Tuesday pick: Boone, Zoom, Ghana, good friends and lots of ‘JOY’

June 15, 2020

1.94k

Benjamin Boone on Zoom? That has a nice ring to it. The celebrated jazz saxophonist and composer will meet up with members of the Ghana Jazz Collective, the group with which he made his latest acclaimed album, “JOY,” in a special Zoom Jazz at the Library event sponsored by Jazz Fresno.

Here’s a rundown:

The event: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, on Zoom. Free tickets are available here.

Related story: 10 INSIGHTS INTO GHANA AND THE MAKING OF BENJAMIN BOONE’S NEW ALBUM

The format: This will be a talking event (and laughing, I’m guessing), not a musical performance. (Zoom creates lots of latency issues for synchronous musical groups.) Boone will appear with his Ghana Jazz Collective collaborators, Bernard Ayisa (sax), Frank Kissi (drums), Bright Osei (bass) as well as Jonovan Cooper (composer of “Curtain of Light”) and James Miley (co-producer). The plan is to discuss Ghana and the making of “JOY.”

‘JOY’ has received some very strong reviews, this one in JAZZIZ magazine.

On the program: “I will share about Ghana, then move on to the CD, and then we will discuss stuff, and maybe individually play some examples,” Boone tells me. “Attendees will get an inside view of Ghana, what it’s like there, etc. And witness one of the composers and the co-producer meeting the musicians for the first time.”

STORY CONTINUES AFTER SPONSORED CONTENT

The time difference: It will be 2 a.m. in Ghana for the discussion, so each of that country’s musicians will be appearing on Zoom from their individual homes. (Don’t you think it’d be only fair, Ben, to have a sequel that plays at 2 a.m. Fresno time? Better to get to work on that.)

The payoff: Boone is excited to reconnect with his fellow musicians. And he’s happy to have an event that celebrates “JOY” because the album’s release party in March had to be canceled due to coronavirus. “I’ve been telling everyone how marvelous these musicians are, and what cool people they are, since my return from Ghana almost two years ago,” he says. “So I am thrilled my friends here will get to ‘meet’ them.”