Dela Botri, Cuban musicians thrill Japanese audience
Ghanaian flute magician Dela Botri and the Cuban Tres guitar virtuoso, Hector Ferran, alongside other musicians recently thrilled an audience at the Akasaka Civic Centre in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.
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The artists proved the beauty and power of cross-cultural collaborations with a blend of traditional Ghanaian music and Cuban rumba that delighted members of the audience at the Cultural Centre.
With Luis Valle (trumpet), Ludwig Nunez (drums), Kai Petite (bass), Armando Torres, Abraham Kamoah (gome) and Hector Ferran (keyboard) Aaron Bebe (xylophone), the group showcased different approaches to playing traditional music while creating a dramatic synthesis of different rhythms and beats.
An apostle of traditional/contemporary music, Botri has held workshops in many universities in several countries and performed to varied audiences in the United States (US), Cuba, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Denmark, Germany and Egypt, among others.
In recent years, he has participated in the Cubadisco Festival (Cuba), World Music Village (Finland), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark), Pan African Music Festival (Algeria) and joined Liberian star Miatah Fanbulleh to perform at the 2011 Novel Peace Prize Awards in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Ferran has developed a successful career in the Cuban and international music scene. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Jojjaz contest based in the Cuban capital, Havana.
He has been a member of very important groups in Cuba, including Lucia Huelgo, Emilio Vega, Raul Paz, Paulo FG, Laritza Bacallao and Waldo Mendoza, among others. His work as a composer has been versatile and has a catalogue of works in the field of concert, symphonic, Jazz and popular songs to his credit.
The performance, which was repeated in the Sakado Cultural Centre in Tokyo, was organised by the Embassies of Ghana and Cuba in Japan. It was sponsored by CLOUDY, Degas, DIDI GRANDE, Ethiopian Airlines, Fuji Oil, GRA, Index Strategy, JafriQ Radio, Lotte, Shimzu Corporation, TWO ROOMS and World Star Cafe.
