Jembaa Groove embraces the warm and vintage elements of soul music and the baritone chords of 60’s and 70’s black America yet their core rhythmical foundations are from highlife.

Comprising seven band members, hailing from various corners of the world, their practice sessions are driven by a wild mix of languages and cultural expression. Listening to Susuma, you can hear Eric singing in Ga, (one of several languages spoken in the city of Accra, Ghana), Yoruba and Twi and pidgin English.

The conception of Jembaa Groove happened late 2020, when band leaders Yannick Nolting (bass, composer, producer) and Eric Owusu (percussion, vocals, songwriter) met while picking up their young sons from the local playground. They soon realised they shared a mutual love of West-African music and it wasn’t long before they were jamming together in the studio and a special magic was brewing.

Delving into a wealth of influences from across both sides of the Atlantic as well as the Berlin scene – hip hop and jazz – the group’s musical vitality, journeying philosophy and indeed their band name, comes from the energy and spirituality of their take, and on the rhythms that feed the groove. Utilising the musical techniques, cultural context, and spirit of Ghanaian highlife they are as much influenced by the creativity of highlife pioneer Ebo Taylor and Dr. K. Gyasi as they are to the US groove machines of say Charles Bradley or Lee Fields.

Garnering a smattering of support from the media world like KEXP, BBC6 Music, KCRW, Worldwide FM, FIP, RFI, Rinse FM, WDR Cosmo and enough stations round the world off the back of their debut Album ‘Susuma’, Jembaa Groove are causing a storm with their hybrid West African meets US soul and jazz sound.

Line-up:
Eric Owusu (Ghana) – Vocals/Percussion
Yannick Nolting (Germany) – Bass/Bandleader
Moses Yoofee Vester (Germany/Ghana) – Keys
Babatunde Agonglo (Benin) – Guitar
Nir Sabag (Israel) – Drums
Merav Goldman Isreal) – Horn
Goncalo Mortagua (Portugal) – Sax

ALICE at Stairway
While the concert hall at Nørre Allé 7 is getting a new ventilation system, ALICE is moving into the music venue Stairway in Vanløse on January 1st 2023.