The Occidental Brothers’ blend of high-energy soukous, rootsy Ghananian Highlife, and African Jazz conjures the sound of the golden age of the African guitar band and has made them favorites of music critics and audiences as diverse as the members of this multi-ethnic band.   Founded in Chicago by American-born musicians, the group has included former members of Ghanaian superstars the Western Diamonds, TPOK Jazz, Zambian roots musician Mathew Tembo, and Congolese legend Samba Mapangala. Their latest record, Likambo Te, features both Tembo and Mapangala.

With the return of OBDBI leader Nathaniel Braddock from several years living in Sydney, Australia, the group reunited in 2016 with performances featuring both Mapangala and the Ghanaian singer, Kofi Cromwell, known as “the Black Trumpet” for his performances with Teddy Afro.  In 2023, the group performed as a quartet in a large scale dance piece choreographed by the Brooklyn-based Ugandan-American choreographer, Edisa Weeks. 3 Rites Happiness premiered in New York City, presented by 651 Arts and the Weeksville Heritage Center.

Braddock was a faculty member at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music and now lives in Cambridge, Mass, and leads Trio Mokili, Air Congo, and the Accra Quartet. He co-founded the OBDBI with alto saxophonist Greg Ward, now a highly sought jazz musician who released his “Touch My Beloved’s Thought” (Greenleaf) to critical acclaim in 2016. 

The Occidental Brothers have energized festival stages in Europe and North Amerca, including Poland’s Made In Chicago 2017, Chicago World Music Festival 2016, Chicago Jazz Fest 2011, Nijmegen Music Meeting NL 2010, Moers Fest DE 2010, Ottawa Bluesfest 2010, Toronto AfroFest 2010, GlobalFest 2009, the Montreal and Vancouver Jazz Festivals 2009, amd Pitchfork 2008.  Other performances include Chicago’s Millennium Park, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, the Cedar Cultural Festival, and many arts centers and clubs.