Audiences in Madagascar tend to be open and eager to discover new and more complex music because traditional Malagasy musical expressions themselves are polyphonic, polyrhythmic and varied.

However, because of its insular geographic situation, of a struggling economy, and since there are no accessible/affordable means of getting more than mass-produced CDs or tapes, Malagasy listeners have little access to "other" musical mediums. On the other hand, the musicians cannot get charts, instruments are very expensive, and they find very few venues to hone their skills and showcase their talent.

This is why RLI-106 FM, the 12 year-old and oldest private radio station in Madagascar, decided early to promote jazz in this environment that was inclined to prefer more immediate and commercial music.

In 2003, RLI-106 FM opted for an even more pro-active attitude and decided to be "more than just a radio station" by working with private and public partners, organizing the first-ever Jazz Competition to discover and support new talent, a series of Jazz Open House, and creating and co-producing a monthly television jazz program, Jazzine.

On May 1st, 2005, RLI-106 FM, in partnership with Madarail, the recently re-opened railway company, La Boussole, one of its regular partners, and the Jazz Musician's Collective of Madagascar that was recently created by the musicians themselves, will bring jazz to even broader audiences.

By putting three bands on a train - the Mahatozo Trio, the TÙty Band, and the percussion ensemble, Panako - and inviting people to come and listen to free concerts at the train's various stops, The Jazz Train will offer an innovative and ludic way for many to get to know and enjoy both jazz and this mean of transportation that a couple of Malagasy generations never had a chance to experience.

In the evening, this jazz celebration continues, when a multitude of Jazz musicians further demonstrate their talent and the incredibly wide diversity of Jazz itself.