Chile's Uribe plans to open jazz school in Rwanda

If you have been to jazz concerts in Kigali, you might have seen Chilean jazz guitarist Tito al Uribe play. After pioneering Latin rock and later jazz in Belgium, where, in 1978 he moved to from his native Chile, Uribe is now promoting the latter in Rwanda where he has been residing since August this year. Having interacted with many Rwandan musicians, the celebrated jazz guitarist says that he found it necessary to start a jazz school that teaches “real jazz music”. The school, which is still in the pipeline, will run a 7-year course format of the world famous Berklee College of Music in California, USA. The school will offer training in various jazz styles and in different musical instruments. The 61-year-old, who has been a multi-style solo guitarist, arranger and composer for the last 40 years, arrived in the country with his wife who works with the Belgian Embassy. Apart from a few Rwandan musicians he had previously met in Belgium like Ben Ngabo and Mutsare Murefu, he knew no one. With the help of promoter Jean Paul Kalonda, he was later introduced to other artists on the local scene and has since played with various acts like Massamba Intore, Eric Mucyo, Hope Irakoze, ‘Makumbi Sounds’ and ‘The Neptunes Band’. Though ‘The Neptunes Band’ have been able to impress audiences, the veteran guitarist says that it would require the band to play more variety, including the most complicated pieces of jazz greats that take years to master to satisfy foreign jazz savvy audiences who can be “cruel”. “They have an interesting arrangement but the problem with that is that there are moments you will hit a wall and you just can’t go any further,” he says. This, he says, is because most musicians on the local scene have learnt to play “by the ear”. For most people familiar with music, unlike in other genres, jazz takes a player who has mastered the chords to improvise and innovate. The road to being a good musician isn’t an easy one but Uribe believes that if one practices seven hours a day for one year, there is hope to make it as a good musician. “Jazz music is exactly like going to university. If you want to be a doctor, you study seven years, after that, you practice seven hours a day. It is the exact same thing with being a good musician,” he says. According to Uribe, jazz has suffered due to a generation of artistes who are “arrogant” unlike their 70s and 80s counterparts who have since been overtaken by the more commercial genres on the world scene. Uribe also explains that, to make things worse, jazz schools are now more academic than instructional and most jazz graduates play the same music, unlike artistes like John Coltrane and Charlie Parker who actually taught themselves how to play. According to the guitarist, there’s a growing audience for the genre in Kigali, thanks to the small size of the city which makes it easy to get the musicians together for such a project as his. If everything comes together Uribe is looking at starting a jazz club made up of professionals. Uribe plays at Republika Lounge Restaurant, Kimihurura on Saturday and has videos of his work on his Facebook page. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Chile's Uribe plans to open jazz school in Rwanda