About this Event
About the Performance
Newport Live presents world-renowned South African jazz saxophonist at a beautiful new venue - November at Newport Classical Recital Hall at Emmanuel Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
Legendary South African saxophone master McCoy Mrubata makes his long-anticipated return to the United States, having just played Joy of Jazz Festival in Johannesburg and Dizzy's at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Aaron Rimbui is just coming off a tour backing fellow Kenyan legend Angelique Kidjo
Performance Lineup*:
- McCoy Mrubata, tenor saxophone
- Aaron Rimbui, piano
- Tim Norton, bass
- George Gray, drums
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Please note that outside drink is NOT permitted. Beer and wine will be availabe for sale from our sponsors for this show at Greenvale Vineyards and Narragansett Beer. There are many nice restaurants in Newport for an early or late dinner if you book ahead. Parking is available nearby.
About McCoy Mrubata
McCoy Mrubata was born in 1959 in the township of Langa, Cape Town, South Africa. He was surrounded in childhood by many African hymns, from the sounds of Zion churches to the brassy music of the Merry Macs band who rehearsed opposite his home. With the difficulty of living under the apartheid government and the 1976’s uprising, McCoy left school and followed his music passion. His instrument then was flute, which He studied informally under the likes of Madoda Gxabeka, the Ngcukanas, Winston Ngozi, Ezra and many Langa greats.
In the early 1980s, Mrubata played with many cover bands such as Fever, Touch and Airborne, from where he moved to crossover outfit Louis and the Jive. While touring in the 1980s, he was spotted by bandleader Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, who helped him make Johannesburg his home. As Mrubata grew into playing a wider range of reeds and composing more, he engaged with many other bands and that led to the opportunity of a recording deal by producer Koloi Lebona with a British-based record company named Zomba Records in 1988. The same company had produced, among others, Jonathan Butler and Billy Ocean. The following year Mrubata released his debut album Firebird and went on to form Brotherhood, a band with names such as guitarist Jimmy Dludlu, pianist Nhlanhla Magagula and Lucas Khumalo winning the Gilbey's Music for Africa prize in 1990.
In 1992 Mrubata joined Hugh Masekela’s Lerapo and toured the world, playing alongside guitarist Lawrence Matshiza and pianist Moses Molelekwa. Mrubata continued creating his own bands, Cape to Cairo and McCoy and Friends. In the mid-1990s, he made the first of a series of albums as a leader, with Face the Music winning the 2003 South African Music Award (SAMA) in the Traditional Jazz category and Icamagu Livumile winning the same award in 2005. Besides his international musical journey, Mrubata also did some scoring work for South African productions about journalist Bloke Modisane and in 2001 starring in a Norwegian production based on the life of John Coltrane. In June 2007 Mrubata travelled with Paul Hanmer to Congo DR and Kinshasa to participate in conducting music workshops with Belgian and Congolese musicians for a local jazz festival. In 2008, he won his third SAMA in the category Best Traditional Jazz Album for his album The Brasskap Sessions Volume 1.
Mrubata's current music involvement includes producing and teaching, alongside being a family man. His ambition is to keep our kind of music alive here at home and sharing his South African experiences through music with the rest of the continent and the world at large.
He is married with four kids and currently lives in Johannesburg.
About Aaron Rimbui
“Harun "Aaron" Kimathi Rimbui is a Kenyan pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, producer, festival curator and radio host. He is regarded as one of East Africa's finest pianists.
Aaron was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Rimbui's ear for music was displayed while still a toddler. His father would play everything from Stevie Wonder records to Henry Mancini and take him to local restaurants where he heard the music of groups like Les Wanyika, Maroon Commandos and Samba Mapangala. This had a significant influence on how he developed his sound in later years. Rimbui's individual expression in music continued to form in his high school years. It is at this time that he picked up the piano. Rimbui began to gravitate toward jazz as he listened to the music of David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Yellowjackets and Fourplay and later, Herbie Hancock and George Duke. Rimbui served as head the Tusker Project Fame band.
Born in a family of five, with two siblings a brother and sister, Aaron's ear for music was spotted while still a toddler. At three years of age he was already rhythmically drumming using everything in sight - small wonder the first instrument he picked up was the drum set. He attended the Lavington Primary School then the prestigious Nairobi School for his secondary education. Though he claims little if any musical pedigree in his family, his younger brother, Tim 'Ennovator' Rimbui happens to be one of the country's premier producers.
Exuberant after just completing his primary education and on only his second week of post-primary vacation, Aaron survived a horrific domestic accident. One of his neighbours had accidentally left a gas cooker on, and while trying to switch it off, a serious gas explosion occurred. Aaron, in a moment of retrospection, recalls being awake through the whole experience and was diagnosed with second degree burns. He spent the next month bedridden at the Nairobi Hospital, kicking off an extremely difficult, yet immensely profound and life-changing period of his life. For the next 18 months he was in and out of hospitals, seeing different specialists due to the complications that arose after the accident. He developed chiloids and had to undergo reconstructive surgery.
After numerous visits to theatres for surgery, he found himself earnestly seeking for God's presence to abide with him during this telling period. As his search continued, and his heart reached out for the Lord, he suddenly got baptised in the Holy Spirit while praying. Aaron 'Krucial Keys' Rimbui started playing the drums in 1990 when his father bought him a 4 piece drum-set. After assembling it, he proceeded to carry it to church, and it was not long before he was declared the official church drummer.
