+233 to host Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
There’s been a real buzz in local Jazz circles since last week with the announcement that the world-famous Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO) will perform at the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill in Accra on October 10 and 11, 2025.
The trip to Ghana forms part of the Orchestra’s first-ever African tour in its 38-year history and will involve performances in three other countries: South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.
As a band leader, composer, teacher and music director, Wynton Marsalis is an accomplished musician. Son of a Jazz pianist and one of four musical brothers, he hails from New Orleans, the city generally acknowledged to be the birthplace of Jazz.
Winner of nine Grammys, he is the only person to have won a Grammy for both Jazz and Classical music. A passionate exponent of straight-ahead Jazz, the man has also won a Pulitzer Prize for Jazz and is a Member of the British Royal Academy of Music.
Marsalis is the Artistic and Musical Director of the JLCO which comprises brilliant ensemble players, unique soloists, composers, arrangers and educators. Under his leadership, the Orchestra has command over a huge repertoire that virtually straddles the whole history of Jazz.
Also on the African tour as guests of the JLCO are drummer Herlin Riley, percussionist Weedie Braimah and vocalist Shenel Johns. They will add their own vibrancy to what some Jazz experts describe as an ingenious project.
An important part of the JLCO tour will be a performance of a new Marsalis composition titled ‘Afro!’ that emphasises the links between Jazz, the African continent and its diaspora. Marsalis strongly identifies with his African roots which gave birth to the early creators and subsequent significant innovators in Jazz.
Apart from the concerts, the Ghana visit will include educational engagements with local students and musicians to further cement the JLCO’s mission to inspire Jazz appreciation across all ages wherever they go.
The Accra concerts will be hosted by the Ghana Jazz Foundation and the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill. The Ghana Jazz Foundation is a non-profit organisation that promotes Jazz and other local art forms through collaborations, educational programmes and support for musicians and live music venues.
+233 is Ghana’s premier live music venue. It is a vital hub of Jazz and world music lovers and has hosted prominent musicians from many different parts of the globe.
