Gyedu-Blay Ambolley Brings Simigwa to America

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is performing his 1975 debut album Simigwa in its entirety for the first time in the United States, bringing his eight-piece band from Ghana. The tour runs through August 22, closing in Brooklyn, New York, following earlier stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Ambolley's Simigwa fuses highlife with funk, jazz, and what many consider an early form of rap—a genre-blending vision that anticipated global music trends by decades. He was the first musician from Ghana to formally incorporate rap forms into local highlife rhythms, creating the musical genre Simigwa. Now 79, he remains a restless innovator, and this US run—presented by Jazz is Dead—offers a rare chance to hear the album as a complete work, played by musicians steeped in its original spirit.

Remaining dates include Louisville's Whirling Tiger and the final Brooklyn show on August 22.