Since 2004, Lismore Jazz Club has been hosting live jazz gigs with local and big-city performers across an eclectic mix of jazz styles. 

Gigs are usually held on the first Sunday of every month at the Lismore City Bowlo.

This month we have another brilliant band, the Kwasi Bruni African Cuban Ensemble.

Another unmissable jazz gig for music lovers in our town and beyond! 

Date: Sunday, 2 June

Time: 2 to 5 pm (doors open 1.30 pm)

Name of gig: Lismore Jazz Club

Band: Kwasi Bruni

Venue: Lismore City Bowlo

Cost: $15 members/$20 nonmembers, cash at door

Kwasi Bruni is an Afro Cuban big band project led by Southern Cross University Contemporary Music Course Coordinator and bassist Dr Barry Hill and local Colombian musician Camilo Losada.

Kwasi Bruni was born from a series of jam sessions and backyard barbecues where South Americans and musicians interested in Latin music met to have informal “descargas”, or jam sessions. 

The music of Kwasi Bruni celebrates the Afro Cuban improvised big band sound of the early 60s led by pioneering Cuban double bass player Israel Cachao Lopez. 

This music is part of the African American tradition of styles that were created through the fusion of western classical music and West African musical traditions that occurred during the slave trade in the slaving destinations of South America, Latin America and North America. 

Specifically, Cuba and Havana have been pioneering cultural hotspots that formed the initial fusion of classical music and West African music to create the foundations on which jazz and blues and pop music have been formed. 

This concert will features some fantastic improvised musicians from around the region and will be based around Camilo’s Afro Cuban style piano playing. 

Kwasi Bruni will be performing the music of the Latin American Mongo Santa Maria, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente, as well as some original tunes inspired by this amazing tradition.