With his deep musicality and ability to lay down groovy, compelling bass lines, one wished Nenyi Quaison-Sackey, known to many also as Nee Sackey, could be with us much longer, but he left us on May 22, 2024 aged 62.

The man mostly played a six-string electric bass and as his older sister, Awo, said in a Facebook tribute: “Watching him play was seeing someone who came alive with his craft.”

Nee Sackey was born in the United States but came to Ghana to attend Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast. He was a member of the school’s famous Majestic Breezemen band.

He later returned to the United States and attended the well-known Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. He met American guitarist, Bill Macpherson and they teamed up to form Native Vibe in 1995 upon realizing they had similar musical tastes and ambitions.

Despite the immense talent pool in the United States, Native Vibe caught attention in Jazz and Fusion circles with their style of world rhythms and flexibility that endeared them to discerning music lovers in other places as well.

Those in Ghana’s capital, especially regular patrons of the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill at North Ridge, got to hear Native Vibe on several occasions.

It used to be that a bass player’s function was to keep time and add an occasional voice. That role got updated and the bass became much more than simply a rhythm instrument. If that put an extra burden on bass players, Nee Sackey was one of those who embraced the challenge.

He played in a way that served the song but still showcased remarkable technique. His richly textured bass lines prioritised the overall harmony instead of the individual spotlight. He thumbed, plucked, tapped and slapped his strings with passion and often displayed what it meant for a player to truly vibe with his instrument.

His compositions explored themes of humanity. Pieces such as ‘Doc and the Bottle’, ‘Keteke’, ‘Akumbia’, ‘I Stand With You’, and ‘Windy Bay,’ were inspired by the things that surrounded him and by people he knew.

Apart from recording and touring with Native Vibe, Nee Sackey also pursued some solo projects, was a music teacher and shared stage or recorded with other acts such as Hugh Masekela, Marion Meadows, Vinx and Eric Friedman.

A remembrance concert will be held for him at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill on Tuesday, July 16. The venue was his favourite hangout whenever he was in Accra.

Obviously, Dr Adrian Oddoye, Nana Nyarko Ackah-Yensu, Jonas Bibi Hammond, Nii Adotey Ankrah and all the folks at +233 will forever remember their dear friend who always conveyed bass lines that told stories in their own right.

Nee Sackey is survived by wife Unabette, son Egya, brother Kweku Bondzie (Kabudi) and sisters Awo and Yaaba.

As a funeral service is held for him at the Lashibi Funeral Home near Tema on July 19 and he is laid to rest at Winneba on July 20, we soberly reflect on his sister Awo’s  Facebook tribute which said in part: “So many memories. So much music you have left us with. Thank you, Nenyi, for everything. You came and spent a little time with us and have left us all the better for it.”