Entertainment of Monday, 23 February 2015
Source: Ismail Akwei | GhanaWeb
Characterized by an outpour of Jazz enthusiasts, the Stanbic Ghana Jazz Festival in Accra savoured live the all-time favourite records of legendary Jazz musician, Earl Klugh, who himself was stunned by the warm reception at the Accra International Conference Centre on February 19-20, 2015.
With songs including Midnight in San Juan, Heartstring, Wishful Thinking, Vonetta and Cabo Frio, the discerning audience called for more from the 61-year-old master of the acoustic classical guitar.
Earl Klugh touched the right nerves with his 5-man band made up of Stan Sergeant on the electric bass guitar, Tom Braxton on the alto/soprano sax and flute, Marcus Finnie on the drums and hilarious David Lee Spradley on the piano.
Applause after applause to each song in the hour and a half performance, Earl Klugh expressed appreciation for the kind reception Ghanaians gave him. The man of few words said: “This is a wonderful experience and I want to thank all of you and my band.”
The band displayed classic skill as each member pulled a stunning display in between performances. Stuck in the memories of the audience will be that of drummer, Marcus Finnie, who at the seeming end of the performance twirled his drumsticks rhythmically across his trap set for close to five minutes winning the admiration of all including the other band members.
One of Earl Klugh’s oldest songs, ‘Vonetta’ brought the Jazz spectacle to an end with the audience on their feet in applause as the band took a bow.
Crème de la crème of Ghana were present at the festival including former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Kwesi Botchway, Albert and Comfort Ocran Fred Amugi Kofi Anyidoho among a host of other prominent people in the country.
The two-day festival also witnessed performances from Ghana’s Jasper Band, Big Wellington Trio, Kyekyeku, Stanbic Rhythms, Akablay, Bernard Ayisa-Victor Dey Quintet and legendary Ebo Taylor.
Click on ‘Photos’ to see pictures of the various performances that took place at the Ghana Jazz Festival.
Watch Earl Klugh below as he performed ‘Wishful Thinking’ at the Accra International Conference Centre.