Accra Trane Station

Accra Trane Station is Nii Noi Nortey, Nii Otoo Annan and Steven Feld. Nortey and Annan both live in Accra, Ghana. Together, they play 35 percussion, wind, and string instruments, many of which they have invented and built themselves. In 2004, musician and ethnomusicologist Steven Feld went to Ghana and met Nortey and Annan who shared with Feld, their unique take on the Coltrane legacy. Their Tribute to A Love Supreme was the result and Accra Trane Station was born. Feld “Prof” took up the study of the the West African mbira box bass, and proceeded to record, tour, and perform with Nortey and Annan as a part of ATS. In Fall 2006, they released a CD tribute to the 40th anniversary of John Coltrane’s classic LP Meditations. The recording features Nortey’s inventions, the afrifones (African winds with saxophone mouthpieces) and Annan’s African percussion kit, a battery of African bells and drums together with jazz cymbals. 2007 is the 50th anniversary of Coltrane’s Blue Train LP, and Ghana’s independence. To mark the confluence, Accra Trane Station recorded Another Blue Train, an improvisational train ride tribute through the diasporic night of African jazz. The recording will be launched tonight at
the Outpost Performance. For part of the evening, the Accra Trane Station trio will be augmented by special guests, Albuquerque’s Jefferson Voorhees on drums and, from Austin and Amsterdam, saxophonist and flutist, Alex Coke.

$15/$10 Members. Available in advance, by phone or in person,
at the Outpost Performance Space (268-0044)

Nii Noi Nortey and Nii Otoo Annan will perform a free Outpost performance for kids at 10am Friday October 5. Call 268-0044 for info. They will also give lectures and demonstrations at UNM Monday-Friday, October 1-5. For further info about UNM activities email Steven Feld at wafeki@cybermesa.com.