Stanbic Bank Ghana has announced that celebrated Jazz musician, Peter White will headline the maiden edition of the Stanbic Ghana Jazz Festival to be held in Accra from May 9 to 10.
Peter White will be backed by a local band and supported by artistes such as Oli Silk, Ofie Kodjoe, Aka Blay and other local artistes.The festival will kick off with an invite-only event on Friday May 9 and followed by an open to public show on Saturday, May 10, both at the Omanye Hall, Labadi Beach Hotel.
The festival is a collaboration act involving Stanbic Bank Ghana, Smooth Jazz Ghana and Live FM. Speaking at the media launch Head of Marketing and Communications, Mawuko Afadzinu said “We hope to make the Stanbic Bank Ghana Jazz Festival a stop on the global jazz calendar by presenting top-flight musicians to the people of Ghana. As a bank our association with such world class pool of talent is to buttress the point that we aim to deliver world class service.”
“Our ultimate aim is to nurture and promote the development of both the visual and performing arts in our country, encouraging engagement and social interaction. We want to contribute in positive ways to develop and grow the music industry, thereby providing employment, training and skills development in all the related fields of technical production including sound engineering and lighting, marketing and PR, event management and hospitality.”
Peter White is a smooth jazz and jazz fusion guitarist, who also plays the accordion and the piano. Born in Luton, England, White first gained fame with his distinctive guitar style as accompanist to Al Stewart. During a 20-year tenure with Stewart, he co-wrote many songs, including Stewart’s 1978 top-ten hit “Time Passages”.
In the late 1980s, White accompanied Basia on a series of acclaimed albums. In 1996, Basia was featured on White’s album Caravan of Dreams, with vocals on the single “Just another Day”. White began recording his own albums in 1990. His songs — “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)”, recorded by Jr. Walker & The All Stars (2006), “Midnight In Manhattan”, recorded by Grover Washington, Jr. (1998), and “Bright” (2009) — have each reached number one on the Billboard Jazz Songs chart.
Peter White performed regularly on many Windows albums appearing as a more or less ‘permanent guest’, in 2001 and 2002, White worked with Creed Bratton in the release of Bratton’s first three solo albums. White produced, mixed and also played guitar on many of the tracks. In a career that spans nearly four decades, over a dozen solo recordings and countless performances, White insists that it’s the faces in the crowd and the fans that keep the experience fresh.
“I’ll play a live show, and someone will come to me afterward and say, ‘Oh, I loved this CD,’ or ‘This song helped me through a bad time,’ “he explains. “Or I get emails from people saying, ‘Oh, I love the way you covered one of my favorite songs on your record back in 1994.”This would be Peter White’s second visit to Ghana and Stanbic Bank seeks to generate new levels of interest and support for jazz and encourage jazz lovers to preserve and promote the genre.
The bank is a brand well known for supporting arts and culture, and this is the latest venture in that direction. It is continuing with the backing that the Standard bank Group has for music, culture and Jazz in particular. The annual Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in Johannesburg dates back to 1997 when it became the title sponsor of the popular South African Jazz festival.
By: Martin Asiedu Dartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana