Jai Banda, the entertainment addict

Close to three decades Jai Banda has made headlines in Malawi's entertainment cycles. Very few know that he is a lawyer.

I started hearing radio adverts going as 'I am not a doctor, I am not a soldier, I am not a lawyer, I am just an entertainer' back in the days when Bright Nkhata and Makasu Band were hogging the spotlight in this country.

We might fault his touting the wattage of his equipment, the style of his organisation or argue that his most hyped best lighting system adds nothing to the music shows that he promotes. One thing we cannot look down upon is the fact that the country's entertainment industry owes him a lot.

There was a time that Jai never took my criticism kindly. Someone had organised a choir festival where over 30 performers were expected to perform from 7am to 7pm.

I was not reluctant to talk about the music equipment owned by ‘Mr. Entertainer’ himself.

My argument then was that equipment is like human beings when it comes to getting tired. Equipment cannot perform at its full capacity for six non-stop hours without showing some fatigue.

Main instruments that project quality output are supposed to come with substitutes. I had observed during this particular show that at around 6pm when 

The Ndirande Anglican Voices were taking to the stage, the equipment had lost their sharpness and was sounding hoarse and tired. The performance had to be stopped briefly.

The next day Jai extend an invitation to me to go and appreciate how much he can afford all what I had talked about.

Basically I brought this aspect just to show you how passionate Jai is to music. 

You cannot be doubting his love for the industry when you consider the list that he has been involved with having grown up within the neighbourhood that legendary Oliver Mtukudzi lived In Zimbabwe.

Just to mention but a few Jai has worked with States Samangaya and Police Orchestra, Ethel Kamwendo Banda, Ben Michael, MBC Band, Evison Matafale, Billy Kaunda, Lucius Banda. He continues to work with the Black Missionaries and all the modern great.

Having sacrificed his time to the local industry at the expense of his family, Jai decided not to just surrender and leave the stage as he concedes that years of sleepless nights are now catching up with him and he can now feel it all through.

He has decided to give the entertainment industry his own son Tonderai to take it from where he would have left off. Ever since Tonderai started I have continuously seen Jai still taking charge. It clearly shows as there might not be much take home rewards, it is very clear that his addiction to the entertainment industry is more of a blessing that it is supposed to be otherwise.

I once commented about John Nthakomwa of the Mibawa Entertainment that he is one investor that the Malawi music industry desires his replication.

Within a short time yes Nthakomwa has invested immensely in the industry. Jai's contributions might not be seen in the same light as what Mibawa has achieved in a very short period of time.

More of what Jai has achieved cannot be measured. It cannot be touched. It cannot be compared. He has done great to the industry at the time when no one ever took a serious thought about the entertainment industry.

He emerged at the time when people used to associate it with Chamba smokers. The musicians at the time were only called when it suited the corporate world. Once their end was achieved the musicians could be dumped and they cared less what their lives would turn out to be until the next time when their services would be required again.

For Jai, he has always been the all-weather friend to the industry and for that this the column makes him the inaugural recipient of its life time achiever award.

Sham Religious Choir Show

On paper it sounds good to have plenty artists playing on the same day, the same venue and coming one after the other... That has been the case the last two weekends where Zomba, Blantyre and Lilongwe witnessed a large turnout of both patrons and artists that include Ethel Kamwendo Banda, Favoured Martha, Kamuzu Singers, Great Angels Choir, The Marvellous Deeds, Ndirande Anglican voices, Peter Mlangeni, Limbani Simenti, Mlaka Maliro,  the Mighty POV and Thocco Katimba.

This was however the show that was organised by The Great Angels Choir. The group has reported in the media that it had 850 patrons at Gymkhana Club in Zomba, 2500 at Robbins Park in Blantyre and 4,000 at ICA Marque in Lilongwe.

Every head parted ways with K1000 and this money needed to get its worth by way of tight performances from the artists.  

I attended the Blantyre Show which was scheduled to run between 1 PM and 7PM, a six-hour marathon that was expected to excite the over 2500 patrons that jam-packed Robins Park.

One clear thing that I witnessed was that it was apparent that there was an overcrowding problem which caused no problem to the organisers whose only care was how much money they would be making by the end of the day.

It also provides answers on how much effort should be put when designing entertainment infrastructure. Robbins Park for example has air conditioners, but whether these are just for decoration or they are really there to serve the purpose only the owners can answer. But for me, I think my answer is for the former because I have never seen them functioning where they are required to do so. There was too much heat emitting from 2500 bodies, some diseased while others too young to be exposed to such a melting pot of what might turn out to be hazardous to their ‘green’ health.  

The other challenge is that there were too many artists for so little time. Others like Ethel Kamwendo Banda gave the people raw deal. She sounded tired and out of place. While others literary played a single track with some extension that was meant to mean that they are doing something. Next time start from 7 Am to 7 PM, or just invite few artists.

The other challenge I discovered was lack of stage discipline. Not from the artists though, but from the patrons, some of whom were high on something from spiritual powers to powers of alcohol and banned substances even when this was a gospel show.

One would leap on stage and start performing with the artists. At first the rest of the patrons would feel they are part of the band before realisation dawning on them that these were just wayward patrons. Then everyone would be trying to join the stage and your guess of confusion that would emanate is as good as mine. 

The other think I am reluctant to talk about is on the musical equipment, more so because they are owned by Mr. Entertainers himself. Jai Banda does not take kindly when you talk about his instruments in a negative shade.

But for the sake of retaining quality I will take the risk of being flaked for differing with him again. Instruments are like human beings when it comes to getting tired. Unless he schools me more, there is no way instruments can play at its full capacity for six long gruelling hours without having to show some fatigue. If it is possible the main instruments that project quality output, especially mixers, is supposed to come with substitute ones. At around 5 to 6 PM when Ndirande Anglican was to start playing, the instruments had lost its sharpness and were sounding hoarse and tired. The performance had to be stopped briefly.

Then there is also need to consider adding microphones when groups like Great Angels or Ndirande Anglican Voices are performing. The situation where four people have to share a single microphone is mocking the patrons to say the least. More so when there is need for two leading vocalist to sing like in the case of The Great Angels, the other singers are literary reduced to dancers as they have no microphones to sing on. Otherwise the shows were great and exciting except for the little problems that turned to almost a sham.