Latest set
Vocals - Paulina Oduro
Drums - KB
Bass - E Jebi
Percussion - Francis Fuster
Keyboards/Vocals - Emmanuel Rentzos
Boombaya toured in Ghana and the U.K. before releasing its C.D. in 1996, Ghana gone Jazz featuring famous Jazz Saxophonist Ronnie Laws. Ghana gone jazz was featured on jazz FM, and was widely noted as a cutting edge album, a successful fusion of Ghanaian musical styles with jazz. Boombaya has continued to break new musical ground while retaining its longstanding audience appeal. The band has toured the U.K. three times, in 1994, 1996 and 1998. Kari Bannerman himself has featured twice at the International Guitar Festival of GT Britain.Boombaya includes top class musicians such as Francis Fuster (Paul Simons Graceland), Sam Djengue of the Cameroons on bass, keyboard prodigy Kwame Yeboah from Ghana ( Miss Dynamite, studio session Micheal Jackson) and Billie Richardson of Guadeloupe on backing vocals.
Kari has recently started to write for Guitar - Magazine. He has already contributed columns on African Guitar Styles to their February and March 2000 editions. He also runs ocasional workshops at various academic institutions including Goldsmiths College in London.
Kari also embarks on 'Seprewa, the soul of Highlife Tour 2010' which is an interplay between his acoustic palm wine guitar and the Seprewa is a ten string harp lute from Ghana. You can hear samples of the new album here
Seprewa Kasa
Kari Bannerman is at present touring with the musical circus style show Afrika Afrika which is held at The O2 Arena in London.
Kari with Osibisa Live at the Marquee in London,
1983
Kari Bannerman and Paulina Oduro performing at the Royal Festival Hall
Influences
John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, George Benson, Muddy Water's, Charlie Parker, Kwaa Mensah, Koo Nimo and my Dreams.
Sounds Like
African guitar with Jazz, Classical, Kora, Seprewa and Rock influences.
Kari Bannerman, Ghana’s most renowned and versatile guitarist has over twenty years experience playing popular African music. He began his professional career in the mid seventies in Ghana, founding Boombaya, and within a year won the ‘Band of the year’ award. A successful tour of the U.K. followed, but Boombaya broke up before releasing an album that would document their freshness and originality.
Kari Bannerman then took his talent to Osibisa, who reportedly topped the album charts in four continents. Kari toured the world with Osibisa, recorded several albums with them, and was awarded a gold disc for Osibisa’s tour of India.
Kari has since become a sought after guitarist in Britain for both live performances and studio work. His list of international credits includes Hugh Masekela, Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) on his 'Kolors' tour, Alexander O’Neal, Odyssey, Ronnie Laws, Femi Kuti, Dele Sosimi, Jason Yarde, Sister Sledge, Gasper Lawal’s African Oro Band, Highlife king E.T Mensah, Native Spirit, Palm wine king S.E. Rogie, Pat Thomas Kwadwo Antwi, Carol Grimes, Claude Deppa’s A.M.E, Rex Omar, Nana Tsiboe, Ed Bentley, Alex Wilson and Dave Chambers and many other artists in the music industry.
Further credits for studio work include contributions on over thirty highlife tracks, including the classics; Bunny Macks hit “Let me love you”, Ben Brako’s Baya album and S.E Rogies “ Dead don’t smoke marijuana”.
Kari’s film credits include composing the guitar score and playing for “Feet of song” which won the best British Film Institutes Best video award (1991) and “Triangle”, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1995. He also composed and played guitar for the sound track of a film about the Rwanda disaster, commissioned by Oxfam.
Kari also appeared with Osibisa in the film 'The Absolute Beginners' starring David Bowie.
Coming full circle, Kari reformed Boombaya in 1993, infusing the band’s Ghanaian roots with his international experience. Boombaya’s new sound aims to modernise Ghanaian music, with a repertoire that spans popular music such as highlife and traditional music, such as Agbadza.
Kari’s arrangements push the melodic and harmonic boundaries of Ghanaian music into adventurous and exciting musical terrain, which is wonderfully displayed in his track 'Cry of the Pigmy' from his 2001 Ghana Gone Jazz album. The rhythmic and dance element is fundamental to Boombaya’s music, but its strong improvisational elements make this music appreciated in jazz circles. Kari’s lyrics are as versatile as his music, sometimes playful, and at other times offering social and political comment.
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LIVE ON STAGE: YAABA FUNK! (EARTH SHAKINGLY FUNKY HI-LIFE/AFROBEAT BIG BAND)
ON THE DECKS: THE FLYING CHILLIS AKA ALEX STEWART (FLYING CARPET) & JAMIE RENTON(CHILLI FRIED)
SATURDAY 31st MAY 2008, 8PM – 12.30 AM @THE INN ON THE GREEN 3-5 Thorpe Close London W10 5XL £5 / £3 concs Tel: 0208 962 5757 Nearest Tubes: Ladbroke Grove
Hello Kari,this is Miriam... Nice to see we are connected in here now as well:-) Greetings and respect to you from UnitedVibez Promotion:-) Have a blessed, prosperous and happy 2008 full of goodie vibez!
Great music! My granddad played the guitar, never sounded so good. I owned one, but before I could learn to play it, someone stole it. I plan on getting another one. I always wanted to put music to my poems or write lyrics. Your music inspires me. Keep doing what you're doing! Oh, I love your last name. (Smile)
THANK TO ADD...MY NEW FRIEND
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