This week we feature the big band rumba sounds of Orchestra Masika Afrika. Check out their profile below.

J’s Fresh Kitchen accepts reservations so please make a reservation for a table should you know you will be coming for dinner. The number for reservations is 0707612585. J’s Westlands is a 23 years and older venue. The show starts promptly at 8pm so tables are held til 8pm after which they are opened to other customers. We want to thank Tuborg for being Thursday Nite Live’s partner.

Orchestra Masika Afrika is a Kenyan based 11-man band with members from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo and Angola. The band seeks to revive and regrow the big band style of African rumba, pioneered by men such as Franco Makiadi & African Jazz, and to revive the spirit of the East African Rumba Orchestras that thrived between the 1950s and 1980s.

The band’s style of music is heavily influenced by the many cultures present in Kenya and East Africa. Their sound carries different tribal and contemporary beats with lyrics advocating against social issues like tribalism, corruption, neo colonialism and preservation of nature.