The International Jazz Day concert on April 30, 2026 at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill in Accra turned out to be somewhat of a musical marathon which for the most part, was a fascinating experience as the Ghana Jazz Orchestra made its first public appearance at the event.

There were celebrations all over the world on the day and +233’s focus on homegrown talent brought out some of the serious young musicians who represent the future of Jazz in our country.

Perhaps the act most of the audience looked forward to seeing was the Ghana Jazz Orchestra. Made up of five trumpets, four trombones, two tenor saxes, two alto saxes and a rhythm section of bass, drums, piano and percussion, the orchestra was conducted by pianist, Victor Dey Jr.

They had enough time to perform a five-song set of compositions by Pat Metheny (Song of Bilbao), Marcus Wyatt (Prayer for Nkosi), Bernard Ayisa (Kuku’s Theme), Lee Morgan (The Sidewinder) and Weather Report (Birdland).

If the history-making appearance caused any nervousness in some of the young players, they shook it off quickly and generally gave a good account of themselves. The orchestra’s interpretation of saxophonist Ayisa’s  composition was a bright spot. It started with evocative Ewe chants by trombonist Eli Amewode which was joined in by arranged handclaps from the rest of the outfit.

Ayisa is the orchestra’s coordinator. He said it would be formally launched at a date to be announced soon.  He stated that the idea is to create a 30-member showpiece of Africa.

The Jazz Brothers quintet of drums, bass, piano, trombone and trumpet had earlier kicked off the night with a gently swinging piece which served as springboard for displays of individual brilliance by all the five players. No show-offy stuff. It was purely 30 minutes of straight-ahead, solid display of competence.

The GHJazz Collective incorporated some young players into their set. It was a valuable indication of how a blooming generation of Jazz musicians has emerged alongside the veterans.

The 79-year-old Gyedu Blay Ambolley was on with his Sekondi Band as he offered Highlife-tipped Jazz tracks including versions of songs by Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane. The Simigwa Man didn’t bring his treasured tenor sax along and seemed a little low-key on the night but still managed to warm up the audience.   

Keyboardist Carl Amoah’s 10-piece West Coast Ebusua Band rounded off another well-attended

International Jazz Day celebration here with their mature, multi-layered sound.