Ghana’s Kyekyeku to light up Joy of Jazz stage with spiraling electric guitars

Africa’s premier jazz festival will experience the riveting and captivating sounds of Ghana’s Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife when they take the 2019 Joy of Jazz stage hostage from 26th to 28th September in Joburg South Africa.

Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife is expected to rev up the Joy of Jazz Festival stage with their spiraling electric guitars, intricate rhythmic grooves, lush horns, and distinctive Ghanaian sound locked between folk and a throbbing urban Highlife beat.

Kyekyeku is a new generation of young lively Ghanaian musicians that is combining musical traditions from roots Palmwine Highlife and Afrobeat.

With their unique sounds, Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife create a unique high-energy sound mixed with Highlife and Afrifunk erupting in a pulsating Afro-urban musical broth.

Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife’s participation at the 2019 Joy of Jazz is part of a cultural exchange programme between Ghana and South Africa initiated by the Standard Bank. Earlier this year, Ghana hosted South African songbird Wanda Baloyi at the Stanbic Jazz Festival at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife’s presence at the Joy of Jazz stage is expected to further deepen this cultural exchange between the two countries.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to share our music and our craft with South African music lovers and the world at large. We promise nothing but the best of Kyekyeku and the Ghanalogue Highlife at the Festival. Stanbic Bank has over the years given us a platform to sell our music at the Stanbic Jazz Festival and this is a step further and we are very grateful to them”, lead performer of the group, Kyekyeku, said.

Speaking about this year’s Festival, Thulani Sibeko, Standard Bank Chief Marketing Officer said “We are excited about what the 2019 line-up holds for us as we mark one of the longest jazz sponsorship partnerships. Of particular joy for us is the large number of young artistes from across Africa performing this year. It is proof of the critical role we can and do play in moving artists’ careers forward”.

The Joy of Jazz Festival, which is in its 21st year this year, will feature artistes including mutli-award winning Mozambican composer and saxophonist, Moreira Chonguiça, Cuban born pianist, Roberto Fonseca, incredible drummer, Manu Katché, Ken Pelowski, Lincoln Orchestra led by trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis, Nigerian-born trumpeter, Etuk Ubong, the historic band Stimela, among a host of other great musicians.