Making this trip even more fun was the presence of three long-time acquaintances and African music aficionados: Douglas Paterson (Seattle), Peter Toll (Netherlands) and Jean Suren (Nairobi by way of Los Angeles). Doug is an acknowledged expert in East African music, a record collector, broadcaster, audio engineer.... well, see for yourself on his Web site: East African Music.com. Peter, also a dedicated record collector and music scholar, was manager and producer for Simba Wanyika and also an old Africa-hand, who had lived in LA for a time. Incredibly, they had never met, and I was so pleased that they were able to finally get together in Nairobi after their many years of toiling in the same field. My dear friend Jean was a fixture in LA's African music scene during the good old days of the '80s, specializing in the care and feeding of African musicians and always the first on the dance floor at live shows, resplendent in African attire. She moved to Nairobi in 1991, continued to be in touch with the music scene, and is well-established and highly regarded in her career as a diabetes care and training specialist. How marvelous it was to reconnect with all of you!
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