Bright Osei performing on stage
Five talented musicians forming the Soul Nice group melodiously filled the air with rich rhythms at the Goethe-Institut in Accra over the weekend.
In a performance that forms part of Goethe-Institut’s Covid-19 programmes, the Soul Nice group led by Bright Osei exhibited great tact and poise as they unfolded intricate compositions from individual members of the group.
Featuring Anthony Ansah (tenor sax), Anthony Adubofour (drums), Nicholas Mettle (piano), Kenneth Obi (talking drums) and Bright Osei (bass guitar), the band performed with passion and enthusiasm to a virtual audience that was trying to adjust to what has been described as ‘new normal’.
Emphatic lines from Osei, Mettle and Ansah to create sounds from the stage were heightened with drum beats from Adubofour and Obi while minimal stage lighting added to the environmental poignancy of the performance hall.
A number of tunes like ‘Funky Jamestown’ (Bright Osei), ‘Praise Him / Funk In the Air’ (Anthony Ansah), ‘Worry Not’ (Dave Corbus / Bright Osei) and ‘You Don’t Want to Know’ (Nicholas Mettle) that flowed like a stream vividly revealed the power of improvisation and blending of cross cultural rhythms.
Interspersed with a series of harmoniously crafted solos, Osei, who is also a composer/arranger and musician, filled the near-empty auditorium with infectious drum beats, hyper funk textures and instinctive saxophone lines that sounded like a galactic artistic feast.
Band leader Osei has toured with a number of highlife greats like Jewel Ackah, Papa Yankson, Gyedu Blay-Ambolley, Paa Bobo, Daddy Lumba, Ofori Amponsah, Kojo Antwi, among others.
He subsequently moved into jazz and has been performing with the GH Jazz Collective, a group based in Accra.
On the international front, he has performed with Barry Finnerty, Peter White (UK), Tues Nobel (Netherlands), Nicholas Genest (France), Entienne Charles, Gordon Louis, Benjamin Boone, Dave Corbos, Rocky Dawuni (USA), Pilani Bubu, Ernie Smith (South Africa), Gert Vincent (Denmark) and others. Goethe-Institut Ghana sponsored the concert.
By John Owoo