Tilahun Gessesse is Dead

I was saddened to hear of the death Sunday of a true master of Ethiopian music, Tilahun Gessesse, who has been the subject of several posts here at Likembe. The BBC reports:

The popular Ethiopian singer, Tilahun Gessesse, has died at the age of 68. He had been the most dominant figure in Ethiopian music for more than half a century and will receive a state funeral later this week.

Ethiopian radio and television interrupted programmes to broadcast tributes to the singer.

He started performing in the days of the Emperor Haile Selassie, and was for a time the lead singer in his imperial bodyguard band.The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says that over the years, his plaintive tenor voice sang of love, family and friendship, as well as the more public themes of liberty, unity and justice.

He had been in poor health in recent years because of diabetes.

Ethiopian Media Forum writes:

The legendary Ethiopian singer, Dr. Tilahun Gessesse passed away on Sunday due to a sudden heart attack, EMF confirmed the news from close family sources. Dr. Tilahun has died at the age of 69, just hours after a surprise return from USA with his wife to celebrate the Ethiopian Easter.

His wife, Roman Bezu, said that he passed away while she was taking him to the nearest private hospital. “It was unfortunate that he couldn’t able to get medical assistance as most clinics had no doctors due to the Ethiopian Easter,” Roman added.

Family sources also said that Tilahun will be buried in public funeral scheduled on Wednesday, 22 April, at Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa.

Tilahun was attacked on his throat the same day, 16 years ago. Many were surprised by the coincidence. Tilahun had received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Addis Ababa University, in appreciation of his contribution to Ethiopian music.

In honor of this consummate professional, here are three tracks from Tilahun's 1995 release Wegen Alegne (Ethio-Grooves EG- 95-1):

Tilahun Gessesse - Aykedashim Libe

Tilahun Gessesse - Ethiopia

Tilahun Gessesse - Ene Alamaregnem

Many thanks to Andreas Wetter of Ntama Journal of African Music for bringing this sad news to my attention. Andreas also points out that I mis-spelled Tilahun's name in the G'eez script in the graphics in my last two posts concerning him. Sigh! I'll have to go back and correct that at some point.

More Senegal Swag

Aku and I recently returned from a trip out East for Installment Two of the Spring Break College Tour. I'm happy to report that she's been accepted by a number of renowned institutions - the problem now is to figure out how to pay for the school she finally decides on!

Landing in New York of course we had to make a beeline for Little Senegal, for Thiebou Yaap, Diiby, Mafé, and pirated CDs by the armful! To hear some of the music we picked up, scroll down.

After a tour of Fordham University (we checked out NYU & Columbia last year) it was off to Boston, where we had dinner with Uchenna of With Comb & Razor fame at Asmara, an excellent Eritrean restaurant in Cambridge, and toured Boston University the next morning. Suitably impressed, we departed for Montréal and world-renowned McGill University.

Never having been there, my impressions of Québéc have all been second-hand: following the traumatic events of 1970, when martial law was declared in the province; reading Pierre Vallières' White Niggers of America; the subsequent election of the separatist Parti Québécois and the ensuing "language wars." So, I didn't know what to expect. Unfortunately, Aku's French-language skills weren't put to the test - everybody we met was enthusiastically bilingual, and often multi-lingual.

I should have asked the crew at Masala for some travel advice before the trip. I'm sure they could have steered us to the (so I'm told) happenin' Afro/Latin/Caribbean scene in Montréal, but as time was at a premium, we had to content ourselves with wandering the streets around our hotel, mainly in the Vieux Montréal area. Rapidly gentrifying, it still retains a scruffy charm and thankfully hasn't yet been turned into a French-Canadian theme park. Towering cathedrals, funky old architecture and restaurants abound.

You may know that I love good food almost as much as I love good music, and it's apparent that Montréal is a serious food town. French food stars, of course, but just about any cuisine can be found easily. Unfortunately, we didn't get to sample poutine, and we missed out on the legendary Au Pied de Cochon restaurant, but we did follow our guidebook's advice and had a lovely meal at Boris Bistro on rue McGill. I had the Duck Magret with cardamom espresso sauce, and Aku had Duck Risotto, both truly delightful, and reasonably priced as well. Finished off with Tarte Tatin and espresso, it was truly a meal for the ages. The staff couldn't have been nicer, and the manager came over and had a friendly chat with us.

