine Kamau on stage. The seemingly poised trumpet and saxophone proved her talent and experience with her instruments as she performed alongside the Neptunez Band. 

Her compositions coupled with a number of instrumentals including ‘Lady’, a tribute to Hugh Masekela, a South African trumpet player, ‘Baba Afrika’, and ‘MelaMela’ a Luo song that thrilled Kenyans that were in attendance.

With guest coming in even as late as 10:00 PM, they kept their attention glued to the stage as they enjoyed the outstanding performances, as some danced the night away.

The show ended at mid night with Lubega promising more thrilling performances in the next editions.

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