OKAIDJA AFROSO’S JAKU MUMOR: ANCESTRAL SPIRIT

JAKU MUMOR: ANCESTRAL SPIRIT, is the latest project of OKAIDJA AFROSO, a multi-instrumentalist, Afro-Classical, Afro-Jazz, Ambient music, Singer-Songwriter and Traditional Dancer from Ghana, West Africa. It is based on his own experience as a child growing up in the fishing village of Kokrobite on Ghana’s west coast, and on the ancestral traditions of the indigenous Ga-Dangme fishermen who sing a capella as they fish along the shores of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea.

While developing JAKU MUMOR: ANCESTRAL SPIRIT, Okaidja returned to Ghana to dive deeper into his cultural roots by collaborating directly with the Ga-Dangme fishermen to share the full artistry of their a cappella singing and chants that awaken the spirit of the human soul. Footage of the visit, which is included in the show, includes singing, interviews, dance and drumming and combine seamlessly with Okaidja’s own distinctive music. Modern harmonies, updated lyrics and traditional dancing/drumming all serve to extend his ancestral traditions as they create a contemporary African oral tradition, combining percussion, guitar, dance, and native language vocals. His songs convey a whole spectrum of experiences – joy, harmony, tragedy and hope – that embrace the rich complexity of the integrated world we inhabit. Ghanaian musicians Janet Quaye and Emmanuel Tetteh join Okaidja in JAKU MUMOR: ANCESTRAL SPIRIT.

Now a resident of Portland, Oregon, OKAIDJA AFROSO has been touring and performing West African dance, music and drumming for over twenty five years in venues ranging from small fishing villages in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic to the Kennedy Center. He was originally invited to the United States by the late Worldbeat master Obo Addy to join his team of musicians and dancers to help promote West African culture to audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest. After many years with Obo Addy, touring and facilitating African drumming/dancing workshops, master classes, lecture demonstrations, school assemblies and onstage performances, Okaidja decided to branch out on his own to fulfill his creative ambitions. His sound is a spicy fusion of Ghanaian music with diverse cross-cultural influences. Although most of Okaidja's hypnotic arrangements are sung in his native language, the meaning shines through. His calling and life purpose is to bring us all together so that we can laugh and grieve and dance and forge forward together, in community.

The March 1st performance of OKAIDJA AFROSO’S JAKU MUMOR: ANCESTRAL SPIRIT is a benefit for the Palm Springs Cultural Center. OKAIDJA AFROSO and his band are also interested in doing drumming, dancing and music workshops for kids and/or adults on Friday, February 28th - the day before the concert. If you would be interested in finding out more, and/or arranging one of these workshops for a group, contact Michael Green at 760-880-4921.

Host or Publisher Palm Springs Cultural Center