By Grace Zigah
As jazz lovers around the world observe Jazz Appreciation Month in April, Ghana is experiencing a quiet yet impactful musical revival led by influential voices like Sterling DJ Jeff and veteran musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley.
Their efforts are not only reigniting national interest in the genre but also reconnecting it to its deep African roots.
Jazz, often perceived globally as an elite or niche genre, has long had a place in Ghana’s rich musical history.
Its presence, though sometimes overlooked, has ebbed and flowed through generations.
The genre was introduced to many Ghanaians during the mid-20th century, when sailors brought jazz records ashore and local bands began experimenting with its rhythms and improvisational style.
On the Asaase Breakfast Show on 30 April, DJ and promoter Godfrey Acquaah—popularly known as Sterling DJ Jeff—shed light on the growing jazz movement in Ghana.
A long-time jazz enthusiast, DJ Jeff is the creator of the Sterling Jazz Parties, a series of pop-up musical events that travel across pubs and clubs in Ghana, from Accra to the Ashanti and Western Regions.
These events provide safe and vibrant spaces for jazz lovers to meet, enjoy music, and network.
“For those of us who are jazz fanatics, we listen to jazz all throughout the year, but in April, we take it a notch higher,” Acquaah shared.
“We go to events or clubs, or just gather with friends to appreciate and talk about jazz.”
He also challenged the notion that jazz is only for the older generation or for relaxation.
“There are various variations of jazz. It can be used for everything—just like any other genre,” he said, adding that more young Ghanaians, including teenagers, are now embracing the genre.
For DJ Jeff, the defining quality of jazz is its improvisational nature, which he acknowledges as both its beauty and its complexity.
“Jazz is built on improvisation—that’s why it’s hard for artists to release albums. It’s never the same each time you hear it,” he explained, pointing to jazz legend Miles Davis as an example of constant reinvention.
The conversation took a historical turn when Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, one of Ghana’s most iconic musicians, joined the show.
Known for blending jazz with highlife and pioneering a rap-infused version of the latter, Ambolley emphasized jazz’s African lineage.
“Jazz is a music that our brothers, who were taken to America, came up with,” Ambolley said. “But the roots are right here in Africa.”
To him, jazz and highlife are branches from the same tree, an idea he embodies in his own work.
“When I take my music and add jazz influences from America, I don’t see any change. I see that it’s a whole thing that was extended and now we’re bringing it back home.”
Ambolley recalled that he first picked up the saxophone when a bandmate left his behind, and from then on, he consciously developed a sound that was true to his heritage.
He referenced jazz great Miles Davis, who once advised South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela to “play like yourself”—a message Ambolley took to heart.
He also described jazz as “the mental arithmetic of music,” noting that true mastery requires deep knowledge of musical patterns and expression.
According to him, meaningful innovation in jazz comes only through understanding its structural and cultural foundations.
Both DJ Jeff and Ambolley believe the jazz revival in Ghana is not confined to the capital. Clubs like the 233 Jazz Bar in Accra and the Country Jazz Club in Kumasi are becoming cultural hotspots for both emerging and established musicians.
Their activities are supporting not only international acts but also local, lesser-known talents whose artistry is often hidden from mainstream audiences.
