Drummer Paa Kow has played for many top local artistes at Abrantie Spot at Abeka Lapaz in Accra on numerous occasions but when he took to the bandstand last Saturday, he was in full flow with three young Americans playing what they describe as Ghanerican music.

Adam Holton on bass, Peyton Shuffield on percussion, Jake Ball on trumpet and the Ghanaian drummer call themselves the By All Means Band and their repertoire combines elements of American popular music with Ghanaian rhythms.

Improvisation is at the heart of their music and at full roar, they sound much bigger than a quartet.

Paa Kow met the Americans at the University of Colorado early last year when he was invited as a guest player with the university’s highlife ensemble directed by Dr Kwasi Ampene.

The three were members of the ensemble who liked Paa Kow’s playing and decided to team up with him when they finished their various courses at the university. The four have been playing together full-time in Colorado and Mempis, Tennessee since September last year.

“We decided to play some new music together when we met Paa Kow. He is a good drummer and he brings a lot of direction to the group,” said bassist Holton to Showbiz about the sticksman who was the first choice player for Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede, Amandzeba and George Darko.

“We shock people in America when we play the music of Amakye Dede, Kojo Antwi and Osibisa our own way. Highlife is so sweet and the melody is everything but we are just four so we improvise to make us sound more full and to bring more heart to the sound.”

Percussionist Shuffield agrees the most influential percussionists on the American scene have always come from Africa or South America and his choice of equipment reflects that.

He moves from congas, djembe drums, bells, tambourine, timbales, gongs and shakers with ease to create a thicket of complementary sounds which contributes to the group’s unique tone.

He says he has taken some inspiration from Okyerema Asante whom he played with when the Ghanaian percussionist was a guest with the University of Colorado highlife ensemble sometime ago.

Trumpeter Ball also doubles on flugelhorn and is a crucial part of the band. The absence of a guitar and keyboards means he often has to play those parts and he deftly applies a variety of mutes to to his trumpet to create different sounds all the time.

He told Showbiz he loves Hugh Masekela and Mac Tontoh but also listens a lot to the American jazz greats like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis.

“We take from all sources but we love the music of Ghana and want to be part of it. I predict that many Ghanaians will get to know and love our music in just a couple of years,” Ball said as the rest of the By All Means Band nodded in approval to his statement.