When American trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis led the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) to Ghana in October 2025, they impressed many with their firm grip of classic swing, improvisation and controlled collective play.
Some of the initiators of the Ghana Jazz Foundation and the Accra Jazz Academy saw the JLCO’s two concerts, interacted with Marsalis and decided it would be great to start a big band here with similar instrumentation as the JLCO.
That was the initial route to the formation of the Ghana Jazz Orchestra which will be formally launched at a concert on September 5, 2026 at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill in Accra.
Orchestras of various sizes and instrumentation lineups were formed in Accra, especially in the 1930s. Their repertoires incorporated Jazz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Samba, Rumba and Highlife.
Those outfits included the Accra Orchestra started around 1932 by multi-instrumentalist Joe Lamptey and the Accra Rhythmic Orchestra led by Yebua Mensah, an older brother of the famous ET Mensah, around 1936.
Perhaps what stands out about the Ghana Jazz Orchestra from those early popular music orchestras here is that, like the JLCO, it aligns with the contemporary standard big band lineup of about 12 horns and a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums.
The Ghana Jazz Orchestra is directed by saxophonist Bernard Ayisa and conducted by pianist Victor Dey Jr. It has been rehearsing on Tuesday mornings over the last several weeks toward the upcoming big night. It is keen to present a repertoire of sparkling material on its official debut.
American singer, composer, actress and Grammy-nominated recording artiste, Lisa Simone, will perform at the September 5 programme. So will the GHJazz Collective at the concert which starts at 8.00pm.
