Home » Jazz Musicians » Isaacs Karikari

Isaacs Karikari

Sign in / sign up and request update access to the Isaacs Karikari page.


Tags

3
Album Review

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley: Gyedu-Blay Ambolley & Hi-life Jazz

Read "Gyedu-Blay Ambolley & Hi-life Jazz" reviewed by Peter Jones


This is reportedly the 35th album from Ghanaian singer/rapper/tenor saxophonist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. But although he has toured Europe and the US extensively, he remains relatively unknown in what we call “the West." It is a situation that ought to change, and if there was any justice in the world, this is the album that would do it. Ambolley is a leading modern exponent of high-life (or hi-life) jazz, a genre that grew out of the so-called “palm wine" ...

9
Album Review

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley: Gyedu-Blay Ambolley And Hi-Life Jazz

Read "Gyedu-Blay Ambolley And Hi-Life Jazz" reviewed by Chris May


In the beginning, that is to say the 1950s and 1960s, there were two main strands of highlife, Ghana's national dance music. One was rural based, played by ensembles using acoustic guitars and traditional percussion instruments. The other was urban based, played by bands using kit drums as well as traditional percussion, and with large horn sections modelled on American swing orchestras; the style was dubbed “dance band highlife." In the 1970s, as electric guitars became commonplace in ...

Read more articles

Music

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.