A variety of melodic and harmonic textures were thrown at a highly appreciative audience when Spanish-American trumpeter, composer and bandleader Milena Casado, backed by the GHJazz Collective, played the first set at this year’s International Jazz Day concert on May 3 at the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill in Accra.
As if to suggest she was in Accra for serious business, she didn’t say a word when she got on stage and launched straight into a piece called Thula Mtwana by the late South African self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Bheki Mseleku.
It was a haunting track built on flexibility. Milena and the band were in vibrantly positive mood as they supplied deft touches all around. They took turns at solos, and there was gorgeous unison as the piece progressed.
That was apparently just a warm-up, because the track that followed—the Adowa-drenched Nana Freme—was an elegant mixture of folk song and sophisticated jazz, delivered in a charming, unpretentious way. The applause was warm.
Casado then said it was a pleasure to be in Ghana. She thanked the GHJazz Collective and the management of +233 for making her part of such “an incredible event.”
There was still room and time for her and the GHJazz Collective to show how capable and imaginative they were, with more material composed by saxophonist Bernard Ayisa, pianist Victor Dey Jr., and Casado’s own piece Resilience, which was accompanied by inspiring poetry from Ghanaian poet Poetra. It was a gripping set, and hearing Casado proved to be highly invigorating entertainment.
The other guest for the night, Brazilian-American singer Jackie Ribas, somehow had a more accessible repertoire. Some in the audience had seen her at last year’s International Jazz Day concert at +233 and were happy to see her back in Accra. Her long, sustained notes and scat-singing moments were warmly acknowledged.
Ribas performed reworked popular classics from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin. She was thrilled to see a few Brazilians in the house and promised to do a samba. When she did, it pulled dancers to the floor, and she joined in for a feel-good ending to the evening’s bash.
Some of the patrons stayed on a little longer and mingled with the musicians. The consensus was that they had thoroughly enjoyed this year’s International Jazz Day concert, which was made possible by the Ghana Jazz Foundation in collaboration with the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) instituted International Jazz Day in 2011 to raise awareness of jazz and its ability to unite people across the world. Concerts have been held on April 30 at +233 since 2012 to mark the day. This year’s concert, however, was shifted to May 3.
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