Saturday, September 5 2026, is a date so important for members of the newly-formed Ghana Jazz Orchestra that some of them may have been overwhelmed with anxiety over the last week or so.
That day will be a moment of truth as the orchestra presents its inaugural concert from 8.00 pm at the +233 Jazz Bar & Grill in Accra.
After several run-throughs to ensure the five saxophonists, four trumpeters, four trombonists and clarinetist harmonise tightly with the rhythm section, it would be up to the expectant audience to figure out if the Ghana Jazz Foundation and Accra Jazz Academy’s pet project is swinging in the right direction.
“How the concert goes matters not only to the ensemble members. It matters also to every discerning music lover who wants to see Jazz grow and take firm root here,” says saxophonist Bernard Ayisa, the orchestra’s director.
Accomplished pianist Victor Dey Jr. is the ensemble’s conductor. Alongside established players like trombonist Eli Amewude, drummer Frank Kissi and bassist Gaddiel Amoah in the fold, the orchestra provides an environment that motivates relatively younger members to improve as they play alongside senior colleagues.
“I call it a community project because anyone resident in Ghana can audition and join if accepted,” Ayisa points out. “There are two Russian tenor saxophonists and a Colombian trumpeter with us. We only require quality and dedication.”
In terms of repertoire, the orchestra is poised to navigate some attractive standard material as well as contemporary-flavoured stuff from composers with varying backgrounds.
Pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington is quoted to have said about Jazz that: “If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!”
So if what the Ghana Jazz Orchestra puts out on September 5 sounds good and the audience feels good about it, then we can walk away with the conviction that the orchestra IS good!
Victor Dey Jr. is conductor of the Ghana Jazz Orchestra
