2008 Woodie Awards
Music awakens the spirit
Andrea Furlong
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: A&E
Happy harmonies, sweet chords and ripe rhythms drew dozens of students to the cafeteria to see Jabali Afrika perform on Feb. 15.
Composed of full-time members Joseck Asikoye, Justo Otongo and Victor "The Bellyman" Elolo, along with guest musician, Dumisizwe Bembeh, Jabali Afrika brings its sound from Nairobi, Kenya to cities and towns across the United States.
Performing barefoot in skirts of suede or checkered cloth accessorized by simple necklaces of beads and shells, Jabali Afrika showed their performance is not just about the music.
"We chose [the outfits] to represent different clans of the Masai tribe," said Asikoye, a percussionist and spokesman for the band. "The Masai is the only group in Kenya which has held onto their traditional identity, so we decided to represent them as Kenyans, to visually represent our country."
While Jabali is serious about representation in their presentation, the band loves to joke during a performance.
"Entertainment is a combination of everything: Playing, singing, comedy. We like to make people laugh, make people happy," Asikoye said.
A crowd-pleaser at Kirkwood, Jabali encouraged audience participation in both singing and dancing. Students laughed as Elolo pulled male students from the audience and taught them some moves.
Asikoye got a few chuckles too when leading the audience in a song. He poked fun at their accents "We don't say 'fine,' we say 'fwiiiiine,'" Asikoye said during the show.
Asikoye said Jabali prefers performing to smaller audiences and in small towns such as their next stop, Mason City, because they like "taking the music to the people."
This was Jabali's second visit to Kirkwood. The group first visited four years ago. Asikoye said both times the band has played to a full audience, "but we liked it better this time," he added.
Composed of full-time members Joseck Asikoye, Justo Otongo and Victor "The Bellyman" Elolo, along with guest musician, Dumisizwe Bembeh, Jabali Afrika brings its sound from Nairobi, Kenya to cities and towns across the United States.
Performing barefoot in skirts of suede or checkered cloth accessorized by simple necklaces of beads and shells, Jabali Afrika showed their performance is not just about the music.
"We chose [the outfits] to represent different clans of the Masai tribe," said Asikoye, a percussionist and spokesman for the band. "The Masai is the only group in Kenya which has held onto their traditional identity, so we decided to represent them as Kenyans, to visually represent our country."
While Jabali is serious about representation in their presentation, the band loves to joke during a performance.
"Entertainment is a combination of everything: Playing, singing, comedy. We like to make people laugh, make people happy," Asikoye said.
A crowd-pleaser at Kirkwood, Jabali encouraged audience participation in both singing and dancing. Students laughed as Elolo pulled male students from the audience and taught them some moves.
Asikoye got a few chuckles too when leading the audience in a song. He poked fun at their accents "We don't say 'fine,' we say 'fwiiiiine,'" Asikoye said during the show.
Asikoye said Jabali prefers performing to smaller audiences and in small towns such as their next stop, Mason City, because they like "taking the music to the people."
This was Jabali's second visit to Kirkwood. The group first visited four years ago. Asikoye said both times the band has played to a full audience, "but we liked it better this time," he added.