By Dennis Asiimwe
Ugandan singer Jaqee, who is now based in Germany after developing her career in Sweden over the last decade, has released her latest single, Come One.
Her music has various influences, including jazz, reggae, and African percussion, as well as soul and R & B. It’s an intoxicating, musical fusion of sorts and would probably be referred to as Afro-fusion if it were not for its strong R & B or soul influences.
Come On even has some dancehall elements within its percussion, which captures one of the things I love about Jaqee – she goes where the inspiration takes her. She is very free spirited about her music.
Come On carries with it some potent fee-good vibes, another element I often come across Jaqee’s music. It encourages you to live in the moment. There is also a wonderful minimalist element about Come On that is impossible to ignore. Apart from the vocals, there’s keys, the percussion and that mute trumpet. That’s it.
There’s a benefit to this minimalism, of course. It helps you to focus on her vocals, which are nuanced beautifully, especially when it comes to the harmonies, which she vocalises herself as well. It also enables the mute solo trumpet to take centre stage, and there is a subtlety to that mute trumpet that is spell binding.
Jaqee has been referred to as ‘the chameleon of music’. I am not sure where I saw this reference, but I imagine it was highlighting her capacity over a variety of genres, so that it is impossible to put her in a box. But more importantly it lends texture and depth to her musical approach, and her vocals.
You can it in her harmonies, and in the fluidity of her singing. It enables her to execute Come On so casually, which is probably one of the most charming things about Come On – it is a minimalist, comfortable bit of feel good music.
