Bessa Band gears up for Jon K tribute concert
Keyboardist Bessa Simons and his Bessa Band have been hard at rehearsal at their Baatsonaa, Spintex Road base as they prepare for the July 20 concert in honour of the late Ghanaian musician, Jon K, at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill in Accra.
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The concert is being jointly put together by +233, Jon K’s family and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) to celebrate the music producer, keyboardist, singer-songwriter and recording artiste who died in London in 1999.
Other acts on the bill who will all be backed by the Bessa Band are Okyeame Kwame, Pozo Hayes, Joe Osei, Paulina Oduro and Amandzeba.
Bessa Simons and Jon K knew each other in the early 1970s when they played in school bands for Aggrey Memorial High School and Adisadel College respectively in Cape Coast. They both lived in London around the same time in the 1980s and worked on some projects together. The friendship continued after the two moved back to Ghana in the early 1990s.
“Me and the band are happy to be part of the tribute concert. Jon K would have easily done something like that for me. He was a kind-hearted fellow and we shared a lot in common,” stated Bessa who is also the MUSIGA president.
He added that the artistes on the bill will perform some material from Jon K’s three albums and offer their own stuff as well. He said he was looking forward to a great night of home-grown music.
The Bessa Band has been on the Ghanaian music scene since 2011. Its trademark of big band Highlife has won it a dedicated bunch of fans. The band’s leader wants music fans of all shades to come to the concert and be part of the Jon K celebration and also for a pleasant night out.
“You don’t need to have known Jon K before coming out to celebrate him at +233 on July 20. He stood for well-produced, well-performed music with an African feel and there’ll be lots of that at the show. It’s going to be a happy, memorable salute to music from Ghana and Africa,” Bessa said.
