Happy Birthday E.T. Mensah, Ghana's highlife trailblazer

Remembering bandleader E.T. Mensah on his birthday with a few gems backed by the Tempos Band including "Inflation Calypso"

Happy 90th Birthday Ebo Taylor!

Celebrating the 90th birthday of Ghanaian music legend Ebo Taylor with some interviews and performance footage worth checking. 

Rhythm Section Band plays Ghanian Highlife @ It's OK Studios, Saturday

Kofi Ackah, Dally Dominic, George Kobby & Daniel Boateng bring the highlife sound of West Africa to Queen West this Saturday. 

Rhythm Section Band

It’s OK Studio (468 Queen St. West)

Saturday (December 20). Doors 7 pm, Show 8 pm

TICKETS: $20 advance at Rhythm20Dec25.Eventbrite.ca. $25 at the door.

Batuki Music Society presents an evening of Ghanaian Highlife and Afrobeat music featuring the Rhythm Section Band on Saturday (December 20) at Toronto's It’s OK Studio (468 Queen Street West) at 8:00 PM.

The Rhythm Section Band features veteran Highlife musicians of Ghanaian heritage, Dally Dominic on bass guitar, Kofi Ackah on drums, Quandoe Harrison on keyboards, George Kobby on vocals, Gabriel Amankwah on keyboards and Daniel Boateng on lead guitar. Their musicianship is exceptional, showcasing both innate talent and proficiency in their respective instruments. The Rhythm Section is rooted in Highlife and Afrobeat, honouring the foundation of Ghana music while bringing a fresh modern sound to every performance. Rhythm Section exists because Highlife is their origin. It is where they came from. It is the foundation that later gave birth to Afrobeat and they refuse to let that history fade.

Highlife music is a prominent genre of West African music that originated in Ghana in the early 20th century, characterized by a fusion of traditional African rhythms and melodies with Western musical influences like jazz and brass band music. Highlife holds deep cultural importance in Ghana: emerging during the colonial era, highlife became a symbol of modern Ghanaian identity and pride, especially around the time of independence. It is known for its upbeat, danceable tempo and lyrical content that explores social issues, love, and cultural pride. It serves as a vehicle for storytelling, reflecting the experiences and aspirations of the Ghanaian people. 

For more info about the Rhythm Section Band and other Batuki Music Society events visit their site. Watch a clip of the Rhythm Section Band in action right here and below. 

Ghana's Gyedu-Blay Ambolley celebrates 50 years of Simigwa @ Lee's Palace, Friday

Ghana's legendary Gyedu-Blay Ambolley presents the music from his brilliant 1975 debut Simigwa at Lee's Palace on Friday.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley presents Simiga in Toronto!

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is a musical luminary hailing from Ghana, West Africa, with a staggering 29 albums in his impressive discography. Coming of age amidst the zenith of Ghana’s highlife era, Ambolley emerged as a pivotal figure in its evolution.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley’s groundbreaking debut solo album, released in 1975, stands as a cornerstone of Ghanaian music history - with one of the most iconic album covers! Simigwa stands as Ambolley’s magnum opus, a masterpiece fusing together the rich tapestry of highlife, afrobeat, folk and funk. The album is a true testament to Ambolley’s unparalleled artistry written and produced in collaboration with the legend Ebo Taylor. 

Tickets are $42.04 advance and available via TicketWeb right here. Watch Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's 2023 performance in Antwerp and an interview following a vinyl rip of his classic 1975 album "Simigwa" below. 

New K.Frimpong collection of modern hi-life grooves surfaces

Hot Casa just released an excellent 8-song overview of the late K. Frimpong's overlooked early 90s recordings. Check it out.  

Here's the scoop from Hot Casa...

Mohamed Ibrahim Kwame Frimpong was born July 22, 1939 in Ofoase, Ashanti Region and died October 18, 2005 in Kumasi. He spent most his childhood days in D.C Kwame Kwakye’s Akyim Oda in the eastern region of Ghana from where his affinity for music was second nature. "Alhaji" was just a nickname as K. Frimpong never made the pilgrimage to Mecca; he actually converted from Islam to Christianity in the early 70s. Alhaji K. Frimpong began his music career with the Axim Jockers, where he was the lead vocalist in 1952. He started musical tour when most of the bands were made up for comedy artists before the independence of the country July 1st 1960. He later stayed seven years with the Star de Republic Band and few months with Oko’s Guitar Band.Alhaji continued to play, perform and tour during seven years with the famous K Gyasi’s Band. 

With the help of his friend, Mr. E.K Darbo, he will finally form his own band called Cubano Fiesta. Dr Kwame Gyasi was a hi Life musician born in 1929 at Ankaase in the Ashanti region. He pioneered the use of electronic organ in Hi Life music which he dubbed "Sikyi Highlife." His Noble Kings band included many musicians wholater broke away and formed their own successful bands including F. Micah, Kwabena Akwaboah, Kofi Sammy and Alhaji K. Frimpong. The Cubano Fiesta had a regular gig at The Apollo Theater in Accra, they mostly started the show with raw Funk and reggae instrumental tunes, joined sometimes by Nana Osei, one of the most powerful vocalists of Accra,  and then Alhaji came to ignite the stage.  

