Peter Somuah – Highlife

When thinking about the relationship between jazz and modern African music, people often cite artists who are no longer with us, such as the Nigerian Fela Ransome Kuti, the South African Hugh Masekela, or the Cameroonian Manu Dibango, all of whom blended the language of jazz and improvisation with the rhythms and melodies of their home countries.

Ghanaian Peter Somuah is younger than these predecessors, but he too has succeeded in fusing the “highlife” style—which emerged in the 1960s in his native country—with the jazz of Miles Davis or Freddie Hubbard. In other words, his music has one foot in the local tradition of his origins and the other in the universal language of modern jazz.

This dual identity is evident in the fact that Somuah’s sidemen are all Dutch—since the trumpeter has been living in Rotterdam for some time—and in the fact that Somuah brought in, for certain tracks, Ghanaian singers of historic highlife whom he went to record on location, as well as a Ghanaian guitarist who contributes significantly to the swaying groove of some tracks.

A successful fusion, then, for an album recorded in Berlin—a city far from tropical—under live conditions that give it a warm, direct sound, far from any overly sophisticated production.

It’s hard to resist the urge to clap your hands or dance to this lively music, which can also be enjoyed quietly, as it’s so rich in melody that you can appreciate it without moving a muscle. The trumpeter is a true improviser, with a sound that is at times mellow and at times more incisive, and his solos—which sometimes evoke the late Roy Hargrove—are all a delight to listen to.

The band surrounding him has fully embraced the spirit of the music Somuah aims to create at the intersection of two styles, and they pull off the feat of making it feel as though they’re playing beneath baobab and tamarind trees.

Here, then, is a music of great fresh inspiration, resplendent in its craftsmanship and utterly compelling. We know that jazz comes in part from Africa. When Africa returns to this idiom to which it owes so much, the successes are numerous.

Peter Somuah’s “Highlife” is a fine example of this, and we eagerly await the chance to hear it live on stage.