+233 pulls off splendid 'Blues & Jazz Festival'

THERE was one more manifestation of +233 Jazz Bar and Grill’s constant and fruitful activities in support of jazz in this country when its Blues & Jazz Festival 2022 came off from February 3 to February 5.

From the moment the GH Jazz Collective hit the stage as the opening act, till the clean, crisp high tones of Andy Narrel’s steelpans climaxed the festival, it was clear everyone had enjoyed an imaginatively conceived and excellently- executed programme.

With trumpeter/flugel horn player Nicholas Genest from France as guest, the GH Jazz Collective was in high spirits right from the start of their 57-minute set.

They had obviously experienced playing in various other contexts before coming together. They are, however, a cohesive unit though the rhythmic density of each player still shows.

The Collective’s Bernard Ayisa on tenor saxophone is an extremely confident player who ran the gamut of pitches on his horn.

When he tackled ballads, his technique ranged from murmurs that were not muffled to blasts that were heart-warming and not jarring.

Drummer Frank Kissi played throughout with an elevated combination of quickness and precision. He unleashed some tremendous solos during the festival. Percussionist Nii ‘Star’ Amoo was loved by many at the festival.

He hammered the most energy-filled solos on congas one can come across anywhere. Nicholas Mettle was often mellow on the keytar and keyboardist Victor Dey Jnr was supreme at all times.

Kwaku Opoku

Harmonica player and Blues singer, Kwaku Opoku, was up next after the Collective. He sings the Blues with real passion and makes his harmonica wail in many different ways. The audience loved his act.

American singer, Jen Staves stirred the audience with her bluesy, joyful fervor and communicated well.

Her general demeanour on stage underlined the experience she had gathered singing the Blues, Rock and Jazz and making a success of herself for decades. She was well-received.

Jen Staves

Kabudi, a Ghanaian based in the United States, was the real showman on the opening night. He played keyboard, sang and danced.

It was an extremely entertaining time with him as he offered a mix of styles including Highlife, Reggae and Calypso. He enticed some in the audience to come up and dance.

Kabudi

The GH Jazz Collective was up and running again on Day Two. Guest trumpeter Nicholas Genest, who had played with the Collective at +233 a few times before, showed what elegant sounds he could create with the three valves on his instrument.

Andy Narrel sat in with his steepans for a couple of tunes for an indication of what was to come from him the next day.

Singer Abiana was also in fine form on Day Two. She regaled the audience with bits of talk as well as music, backed by the Kwame Yeboah Trio.

She performed four tracks: Hewale, My House, Adur Lee and Ebrahim from her recently-released debut Almelo Lala album. She’s surely a talent one can bank on for greater things to come.

Abiana

Multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah presented a trio firmly rooted in technology. He worked with four keyboard instruments and other gadgets around him as they offered a progressive repertoire of their own.

Bassist Nenyin Quaison-Sackey and guitarist Bill McPherson have played together as Native Vibe for 27 years and have recorded several albums. They got the closing night underway with backing from the GH Jazz Collective.

Kicking off with a sprightly Quaison-Sackey song called Doc and the Bottle, they were on stage for about 80 minutes with a collection of vibrant harmonies. Their repertoire was either material they had written individually or what they had jointly put together.

Native Vibe

The swing and pulse of their compositions were appropriately felt by the audience. Their bond on stage could definitely be a good study in group unity.

Supported by the GH Jazz Collective and Native Vibe, Narrel delighted the audience with his gorgeous, mainly Caribbean-infested grooves.

That was somehow not surprising because the steelpan originates from Trinidad and Tobago. His 86-minute set at a point featured well-known Ghanaian kologo player and singer, Atongo Zimba.

Andy Narrel

Director of music for the festival was Victor Dey Jnr. He was the man who made everything happen, musically. There was an applause from the audience almost anytime he worked out one of his intricate solos on the keyboard.

The audience also deserved a round of applause for themselves for the way they appreciated the musicians. They flowed along with the music right from the first day.

It seemed some of them didn’t even want to go home as they sat around to have a few more drinks and chat after the last act, perhaps their way of savouring the whole bash a little longer.

All in all, the festival was a big success and has probably pushed +233’s standing up by a few more notches as the best place for live music in the nation.

The outdoor venue made it an excellent location for that sort of production, considering the times we are in. If the venue’s management manages to sustain it, the Blues & Jazz Festival could be enough of an attraction for jazz buffs in the sub-region.