Looking to put some pure fun in your Cape Cod winter? Have we got a band for you! Kotoko Brass combines beautifully complex Ghanaian drumming, robust Caribbean bass and keyboards, and joyous New Orleans horns to create a unique and jubilant sound The Boston Globe describes as “propulsive, infectious party music.”
Kotoko Brass is a group of stunningly talented musicians from Ghana, Antigua, Japan, and the United States, playing together in unity. The band was founded by Cape Cod’s own Ben and Brian Paulding, brothers from Yarmouth Port. With a Masters degree in Ethnomusicology from Tufts, Ben lived extensively in Ghana, where he had over 200 performances drumming with the Centre for National Culture and the Nsuase Kete Group. Trombonist Brian has traveled the world playing soul, reggae, and calypso music.
Ghanaian master percussionists Attah Poku and Kwame Ofori, bassist M’talewa Thomas, guitarist Dillon Zahner, keyboardist Yusaku Yoshimura and saxophonist Andy Bergman form the rest of this amazing band.
Drums are the heart and soul of Kotoko Brass. The band merges syncopated African percussion rhythms with hard-hitting dance grooves on the American drumset. The horns blend the traditional sounds of New Orleans with the famous West African brass band sound, and the guitar, bass, and keys evoke classic African and Caribbean styles of highlife, afrobeat, and reggae. The result is a celebratory and energetic synthesis of music, people, and cultures from around the world.
“Coming together as Kotoko Brass feels like a superpower,” they say. “When the traditional Ghanaian percussion and driving drum set grooves meet the steady rhythm section and jubilant horn melodies, we can’t help but dance. Now, after over a year of sharing our sound and energy with audiences across New England, we have seen just how infectious this energy is.”
Here is Kotoko Brass performing in the very heart of New England, on Yawkey Way outside Fenway Park before a Red Sox game:
Come experience this wonderful music with us!
Kotoko Brass will play at Cape Symphony's Falmouth Campus (60 Highfield Drive) on Saturday, February 10 at 5:00 PM. Tickets are $25, available for purchase at the door or securely through Eventbrite.
“Cape Symphony Presents” is a concert-promoting arm of Cape Symphony that brings unique, eclectic entertainment to venues across the Cape and Islands, introducing audiences to new musicians, ensembles, and a diverse array of musical genres.
