Immerse yourself in a night of rich musical heritage and cross-cultural rhythms, featuring the legendary Ghanaian guitarist, composer, and producer Ebo Taylor. With a career spanning over half a century, Taylor’s influence on African music is undeniable, from his early days with highlife bands like the Stargazers to collaborations with Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Taylor’s innovative blend of traditional Ghanaian music with jazz, funk, and Afrobeat creates a signature sound showcased in albums like “Ebo Taylor & the Pelikans” and “Tower Nyame.” Experience the evolution of Taylor’s musical journey, from his pioneering horn arrangements to his timeless classics like “Heaven,” as he takes the audience on a soul-stirring exploration of African rhythms and melodies. This special evening celebrates Taylor’s enduring legacy and contributions to the global music scene, promising an unforgettable fusion of sounds and cultures.
Ebo Taylor: Born in 1936, Ghanaian guitarist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and producer Ebo Taylor has been a vital presence in African music for more than half-a-century. During the early ’60s, he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band whose singles were mainstays on national radio. In 1962 he took his Black Star Highlife Band to London and collaborated with other African musicians who were also in Britain at the time, including Fela Kuti. Back in Ghana, he worked as an influential producer, crafting recordings for Pat Thomas (his future collaborator) and C.K. Mann, among many others. During the ’70s, his own musical projects combined traditional Ghanaian music with Afro-beat, jazz, and funk, creating a trademark sound as evidenced by the albums Ebo Taylor & the Pelikans (1976) and Twer Nyame (1978). In the ’80s, albums such as Conflict Nkru! and Hitsville Re-Visited (co-billed to Thomas) by his Uhuru-Yenzu band delivered a rawer, more immediate sound. Over the next two decades, Taylor was a noted producer, arranger, and composer, working with Thomas, Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Kofi Yankson, and dozens of others. He returned to performing live in the early 21st century after hip-hop producers began sampling his work. Soundways Records released the compilation Ghana Special. In 2010, Strut Records released Love and Death, his first internationally distributed album, followed by a series of catalog reissues and all-new recordings including 2018’s Yen Ara.
Pat Thomas: Pat Thomas is a Ghanaian vocalist and songwriter famed for his work in the highlife bands of Ebo Taylor and his own recordings of Afrobeat and Afro-pop. Born in Agona, in the Ashanti region, Thomas had music almost literally in his DNA, his father was a music theory instructor and his mother a bandleader. In the 1970s, he moved to Accra to join Ebo Taylor’s legendary highlife band The Blue Monks; their residency at the Tip Toe Night Club is an important part of modern Ghanaian cultural history. In the later years he moved to the Ivory Coast and produced various records in Afro-beat, Afro-Latin sounds and reggae melded to funky African disco. In 1982, he moved to London, U.K and recorded Hitsville Revisited with Taylor and the guitarist’s band, Uhuru Yenzu. Thomas’s first hit outside Africa was ‘Asanteman’ in 1985. He followed it with Highlife Greats Mbrepa a year later. In June 2015, the U.K. label Strut released his first recording in over a decade. Dubbed Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band, it was recorded in Accra. It placed the singer in the company of a band assembled by multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah and saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff. Other musicians included drummer Tony Allen, Noble Kings’ bassist Ralph Karikari, and a host of younger players including Thomas’ daughter Nanaaya, a celebrated vocalist in her own right.