Anybody have any suggestions about what to see, do, eat or hear in Montréal? I definitely want to go back again!
Now to the music we obtained in Little Senegal. I'd wanted to showcase selections from a number of musicians, but one stood out: multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ousmane Diallo, better known as Ouza, is a "musician's musician" who has achieved cult status in Senegal, not only for his fine music but for his socially-conscious lyrics and his run-ins with the authorities. Over the years he has associated with a series of female backup groups - Les Brancheés, Les Ouzettes and Les 4 Femmes dans le Vent, as well as the Ballet Nationale and the Orchestre Nationale du Senegal. He remained mostly unknown outside of Senegal until 2001 & 2002, when two compilation CDs, Ouza & ses Ouzettes 1975-1990 (Popular African Music PAM OA 208) and Best of Ouza (Africa Productions 01028-2) were released.

The tunes I've chosen here well display his unique blend of mbalax, funk, r&b and jazz.

Here are two tracks from 1975-1990. "Guajira," of course, is an old Cuban song, while "Diriyankee," which originally appeared on the cassette Nakhe M'Baye (GDL 001, 1982) addresses the exploitation of African resources by the Western world:

Ouza et ses Ouzettes - Guajira

Ouza et le Nobel - Diriyankee

Best of Ouza features music from the latter part of the maestro's career. "La Sante" originally appeared on the 2000 cassette Le Vote (Origines), while "Tamboulaye" is from Sen Sougnou Sama (Talla Digne), which was issued in 1997:

Ouza - La Sante

Ouza ack Ndiaguamarees - Tamboulaye



Diapason Ouza (Keur Serigne Fall) is a live recording released in 1996:

Ouza - Gouye Gui

Ouza - Xadimo

20 Ans?, about which I've been unable to find any recording information, is also apparently a live recording:

Ouza - SIDA Retro

Ouza - Boul Teury

The picture at the top of this post is taken from Ouza & ses Ouzettes 1975-1990. More Senegal swag in a future post. More non-Senegal music too!

Africa Roots Vol. 4

I'll be out of town for a week and don't expect to be able to blog, but I wanted to get something in, so this one's a quickie.

I never managed to snag Vols. 1-3 of the legendary Africa Roots series, recorded at the Melkweg in Amsterdam in the early '80s. I did get hold of the fourth and final (?) installment, and what a wonderful recording it is!

Click on the picture below to read about the artists and the songs. The standout here is Mali's legendary Salif Keita along with the equally fabled Kante Manfila and Ousmane Kouyate, who deliver a scorching rendition of the Ambassadeurs classic "Primpin." Senegal's Baaba Maal, Algeria's Cheb Mami, Angola's Bonga and A.B. Crentsil from Ghana don't disappoint either with inspired renditions of some of their greatest songs. It's all good!

Listening to these tracks will take some of you back to the exciting days of the '80s when every day brought a new revelation for us African music fans and World Music™ had yet to be conceived. Enjoy!

Salif Keita & Les Ambassadeurs - Primpin

Baaba Maal & l'Orchestre - Dental

Baaba Maal & l'Orchestre - Yela

Baaba Maal & l'Orchestre - Lomtoro

Cheb Mami - Sanlou Ala Enabi

Bonga - Kua' Sanzala

Bonga - Camin Longe

A.B. Crentsil - Osokoo

A.B. Crentsil - Atia

A.B. Crentsil - Ahurusi

Racines Africaines et Feeling Jazzy

Idrissa Diop's LP Femme Noire (Volume LK 0188, 1987) is complimentary, and a companion of sorts, to Seydina Insa Wade's Yoff (Disques Esperance ESP 8415, 1985), featured in my last post.

Superficially, of course, Diop's electronic explorations couldn't sound more different from Yoff's mellow groove. But Diop was the featured percussionist on Yoff, and both discs share a willingness to push the boundaries of the mainstream Senegal sound. According to the profile on Diop's MySpace page, Diop and Wade pursued parallel careers, both playing in the Rio Sextet and Calypso Jazz in Dakar besides collaborating in the folk group Tabala. Since parting way with Wade in the '80s Diop has pursued an adventurous career in Paris, founding the jazz group Sixun and performing with the likes of Harry Belafonte, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter and other musical luminaries.

The musicians on Femme Noire are unfortunately uncredited, although Diop gives thanks on the album sleeve to Xalam and French musician Jean-Philippe Rykiel.

Idrissa Diop - Yaracodo

Idrissa Diop - M'bidane (La Bonne)

Idrissa Diop - Gueule Tapée

Idrissa Diop - Worunana

Idrissa Diop - Kawele Ciosane (Ouverture)

Idrissa Diop - Djiguene Diou Nioule (Femme Noire)

Idrissa Diop - Sahel

A Senegalese Auteur

I ordered Seydina Insa Wade's LP Yoff (Disques Esperance ESP 8415, 1985) from Sterns many years ago not knowing anything about the album or the artist, and it was a revelation. The LP achieves a magical blend of acoustic and electric sounds that stands out even among the many great Senegalese recordings of the '80s.

I had always thought that Yoff was a one-off effort by an otherwise obscure musician, but in researching this post I discovered that Seydina Insa Wade is anything but a flash in the pan. He is a highly accomplished auteur and composer whose work is greatly respected by all the giants of Senegalese music.

Wade was born in Dakar in 1948 and began his musical career in the Rio Sextet, later moving on to Calypso Jazz, with whom he performed in the first Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres (FESTAC I) in 1966. A sympathizer of the political Left in Senegal, Wade's compositions took on many of the social issues of the day. In the late '60s he briefly joined the first incarnation of Xalam, moving on to the Negro Stars, La Plantation and the Sahel Band.

It was in the early 1980s that Wade achieved what many consider the apotheosis of modern Senegalese folk music with the formation of the acoustic group Tabala, featuring percussionist Idrissa Diop and multi-instrumentalist Oumar Sow. These were the musicians with whom Wade recorded Yoff, which brought him a measure of renown and a tour of several European countries. The musicians subsequently went their separate ways, Sow returning to Senegal to join Youssou N'dour's Super Etoile, Diop forming the jazz-fusion group Sixun, and Wade rejoining the reconstituted Xalam.

In 2003 Seydina Insa Wade returned to Senegal to reunite with Oumar Sow and record the CD Xalima, the subject of a documentary by filmmaker Ousmane William Mbaye, "Xalima-La Plume."

Click on the pictures to read the liner notes (in French).



Seydina Insa Wade - Ciat

Seydina Insa Wade - Fama Re

Seydina Insa Wade - Yoff

Seydina Insa Wade - So Bugge

Seydina Insa Wade - Beure Bouki Ak M'Bam

Seydina Insa Wade - Seni Dom

Seydina Insa Wade - Taaruna

Seydina Insa Wade - Len Dem



Download Yoff as a zipped file here.

Navigating the Boundary Between Highlife and Jùjú

There's been a lot of good jùjú on the Internets lately - from Comb & Razor here and here, Worldservice here and here, and at Snap, Crackle & Pop here - so I figured why shouldn't I get into the act? Besides, it's been a while since I posted some good old Yoruba Soul Music.

I can tell you very little about Ade Wesco and his Destiny Dandies. Wesco rates a brief entry in Ronnie Graham's The World of African Music (Pluto Press/Research Associates, 1992) where his sound is described as ". . . highlife enriched with traditional percussion and distinctly Yoruba vocals." The label of his LP Aye Wa Adun (Ibukun Orisun Iye MOLPS 35, 1976) describes the contents as "jùjú," and judging by that album at least (the only one by him I've heard, although he released a number of others) his music is a true synthesis of the two styles, much like that of Orlando Owoh.

Be that as it may, you can decide for yourself. Here's the album in full. It's fine, fine stuff:

Ade Wesco & his Destiny Dandies - Aye Wa Adun/Adun ni Gbehin Ewuro/Ibukun Orisun Iye/Tiwa ni Tiwa

Ade Wesco & his Destiny Dandies - Ogo ni Fun Baba Loke/Irawo Wa Ntan Loke/A Dupe Baba Wa/Bayi Loda/Amariran Wo/Oniyeye

It's Highlife Time

I've been on a Ghana kick lately, digging out a lot of semi-forgotten vinyl in my collection that I haven't listened to in years. I know you won't mind if I share it with you!

Other than falling under the general rubric "Ghana Highlife," the tunes in this post don't follow any particular theme - I more or less pulled them out at random. There's the classic danceband sound and the more stripped-down guitar highlife style, and even an example of the controversial "Burgher" highlife genre. I've left for future posts some of the big names - the African Brothers, Alex Konadu, A.B. Crentsil and Jewel Ackah - as well as the multitude of Ghanaian artists who made careers in Nigeria during the '70s and '80s.

Yamoah's Guitar Band, based in Kumasi and led by Peter Kwabena Yamoah (right), emerged from the Ghana concert party scene in the 1950s and has been one of the most influential Ghanaian music outfits ever since, which makes its lack of recognition outside Ghana all the more unjust. Nana Ampadu of African Brothers fame got his start there, as did guitarist Smart Nkansah and the sublime vocalist Agyaaku, who later formed the Sunsum Band (more about which later). I'm not sure when Yamoah's Special (Motorway MTL 3001) was released, nor does it feature any credits, but I suspect it came out in the early '70s and does feature Nkansah and Agyaaku. "Saa Na Odo Te/Otan Gu Ahorow" is a killer track, and "Suro Nea Obesee Wo" is almost as good:

Yamoah's Band - Saa Na Odo Te/Otan Gu Ahorow

Yamoah's Band - Suro Nea Obesee Wo

Pat Thomas served as a vocalist with the Broadway Dance Band, the Stargazers and the Uhurus before False Lover (Gapophone GAPO LP 02, 1974) introduced him to the world fronting the Sweet Beans, official band of the government Cocoa Marketing Board. He went on to became one of Ghana's most popular vocalists, and while his star has dimmed somewhat since, his sweet voice and sparkling arrangements are hard to forget. Not content to dip his toes in the reggae sound then sweeping Africa, Thomas jumps in head-first in the first four songs on False Lover, notably this one:

Pat Thomas & the Sweet Beans - Revolution

The rest of the album, billed as an attempt to revive the danceband sound, succeeds admirably:

Pat Thomas & the Sweet Beans - Don't Beat the Time

Pat Thomas & the Sweet Beans - Merebre

Pat Thomas & the Sweet Beans - Wabe Aso



I mentioned in my last post The Guitar and Gun (Sterns Earthworks STEW 50CD, 2003), which collects tracks from The Guitar and the Gun Vol. 1 (Africagram A DRY 1, 1983) and The Guitar and the Gun Vol. 2 (Africagram A DRY 6, 1985) John Collins' groundbreaking collections of Ghana highlife. Inexplicable to me is the exclusion of the African Internatonals' "Noko Nya M'akire" from Vol. 1, probably the best track on either record. To correct this oversight, I make it available here:

African Internationals - Noko Nya M'akire



Smart Nkansah and Agyaaku became friends when they were part of Yamoah's Band in the late '60s. A few years later Nkansah went his own way, eventually forming the immortal Sweet Talks Band with A.B. Crentsil in 1975, which recorded such classics as Adam and Eve and Hollywood Highlife Party before falling apart.

Nkansah & Agyaaku later reunited to form the Black Hustlers before founding the Sunsum Band in 1981. Their album Odo (Love) (ASA Records ASA 1001, 1984) features an exciting blend of guitar highlife, the classic danceband sound and the vocal stylings of Becky B, Smart Nkansah's sister-in-law. The title track was included in my compilation African Divas Vol. 1. "Mensee Madwen" is a medley from Side 2 of the LP:

The Sunsum Band - Mensee Madwen



Over the years thriving Ghanaian communities have developed in the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. Interestingly, because of relatively liberal immigration laws at the time, a sizable Ghanaian population emerged in Germany during the 1970s, and this community gave birth to the so-called "Burgher" highlife phenomenon.

Excoriated and loathed by purists, Burgher highlife, along with Hiplife, has come to define the modern-day highlife sound in Ghana. George Darko's "Akoo Te Brofo," released in 1983 with its funkified beat and heavy reliance on electronic instrumentation, is generally considered the first Burgher highlife hit. Musicians like Kantata, Rex Gyamfi and McGod were quick to follow in Darko's footsteps.

Charles Amoah's Eyε Odo Asεm (Cage Records 01-18957, 1987) is pretty much your archetypal Burgher highlife record, recorded in Dusseldorf and featuring mainly German musicians, German producers, even a German art director! Amoah himself started out playing straight-ahead highlife music in the '70s with the likes of the Happy Boys led by Kwabena Akwaboah and Alex Konadu's Band. He ended up in Germany in the late '70s where he bounced around various bands before releasing Sweet Vibration in 1984, the first of his many hit records.

Amoah has since returned to Ghana, where he has a prosperous career touring and recording. Here's a tune from Eyε Odo Asεm:

Charles Amoah - Di Ahurusi



If you'd like to hear some more contemprary examples of Burgher highlife, go here. Many thanks to Akwaboa of Highlife Haven, who provided useful information.

Exploring Ga Cultural Highlife

I often tell Priscilla that if I leave this mortal coil before her and she's hard up for cash, she can raffle off my record collection on Ebay. Some of the prices people are getting for their old African vinyl are astronomical and mind-boggling. $300 for a scratchy old disco record by Christy Essien-Igbokwe? Come on, people!

Some of you may remember the old alt.music.african usegroup back when the internet was first catching on big-time (and is it still around?). I used to be a pretty active participant back around 1998. At one point a record dealer in North Carolina or some place posted a list of some records he wanted to unload. This guy didn't specialize in African music but he had come across about twenty or so primo West African pressings that he was auctioning off to the highest bidder. There were a few Fela records, a couple of Sonny Okosuns, and most intriguingly, a number of LPs labeled "tribal vinyl from Ghana." I hadn't heard of any of the artists mentioned, but the minimum bid was $5, so what did I have to lose?

As the auction proceeded over the next week, it became apparent that while there was a healthy interest in the Fela and Okosun records, I was the only person who wanted the Ghanaian LPs, so I obtained these mint-condition pressings for five dollars each!

On first listen it was obvious that I had come into possession of some rare gems. These records were in a style about which I had heretofore known very little, "Ga Cultural Highlife," a mainly acoustic, perscussion-based genre described by musicologist John Collins as originating in the early '70s among the Ga people around Ghana's capital city Accra.

A record reviewer I read once made a derisive reference to Ghanaian "Jug Band Music." I think she was referring to those Makossa Records pressings that came out in the late '70s (and if you've been collecting for a while, you know what I'm talking about), but the label could more accurately describe these wonderful recordings.

Take the Suku Troupe, whose home-made instrumentation and heartfelt enthusiasm blow some of the more professional highlife combos out of the water! The group was founded in 1976 by Nene Acquah and featured vocalist Maa Amanua (above left), quickly achieving fame throughout Ghana and other parts of West Africa. Here are two tracks from their second album, Ye Wanno Komm (Donno WADLP 002, 1978):

Suku Troupe - Awonye Lee

Suku Troupe - Hwe Wo Ho Yie

I've been unable to find out anything about the Ashiedu Keteke Cultural Group led by Nii France, but here's some wonderful music from their 1978 album Gbo Ofo Mino (Polydor 2940 015):

Ashiedu Keteke Cultural Group - Ake Me Aya

Ashiedu Keteke Cultural Group - Edo Mi



Likewise the background and history of the Adzo Troupe, led by Amartei B.C., are a mystery to me, but listen to these tunes from their 1979 LP Siolele (Essiebons 1277938). Interestingly, the group was managed by Stan Plange, who also led the popular Uhuru Dance Band back in the day:

Adzo Troupe - Siolele

Ado Troupe - Kerodze



Akwwetey Wallas had a peripatetic musical career before founding the Gaamashiebii Cultural Troupe in the mid '70s, starting out in the band led by his brother Oko Jack Bay. He went on to join the Obadzen Cultural Troupe led by Renaissance man Saka Acquaye. His musical itch then led him to found the Blemabii and Obuabedii Cultural Troupes in quick succession.

The liner notes of Gamashiebii's debut LP Ebaa Gbeee (Obuoba JNA 10) state,". . . For its twelve months of existence the Gamashibii Cultural Troupe has established itself as one of the best exponents of traditional music and has therefore earned it a participating place in most social activities in the Gamashi area. . . It cannot be gain said that this musical masterpiece will for some time come to liven up many homes." Hear for yourself!

Gamashiebii Cultural Troupe - Wuobi (Akroma)

Gamashiebii Cultural Troupe - Faale Ke Mi Ya (Pt. 2)



Of all of the groups featured in this posts, Wulomei, led by Nii Tei Ashitey, is the only one that has achieved a measure of fame outside of Ghana. Indeed, the name in practically synonymous with Ga Cultural Highlife. Under the name Sensational Wulomei, the group is still in existence and still perforforming in the Accra area after 36 years.

Here's some music from Wulomei's 1978 album Kunta Kinte (Philips 6354 022):

Wulomei - Aplanke

Wulomei - Kwani Kwani



By the way, if you like the music in this post, I can't recommend enough The Guitar and Gun (Sterns Earthworks STEW 50CD), which puts back into circulation John Collins' seminal highlife recordings from the early 80s. It's not all Ga Cultural Highlife, but it's all wonderful.

Forty Years of Xalam

Remember back in the early '80s when King Sunny Adé hit the scene in America? Not only was he said to be the next Bob Marley, the record companies were falling all over themselves to find the next "Big Thing" out of Africa. In short order Sonny Okosun and Tabu Ley Rochereau were launched on US tours, and there was a sprinkling of record releases by various artists. None of this had much impact - the "African Music Explosion" of the early '80s turned out to be a bit of a dud, although it paved the way for World Music™ a few years later. Whoopdy-doo!

One group that had more of an impact than most during this time was Touré Kunda, a Paris-based combo founded by a group of brothers from the Casamance region of southern Senegal. Touré Kunda didn't get a lot of respect from the more hard-core African music fans. A friend of mine came back from one of their concerts in Madison sneering at their "African bubble-gum music."

I've always thought Touré Kunda got a bum rap. Behind the slick production values their sound was always true to the music of their native region, which has never been as "angular" as that of Senegal's North.

Popular around the same time, although not so much in the US, was the Paris-based "Afro-Jazz" group Xalam, which if I am not mistaken, also has its roots in the Casamance. The group was founded in 1969 by percussionist Abdoulaye Prosper Niang. Xalam achieved a level of "mainstream" success that most African musicians can only dream of: recording with the Rolling Stones, opening for Crosby, Stills & Nash and Robert Plant, soundtrack gigs and innumerable world tours over the years. After a few rough years following the death of Niang in 1988 and the replacement of most of the original members, Xalam is this year celebrating its fortieth anniversary!

I've always loved Xalam's LP Gorée, released in 1983 by the French label Celluloid (CEL 6656). The album updates Senegalese folkloric themes to great effect, highlighted by spot-on percussion and the brilliant trombone work of Yoro Gueye. If you like this one, be sure to check out some of Xalam's other recordings, some of which are newly available after many years out of print.

Here's the music, along with song descriptions from the liner notes:

Derived from Mandingo folklore, "Sidy Yella" was also a hit for Touré Kunda. "A Mandingo son, a brave humanitarian warrior, defended his people against the invader with dignity, and died on the battleground":

Xalam - Sidy Yella

"A song about motherly love. A child sings for her mother at the first rooster call. 'When the rooster announces the start of the day, when the girls sing and the boys dance. . . ,' the child sings to her mother. Serere song. N'diouf rhythm":

Xalam - Ade 2

"Gorée is an island located 3 kms from Dakar. An important place, it was made a Portuguese, Dutch, English and French trading post. Thousands of Africans were 'exported' to the USA, the West Indies, Brazil, Haiti & Cuba, transporting a whole culture and civilization. Diola rhythm (Saw Ruba)":

Xalam - Gorée

"Song of the struggle. An old champion recounts his feats and speaks of struggle, of the life which demands sacrifice, courage, patience, willpower and faith: 'There where we pass, the one that passes collects mud.' Life is an eternal struggle. Wolof song. Saban rhythm":

Xalam - Kanu 2

"The story of a woman who prays to the god Djisalbero for a child. Her prayers go unanswered and she sees that around her the other women who have children hardly spend their time caring for them or simply abandon them. Diola song. Boncarabon rhythm":

Xalam - Djisalbero

"The struggle for the liberation of oppressed black people and of man in his home and birthplace. The struggle for the unification of African people. the struggle against racism and apartheid":

Xalam - Soweto

Many thanks to my daughter Aku for translating these liner notes. Click on the pictures at the top of the post and below to reveal the album sleeve in full. Download Gorée as a zipped file here, and thanks to reader/listener Soulsalaam for making the Xalam LP "Ade" Live at Festival Horizonte Berlin available here.

Red Spots, Black Beats and Stargazers

Reader/listener Malam Bala, in a recent comment, reminded me that this blog is long overdue for a posting of good old Ghana highlife music. And what better way to correct this oversight than to post the LP Akom Ko (Decca WAP 281)? This fine compilation features the down-home sounds of guitar highlife on Side One, while Side Two showcases the more sophisticated danceband sound.

Back in the 1990s John Storm Roberts' Original Music label released a series of Ghana highlife CDs that are eagerly sought out by African music aficionados, being as they are long out of print. Giants of Danceband Highlife (OMCD 011, 1990), I've Found My Love: 1960's Guitar Band Highlife of Ghana (OMCD 019, 1993) and Telephone Lobi: More Giants of Danceband Highlife (OMCD 033, 1995) cover much of the same musical territory as Akom Ko, but there is very little duplication of the music itself. So, if you are fortunate enough to own any of the Original Music compilations, consider this another volume in the series.

I suspect these recordings were made in the 1960s or at the very latest, the early 1970s, but Akom Ko itself was apparently pressed sometime in the '70s. I've tried to find out as much about the musicians as I could, but some artists, as talented as they are, dwell in obscurity. I'm passing on what information I have. If you'd like to pursue further studies, John Collins' "Musicmakers of West Africa" (3 Continents Press, 1985) is a good place to start, as well as a number of very informative articles he's written for Afropop Worldwide.


Royal Brothers - Anamon Nsiah

Boaken Stars - Medze M'awerεho Bεko

Bob Kwabena Akwaboah, founder of the band that bears his name, passed away January 2, 2004, leaving a legacy of numerous hit songs and LPs recorded during the 1960s and '70s. His son, Kwadwo Akwaboah, founded the Marriots International Band, which had a burst of popularity in the early 1990s:

Akwaboah's Band - Osu a Mesu

Awesome Tapes From Africa calls Yamoah "one of the greatest highlife singers ever," and I don't doubt it. I've been unable to find out much about this musician and his band, other than the fact that Nana Ampadu, founder of the African Brothers Band and a giant of the 1970-80s highlife scene, got his start with them:

Yamoah's Band - Nkrabea

Oppong's Band - Assaase Nkyiri Fun

Akwaboah's Band - Adeakye Abia

M.K. Manson - Nkokohwedeε Mienu

The Black Beats Dance Band was founded in 1952 by King Bruce and Saka Acquaye. Bruce, born in 1922, had already played with a number of the giants of the Ghana danceband scene like E.T. Mensah and Kofi Ghanaba, and the Black Beats were a very influential group for their time, recording innumerable hits and giving birth to several other outstanding orchestras including Jerry Hanson's Ramblers Dance Band and Acquaye's African Ensemble. A very informative article about King Bruce and the Black Beats by John Collins can be found here:

Black Beats - Medo Wo Sε Wote Yi Ara

The Red Spots, popular from the '50s through the '70s, were founded by Tommy Gripman, who got his start in E.T. Mensah's Tempo's Dance Band:

Red Spots - Oyε a Kae Me

The Broadway Dance Band, based in Sekondi-Takoradi, was led by a Nigerian trumpeter, Sammy Obot and included many great musicians like Stan Plange, Joe Mensah and Duke Duker. Following a legal dispute in 1964, it changed its name to the Uhuru Dance Band and continued to play a vital role in the Ghana music scene until the Seventies:

Broadway Dance Band - Menua

Black Beats - Anibre Sεm

Stargazers Dance Band - Owu Ayε Me Ade

Black Beats - Me Yε Ayera



Update: Akwaboah, who hosts the excellent new blog Highlife Haven, writes: ". . . please let me correct your remark about Kwabena Yamoah: he is the bandleader and guitarist, not the singer. The 'treble singer' on Yamoahs albums is the great Agyaku, who later recorded with Eric Agyeman and Smart Nkansah's Sunsum Band." Thanks, Akwaboah!