Yesterday, in Lilongwe, we gave our first workshop. It was pleasure to see the excitement and love for music that all the participants had. At one point we were treated to a Malawian song. I was glad that they were willing to share their music with us just as we were sharing ours with them.

In the evening, we gave a house concert at the US ambassdor’s residence. It was a lovely setting with a nice piano and beautiful gardens. Our performance was well received and afterward we had ample time to mingle with the guests. It was a diverse group including several other ambassadors and a number of Malawian musicians. Two young musicians told me that it was the first time that they’d had the opportunity to hear live jazz and they were ecstatic. It pleased me to hear an older colleague of theirs explain to them that we played “spiritual music”. I also had the privilege to speak with the French ambassador, who is a big jazz fan, and his wife. Apparently our concert presented the rare occasion for jazz to be heard in Malawi.

Today we drove to Blantyre where we have a second concert and workshop scheduled. The four-hour drive afforded us the possibility of seeing more of the country than just the urban areas where our activities are scheduled.