Wynton Marsalis with others at the press engagement
The Ghana Jazz Foundation and +233 Jazz Bar and Grill will host the highly anticipated Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) on October 10-11.
The orchestra will be led by the renowned Wynton Marsalis, a Grammy award winner with over forty honorary degrees, and the distinction of being the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Addressing the media at an exclusive press engagement hosted by the Ghana Jazz Foundation and JLCO, Mr. Wynton Marsalis expressed heartfelt emotion about his return to Ghana, a country he has deep spiritual and artistic ties to.
He emphasised the kinship between jazz and traditional African music, saying, “We came with love and the feeling that we know we have a lot in common. We try to bring the sophistication of jazz to meet the powerful traditions here. Music all over the world is under assault by crass commercialism — but we’re here to show that there are still musicians with soul and feeling, serious about what they do.”
Reflecting on his mentor, the late Ghanaian master drummer Yacub Addy, Marsalis said: “It’s special to me because of master Yacub Addy. I studied with him for 10 years. I learned from him, I played with his family… The piece we’re playing is something we composed together. Jazz musicians have always been drawn to Ghana — the great Jackie McLean even wrote ‘Appointment in Ghana’ back in the 60s.”
Renowned percussionist and folklorist Weedie Braimah, son of the legendary Ghanaian musician Oscar Sulley Braimah, said, “Our folklore, our culture, is rich — and we implement it in everything we do: art, music, food, even science. Playing here in Ghana, where my father’s tradition was born, nothing compares to that. I’ve played in the greatest venues in the world — but nothing beats this.”
Beyond performances, JLCO’s visit includes educational workshops for students and emerging musicians, aiming to build bridges between jazz and African musical traditions. These sessions will serve as platforms for mentorship, collaboration, and mutual growth between African and American artists.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke