Chicago's Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l mark their 20th year as a group with the release of the new record Likambo Te group's guitarist and leader, Nathaniel Braddock, has just returned from living in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he has been working with guitarists, luthiers, and electric likembe builders. 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. The OBDBI’s current performances reunite Braddock with 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 and jazz luminary Greg Ward, a regular member of Linda Han Oh’s group and leader of Stomping off from Greenwood. 

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.