Queen Asabia, Kenteman shine at AMWEF show
The bash organised by the Musicians Union of Ghana to raise funds for its Aged Musicians Welfare Fund (AMWEF) at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill on Saturday, March 30, was a noteworthy success, as the well-known venue was filled to capacity for the event.
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Queen Asabia is the Chairperson of AMWEF. The programme featured Highlife music in a showcase of both old and young artistes, including Bessa Simons, Amandzeba, Naa Amanua, Okyeame Kwame, Kwabena Kwabena, Akwaboah, Pat Thomas and Smart Nkansah. It was an honour to the history and tradition of the cherished music style.
The audience at the event dubbed Authentic Highlife Night, comprised a variety of special guests and diplomats, as well as international tourists. Also present were many well-known artistes in the music industry.
Kudos to Queen Asabia and her brother, the Kenteman, for an outstanding stage return. Their performance was special, as they elevated the show with their patented colourful Kente attire when they and their group made a royal entrance to the stage.
The Queen of Highlife and Kenteman are true veterans in the music industry and long-standing ambassadors of the Highlife sound and Kente fashion. Next year will mark their 50 years in music and performing together. No other group or brother and sister duo has stayed and played longer than them.
What was unique about their performance was not just their repertoire but the whole approach to their presentation on stage, which clearly showed them as seasoned players. The sound ‘Womaya’ brought the audience to their feet as Queen Asabia rendered it on her soprano saxophone that the world recognises and remembers so well.
Though they have more than four decades of performing behind them, they showed they still have plenty of music left in them. They also indicated how they plan to return to the music scene in their upcoming Golden Anniversary year.
Kenteman
Kenteman did a special song titled ‘Why We Wear Kente.’ It was probably the first time many heard it and got to know why they had made the Kente cloth their trademark look. The Kente wearing, as expressed in the song, is more than a fashion to them.
It is a cultural symbol that includes the unity of races represented by the variety of colours in the cloth. It is also a family heritage, as the art of cloth-making was part of their family tradition.
The actual story about the Queen of Highlife and Kenteman and their illustrious award-winning career will be shared later this year in an upcoming documentary. The dynamic brother and sister team has remained together as a living example to the music industry of what the special dedication to one another and their art has allowed them to achieve.
Their new music is being prepared for release.
The writer is an American Jazz musician and writer.