Gyedu Blay Ambolley
Thirteen years after participating in the second International Jazz Day celebration in Ghana, saxophonist, composer and singer, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, is set to appear again at the event that honours Jazz as an important medium of oneness and peace, on April 30, 2026 at the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill in Accra.
Jazz obviously comes in many different shades. What Ambolley has done over the years is to infuse his Simigwa style – with influences from Highlife greats like Ebo Taylor, Stan Plange, Amon Kotey, Spike Anyankor and Sammy Lartey – into that creative art form.
His groundbreaking nine-track 2022 ‘Hi-Life Jazz’ album recorded in the United States and Ghana, made a vital statement about his fascination with Jazz. It included his own compositions as well as re-arranged pieces by Jazz luminaries like Mile Davis, Thelonius Monk and Wayne Shorter.
Influential online music journal, Pan African Music, described the ‘Hi-Life Jazz’ album as “Afro-American Jazz, Soul and Funk with Ghanaian Highlife, enhanced by Ambolley’s Simigwa style and powered by polyrhythms.”
Ambolley has showcased his approach to Jazz at forums such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Denmark, Ottawa Jazz Festival in Canada and the Playboy Jazz Festival in the United States. Ambolley says he is pleased to be back on the International Jazz Day celebration bill at +233.
Visiting Jazz acts from the United States, South Africa, France, Benin and Kenya had been part of previous International Jazz Day commemorations at +233. The 2026 lineup is, however, an entirely Ghanaian affair dubbed ‘The Ghana Jazz Experience.’
Scheduled to perform alongside Ambolley are the Ghana Jazz Orchestra, a 15-piece outfit of multi-national musicians based in Ghana; the Jazz Brothers, a quartet of bass, drums, piano and trumpet and the GH Jazz Collective of Bernard Ayisa, Victor Dey Jr, Gaddiel Amoah and Frank Kissi.
When Ambolley’s ‘Hi-Life Jazz’ collection came out, he said he wasn’t afraid to bring it to the public because though they were familiar with his often cheerful, sing-along repertoire, he wanted to indicate he could stretch beyond that and still be himself.
According to him, he wears his Jazz hat whenever necessary. April 30 would be time for the Simigwa Man from Asamansudo in Sekondi to once again tightly wear his Jazz hat at +233.