Peter Somuah
Peter Somuah
MUSIC
TALENT
COLLABORATION
First tour: 2022 Second tour: 2024Album: Letter to the Universe Album: Outer Space Album: High LifePROJECT DESCRIPTION
In May 2022, NAJ helped organize a 2 week long release tour to Ghana with the Peter Somuah Group for their album “Outer Space”. The project’s aim was to introduce the band members to the roots of Peter’s music. During their time in Ghana, the band played concerts, and on the national radio station, as well as recorded new material and gave masterclasses.
After the tour, the Peter Somuah Group played at the North Sea Jazz Festival, won the Edison Jazz Award, and played a sold-out show at the BIMHUIS.
In 2024, the Peter Somuah Group toured internationally to three continents and gained further recognition and visibility as a band.
With the support of NAJ, the Peter Somuah group recorded a new album “Highlife” in Ghana in April 2024, which was released with ACT Records in November 2024.
In July/August 2024, the Peter Somuah Group traveled to China to play a number of concerts at the Blue Note in Shanghai and the Blue Note in Beijing.
In the fall, the Peter Somuah Group concluded this international year with NAJ supported shows in Germany and Spain.
KEY MUSICIANS
Peter Somuah trompet, Anton de Bruin keyboard, synthesizer, piano, Jens Meijer drums, Danny Rombout percussie, Marijn van de Ven elektrische bas
PRODUCERS
New Amsterdam Jazz
Sound of Recognition
1
Recorded Album “Letter to the Universe”
Edison Price nomination “Letter to the Universe”
2
Recorded Album “Highlife”
3
Edison Price win “Outer Space”
4
National & International tours
BIMHUIS, Paradiso, North Sea Jazz Festival, Ghana, China, Germany, Spain at foremost stages including Blue Note Shanghai and BeijingFrom Ghana to Amsterdam
“The (financial) support by NAJ has allowed me to grow my career, especially my international career, at a faster pace than I would have been able to otherwise.
The support has also hugely helped in creating music that honours my roots and Ghana’s cultural heritage.
The trip was an immersive experience aimed at giving the band a deeper understanding of my roots and my music. It was special to me to witness the Dutch guys that I have been building with over the last few years meet the Ghanaian friends that I grew up playing with. I feel the trip to Ghana really solidified the band’s ability to play from the soul.
The recent Highlife album (released in November 2024) was supported by NAJ. The featured artists on the album are all living in Ghana and in April 2024 Anton (keyboardist and producer) and I travelled to Ghana to write and record with them. This was the dream of the band and the NAJ fund made it happen.
We played two nights each at the Blue Note in Shanghai and Blue Note in Beijing. I introduced the band to my Chinese friends in Shanghai and Beijing. We shared knowledge about the Chinese jazz scene and the Dutch jazz scene.
The band and I joined local jam sessions in the jazz clubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and played with local conservatory students and established musicians alike. We returned home full of new impressions and fresh inspiration. The NAJ support hugely helped to make the tour happen!
After the China tour in August, the band and I played some shows in Germany in September. In November, the band and I made our debut in Spain and played two shows in Barcelona. It has been a special experience to grow our international audience and it has been interesting to observe the differences across countries. While audiences tend to be quiet as can be right up until the end of each song in Germany, the audiences in Spain reacted with vocal enthusiasm to every little part of the songs that they enjoyed. The bond between the musicians in the band has also been growing stronger among our international travels.”
Peter Somuah Jazz Musician
