$30 advanced, $35 at the door
General Admission (Standing, w/ some seats) - Doors open at 7PM
In 1973 Ambolley exploded onto the Ghanaian scene with 'Simigwa-Do,' a half-sung, half-spoken jazz-highlife workout that gave its name to his signature style and dance. By his own account, and by the reckoning of many critics, the track predates The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' by six years and stands as one of the earliest commercially recorded examples of rap anywhere in the world. His 1975 debut LP Simigwa, produced with Ebo Taylor and released on Ghana's legendary Essiebons label, is now regarded as a cornerstone of Ghanaian music.
Since his breakthrough in the early 1970s with his own Simigwa style he has shared stages and studios with some of Ghana’s greats like Ebo Taylor and Sammy Larteh with whom he played In the Uhuru
Dance Band. Together they founded the Apagya Show Band in 1974. He has since continued to push back boundaries, embrace, explore, create and cultivate an impressive catalogue of work. In recent times, he has become a go-to example of Ghana’s rich traditional music form, so much so that he has performed tirelessly through Europe and US and most notably at Utrecht’s Le Guess Who Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Kotoko Brass opens
Kotoko Brass melds the beautifully complex traditional drumming of Central Ghana, the sturdy bass and keyboards of the Caribbean, and the joyous horns of New Orleans to forge a sound the Boston Globe has described as “propulsive, infectious party music.” The band began when brothers Ben, a performer, scholar, and educator of Ghanaian drumming, and Brian Paulding, a longtime trombone player in Boston’s reggae scene, joined forces. Ben fortified the percussion section with Attah Poku and Kwame Ofori, two master percussionists from Ghana. The rhythm section of M’talewa Thomas (bass), Dillon Zahner (guitar), Yusaku Yoshimura (keyboards), and saxophonist Andy Bergman, fill out veteran rhythm and horn sections.
Coming together as Kotoko Brass feels like a superpower. When the traditional Ghanaian percussion and driving drum set grooves meet the steady rhythm section and jubilant horn melodies, we can’t help but dance. Now, after over a year of sharing our sound and energy with audiences across New England, we have seen just how infectious this energy is.