+233 hosts Jeff Kashiwa to two nights of first-rate jazz
American multi-horn player, Jeff Kashiwa, has been a long-time exponent of different textures of contemporary jazz, and music lovers who make it to the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill in Accra on July 8 and July 9 will hear why he is so highly rated.
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Music has been the force behind Kashiwa’s life since his early years in Seattle, Washington. One of his first big breaks landed when he became a member of the famous jazz fusion band, The Rippingtons, in 1989.
With a great deal of improvised flair and ingenious dips into funk, pop and R&B, The Rippingtons effectively catered to the tastes of millions of fans across the world. Kashiwa was in the band for over 18 years and featured on several of their chart-topping releases.
He appeared on two Grammy-nominated instrumental jazz recordings by Acoustic Alchemy and The Rippingtons. Aside of his own solo projects, Kashiwa’s professional services have been available in other directions as a composer, producer and sought-after teacher.
Set to play in Ghana for the first time, the widely travelled Kashiwa will share stage with Native Vibe made up of bassist Nee Sackey and guitarist Bill Macpherson, as well as the enterprising GH Jazz Collective.
Native Vibe last appeared at +233 in February 2022 during the venue’s highly patronised Blues & Jazz Festival. That session had Kevin Flournoy on keyboards and the man who has produced, written, performed and recorded with artists including The Jazz Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, Kirk Whalum, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, would be up on stage again with Native Vibe.
The GH Jazz Collective, a squad of some of the nation’s finest instrumentalists, is made up of Victor Dey (piano), Bernard Ayisa (saxophone), Frank Kissi (drums) and Gaddiel Amoah (bass). They are not new to the +233 crowd who would demand their usual doses of brilliant jazz.
For jazz lovers in and around Accra, the July 8 and July 9 dates with Jeff Kashiwa and the others should be moments to relax and soak in their favourite style of music.
