Uganda’s Jazz Pioneer whose innovation has inspired and sensitised many to jazz, this self-taught saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa has converted many into jazz enthusiasts and now a genre whose crowd and players is growing dramatically in Uganda and East Africa at large.

Much has been said and written about Isaiah Katumwa than any other instrumentalist in Uganda where he was born and raised. He has been dubbed the country’s leading jazz artist, the best saxophonist in East and Central Africa, …arguably East Africa’s best jazz artist’, ‘East Africa’s Kenny G’ and ‘Uganda’s sax wizard’. The list is long but one thing is for sure, he is a living treasure to the East and Central African music scene.

In Uganda and generally East Africa, Jazz did not have a significant presence on the music scene. Isaiah’s album Sinza was a breakthrough event in 2006 even featuring on the BBC where he was hosted. He continues in his attempt to challenge and influence the industry for greater quality, skill, creativity and professionalism in not only jazz, but African music. Along with the traditional folk musical background, he has developed a blend of sounds to express his East African identity, smooth jazz influence and Christian passion.

So “it is African, Smooth and Divine”

This canny ability of his fusion and concert performance has led to reviews like:

‘An ability to indigenize this wind instrument in much the same way one would speak English with an East African accent’ BY The Daily Monitor a local new paper.

‘I had to be practically dragged ...... and for someone who was there by mistake, Katumwa`s performance floored me entirely’- BY The Weekly Observer a local news paper.

“The precision and clarity Katumwa brings to the saxophone makes you forget that his repertoire is mostly gospel inspired” BY The Daily Monitor a local news paper.

So mesmerizing is his performance reported in the leading daily paper, The New Vision as ‘his simplified dance choreography that came with loads of gaiety only prove that Katumwa is not only a saxophonist, but also a dancer who has mastered the art of thrilling his fans. The New Vision paper reports:

Isaiah used his skill to get through his education, which also gave him the opportunity to meet and work with several leading artists in the country - musicians and producers alike representing a wide range of styles.

On the international scene he has not only featured on BBC, Africa Magic TV, DSTV’s Studio 53 and on several occasions Mnet, he has either shared stage or opened performances for names like Manu Dubangu, Jonathan Butler, Miriam Makeba, Chaka Chaka, Oliver Mtukudzi, Phil Driscoll, Alvin Slaughter, The Flecktones etc. He is also a qualified Sound Engineer from the UK

He has performed in Europe- London UK, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and in a couple of West and East African countries. He has also performed for heads of states frequently and so far more than 20 presidents,

He has recorded 9 albums so far since 2001 when he recorded “We’ll Worship You” and “Saxohymns”. Even though he has been a recording artist for several years only 3 out of 9 albums are currently available on the market today.

In 2010 he was nominated for two outstanding awards in the following categories:

1. Best Artist of the Year in Uganda - The Grove Awards (Eastern Africa)
2. Best Artist outside the United Kingdom - The Africa Gospel Awards (United Kingdom)

Isaiah’s passion is to see young lives changed through music and he has dedicated himself to a vision of inspiring untapped talent and potential using his personal life story: from a background of hopelessness as a child having to work for his school tuition from the tender age of 10 to the man that he now is

“If I could make it to here, then anyone can with God. Even better”

Isaiah is married to Sheila and they have a son called Mitchell.