Jazz In January Festival sparks New Year thrills

It was clear American singer Myrna Clayton was really feeling good when she opened her set on the first day of the premier edition of the Jazz In January Festival in Accra with the famous and oft-covered ‘Feeling Good’ song.

That good feeling she sparked on January 4 seemingly affected the mood of the other performers and the audience throughout the four-day bash at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill at North Ridge in Accra.

 Myrna Clayton said she was going to do ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that for the joy of everyone around’ and that was what exactly the other acts also did to make patrons happy under a warm but still pleasant Accra night sky from January 4 to January 7.

 The GHJazz Collective of Victor Dey Jr (piano) Bernard Ayisa (tenor saxophone), Gaddiel Amoah (electric bass), Oko Amartey-Fio (percussion) and Frank Kissi (drums) showed off their musically cohesive trait with original material as well as exceptionally beautiful re-worked Ghanaian traditional pieces.

 Their  ‘Tatale’ and ‘Nana Fre Me’ tracks, which they have been teasing fans with since a concert at the residence of the deputy Netherlands ambassador at Cantonments in Accra in December 2021, have gone through further maturation and festival attendees gladly gulped them down. Luckily, those tracks will be on the band’s upcoming album.

Native Vibe normally comprises guitarist Bill Macpherson and bassist Nee Sackey but the latter couldn’t make it down from the United States due to illness. The guitar player obviously missed the man he had been playing with since 1991.

 No wonder he featured a number of Nee Sackey-composed pieces such as ‘Windy Bay’ and ‘Just A Samba’ at the festival. Of course, he also rendered pieces he had penned such as ‘Down River’, ‘Jungle Juice’ and ‘Take My Time.’

 Keyboardist, arranger, producer and songwriter Kevin Flournoy appeared with singer Lamont Dozier Jr. They know each other well and efficiently demonstrated how artistes could lend their distinct flavours to any kind of material, be it their own or not.

 It was Dozier Jr’s first time in Ghana and he said he enjoyed the stay. His father was a third of the remarkable Motown writing trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland and he might have grown up soaking in masterful vocal renditions from greats like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and more.

 He did one of his favourite Holland-Dozier-Holland works, ‘How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You’, first recorded by Marvin Gaye and the audience loved it. They also appreciated his take on American classics like ‘Hello It’s Me’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’ and ‘Tell Me If You Still Care.’

 Myrna Clayton is as active on stage as any artiste could be. Her versatility was in full flow as she danced, skilfully got the audience involved with her act and  sang what she described as ‘familiar songs that remind you  of something; familiar songs that you want to sing along with to make you happy.’

 The familiar terrain she touched included stuff from Nancy Wilson, Diana Ross, Norah Jones, Bob Marley and Bill Withers, topping things up with an improvised Highlife track. She’s a well-traveled performer and definitely knows how to work up an audience.

 Multi-horn player, Jeff Kashiwa has the encyclopedia of smooth Jazz in his palm and he let out appropriate passages on this second trip to Ghana since July 2023. He has always projected an intensity that matches his serene ballads and high energy moments so the Accra audience rightly gave him the thumbs up again.

 A highlight of  the Jazz In January Festival was the launch of the Ghana Jazz Foundation (GJF), a non-profit organization that seeks to promote live Jazz music and other local art forms through collaborations, educational programmes and support for musicians and live music venues.

 The festival is expected to be an annual event and discerning music lovers in the nation’s capital will definitely look forward to the next edition in January 2025.