Nairobi’s bustling Kenyatta market is an unlikely place to hear classical music. Yet playing today in front of stalls where butchers roast meat and hairdressers compete over heads to braid is a very surprising busker: the distinguished cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Playing Over the Rainbow alongside Kenyan percussionist Kasiva Mutua, he matches his cello to her beats in a truly eclectic mix.
Ma’s broad artistic sensibilities make weaving together the diverse musical traditions of drum and cello seem like a natural fit. “It was symbolic to introduce [classical] music to the crowd through something they know and understand,” says Mutua. “Africans understand rhythm to their core.”
