Jale Ensemble after the Junction Mall show
The Junction Mall at Nungua in Accra was active with holiday-makers on January 8, 2024 as Ghana marked Constitution Day, and the Jale Ensemble was on hand to provide the appropriate musical vibe for the occasion.
It was a generally relaxed atmosphere at the mall as people walked in and out of the shops and others sat around to sip on drinks and deal with light edibles.Some of them, however, found the throbbing drums and well-choreographed movements from the Jale Ensemble hard to resist, and they tapped their feet, snapped their fingers and swayed their bodies to the music.
Led by multi-instrumentalist, Nii Laryea Pabifio Joseph, the ensemble has been reliable proponents of traditionalmusic and dance since its formation in 2011.
It is proud of being genuine exponents of Ga-Dangme music, and that was why the Junction Mall reverberated to catchy rhythms such as Kolomashi, Kpanlogo, Kpatsa, Kpleand Fume Fume.
According to Nii Laryea Pabifio Joseph, “Our roots are in Ga-Dangme culture so we always exhibit the best aspects of it.
The rhythms are varied but we have taken the trouble to carefully dissect each one to enable us keep to the true flair that have been exhibited for ages.”
Keeping to the true flair means rendering the music on instruments that have always been associated with the various rhythms.
So at a typical Jale Ensemble performance, one always hears a captivating combination of shakers, rattles, bamboo flutes and different traditional drums like Osrama, Kpanlogo and Gome.
Though seen by many as experts at Ga-Dangbe music, the ensemble also has a firm grip on other music and dance formatsfrom across Ghana.
These include Borborbor and Agbadza from the Volta Region; Adowa and Kete from the Ashanti and Eastern regions; Bawa from the Upper West Region and Bamaya and Takai from the Northern Region.
Being true purists, the ensemble always resorts to instruments like xylophones, fontomfrom and dondo drums as well as Wiaflutes to project the right rhythms and mood.
The curious folks at the Junction Mall performance were keen to try their hands on some of the ensemble’s instruments and see if they could also move well enough to the vibrant rhythms.
Luckily, the ensemble members are competent teachers as well. They proved to the curious minds that they were capable of passing on their knowledge to willing learners.
“The members appreciate the fact that being a good performer is not the same as possessing the ability to teach. That’s why we have armed ourselves with the skills to both perform and pass on knowledge to individuals and organised groups,” the leader pointed out.
Jale Ensemble has managed to establish itself as capable advocates of Ga-Dangme music and dance, but are always poised to project Ghana and Africa through traditional music and dance anytime the opportunity comes their way.
By George Clifford Owusu