Prior to his accident he had attended two months worth of piano lessons, but painfully, his fingers were unable to play the keys. While still at Nairobi School he met up with Daniel Mwiti, now of Milele, who mentored him musically and over time he began to blossom as a pianist.
At the same time he rubbed shoulders with the school's other talented pianists Chris Adwar and Jacob Asiyo, now of the Hotel Intercontinental. Little did he know that his career in music would be greatly influenced by his attendance of an overnight prayer meeting at the Nairobi Baptist Church . There, he came across two exceptionally gifted guitar players, J.J Ojiambo and Kung'u Mbathi (of Four Winds).
Aaron later joined the I.B program at St. Mary's, and on his very first day there, while attending auditions for the annual school musical, he comes across the very same guitarists playing in the band.
This began a budding music relationship and after a few months of playing together they formed the band Jazz It All; members being Aaron, Kung'u, JJ and now-producer Gideon Kimanzi. In 2000, Aaron secured an internship at Bruce Odhiambo's Johari Clef Studio and embarked on a journey as a producer. He confesses that being thrust smack into the middle of the secular music industry was a testing period as regards his Christian witness, where he often worked with people who had little or no concerns about his Christian convictions.
He recalls rejecting offers to do cigarette advertisements amidst great pressure to do so. Later that year he had an unsuccessful application for the Youth For Christ USA tour. He proceeded to join Pete Odera 's 'Beyond the Veil' album tour. But when the YFC designate pianist Chris Adwar was taken ill, the band suddenly needed a pianist. Fortunately for him, the 2001 YFC USA tour proceeded with him. After touring 8 states and performing at over 600 concerts, he recalls the pressure of it all almost having him contemplating quitting and just coming straight back home. In hindsight he is extremely glad he stayed along, gaining invaluable ministry and performance experience.
On completion of the YFC tour he went back to Johari Clef Studio and was also incorporated into the Nairobi Baptist Church worship team. One afternoon while on a worship team practise session, team member Kavila Matu approached Aaron with the idea of meeting up with a friend of his who had just returned from studying music at the prestigious Berkeley College in the U.S. He got to meet Kavutha Mwanzia, a highly gifted jazz vocalist, and immediately they struck up a music relationship. Soon thereafter, the Four Winds Band was formed. Aaron has since been privileged to work in the Sterling Q musical productions Ipitombi and Luanda Magere.
He has also toured with seasoned veteran Eric Wainaina, starting off as a pianist and eventually maturing into Eric's music director. For a full year he served as Eric's music director, pianist for Four Winds and band member for his local church, before the juggling became too much for him to handle, prompting him to resign as Eric's band leader.
Today Krucial Keys is a highly sort after musician, and has played for the likes of Wyre, Suzanne Owiyo, the Kibukosya's and Kanjii's Villagers Band. An ostensibly talented producer, he is totally sold out to his craft, having produced for the 2005 KORA award winning DNG, as well as artists such as Hellon, on the region's first ever African Jazz Saxophone album, and Chizi on his splendid debut album Suluwe. He proceeded to conceptualise his very own piano jazz concert, and as one thing led to another, the idea morphed into theaaron rimbui recording of his very own debut album 'Keys of life ' an exceptional jazz album with elements of world music and a tinge of benga-fusion. Having incorporated noted vocalists Eric Wainaina and Mercy Myra, Aaron proceeded to craft one of the standout albums of the year 2005.
On his inclusion of mainstream artistes in his Keys of Life project he quips: 'They are always willing to include us in what they are doing and how will they experience Jesus if we don't include them in what we are doing' Without hesitation he confesses bible reading and prayer are an integral part of his daily walk with the Lord. Aaron was part and parcel of the Kijiji Records inception in 2005, and after initial talks with Kanjii, who was in the U.S, their dream of working together in production begun to finally take shape. Today Aaron works full-time at the Kijiji Records studio, affectionately dubbed The Village. He is also a worship team member at the Nairobi Chapel Mavuno assembly; all the while still playing with his Four Winds Band. Aaron has experienced the seriousness and professionalism secular artistes put into their performances and endeavours to achieve a higher artistic level of worship music and challenge other worship teams to pursue excellence.
*Artist lineup subject to change
About Newport Classical Recital Hall
The Newport Classical Recital Hall, located at Emmanuel Church, is a beautiful and acoustically exceptional 182-seat venue that is home to Newport Classical’s year-round Chamber Series, in addition to educational workshops and gatherings. This space also serves as the main offices for the organization. The Recital Hall is now equipped with air conditioning.
PARKING
There is limited, free parking available in the lot directly across the street from Emmanuel Church. We anticipate this will become full quickly on concert days and encourage you to leave ample time to find street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. Additional parking is located along Dearborn, Baptist and Perry Streets, as well as Thames and Spring Streets.
ACCESSIBILITY
Fully wheelchair accessible. An accessible ramp is available through the main entrance.
REFRESHMENTS
Beer and wine will be sold on site by our sponsors from Greenvale Vineyards and Narragansett Beer.
Event venue & nearby stays
Newport Classical Recital Hall, 42 Dearborn Street, Newport, United States
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