The best of Alhaji k Frimpong» also called "Rikia" was recorded in 1990 in Holland and produced by Mr. and Ms. Yeboah. Furthermore, the name Rikia has been used as a symbol of resilience and determination in numerous folklore tales and epics. It is often associated with myths and legends that exemplify bravery, courage, and unwavering spirit. It’s was a 16 musicians session, we selected three of the Six songs composed and written by Alhaji K frimpong .It was pressed in Holland and mostly distributed in Ghana. In 1995, one of the finest guitarist, composer, arranger, lead vocalist Alhaji Frimpong was set for a very big comeback with a new sound. He asked the renowned bassist and producer Gilbert Amartey Amar to record and mix his last album. Both wanted to produce a Hi-Life-Dance album cut for the top of the charts and the worldwide dance floors.Titled "Okwantuni" ( which translates to "passenger"), it was pressed locally and distributed in 1995 via a German label, it has now been remastered and officially licensed from his family by Hot Casa. Let’s dance the Hi life Dance in 2025! 

Get a copy via Bandcamp right here. Listen to three tracks below. 

One For The Weekend: Nicola Conte feat. Gregory Porter

Nicola Conte's "Love & Revolution" album is getting a long overdue vinyl release. Check out "Ghana" with Gregory Porter. 

Here's the scoop...

“Do You Feel Like I Feel” and “Ghana” are two tracks which originally appeared on Nicola Conte's “Love & Revolution” album released on Impulse! back in 2011. While producing that record, Nicola Conte was joined by an impressive cadre of guests, both Italian and international, a rich collective invited by the artist to enter the studio of his long-time friend Tommy Cavalieri and participate in the creation of a diverse and modern jazz album. However, “Love & Revolution” has never been released on vinyl – until now. Soon a brand new 2-LP version will see the light of day on Schema Records, preceded by 45rpm single featuring two of the most significant tracks and the main ingredients of the entire work: the soul of “Do You Feel Like I Feel” and the Latin-jazz of “Ghana”. 

Both tracks are further embellished by Magnus Lindgren’s arrangements and, in particular, by the voice of Gregory Porter, here still at the beginning of his career, recognized by Nicola Conte as a rising star of the contemporary vocal jazz scene. Get a copy of Nicola Conte's new single with Gregory Porter right here here. Have a listen to "Ghana" below along with Nicola and crew's stellar live performance of the Bubba Thomas classic "All Praises To Allah" originally by the Lightmen Plus One.  

Ghanaian Afro-funk legends Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas play The Phoenix, Oct 31

Ghanaian great Ebo Taylor is featured on the new Jazz Is Dead 021 LP. Don't miss his Toronto show w/ Pat Thomas in October.

Jazz Is Dead 021 comp features Ebo Taylor, Dom Salvador, Joyce and more

With the forthcoming Jazz Is Dead 021 compilation (due October 4th), Adrian Younge's Jazz Is Dead label is previewing their Series 3 selection of new albums by Ebo Taylor, Hyldon, Dom Salvador, Antonio Carlos e Jocafi, Carlos Dafé, Joyce e Tutty Moreno and The Midnight Hour, produced by label founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. 

Essentially, the Jazz Is Dead 021 album is a selection of unreleased songs from Jazz Is Dead Series 3 and more. This will be a very limited offering. Once the initial pressing of 1,000 units of black vinyl and 1,000 units of color vinyl are sold out, they will go out of print. Expect international tours and other limited memorabilia to accompany each individual release within Series 3. 

Hear the first single "Obi da Woa (If Someone Likes You)" by Ebo Taylor, Adrian Younge (Kendrick Lamar, Ghostface Killah, The Delfonics) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (founding member of A Tribe Called Quest). Opening with a triumphant horn line paying homage to his timeless classic “Love and Death,” the 88-year-old Ghanaian Afrobeat legend Ebo Taylor partners with Jazz Is Dead co-founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to create the track “Obi do Woa (If Someone Loves You).”  With a massive explosion of analog synths, funky horns and gritty percussion, Ebo’s voice pierces with undeniable force making this track the perfect introduction to the long-awaited Jazz Is Dead Series 3. Check it out: 

Hailing from Ghana, Ebo Taylor is the pioneer of Highlife and co-founder of Afrobeat alongside his former college roommate Fela Kuti. At 88 years of ago, Ebo Taylor, traveled to the US for the very first time to perform at the now iconic, Jazz Is Dead Concert Series, selling out venues across the country. It was during this time he recorded a psychedelic Afrobeat album alongside Jazz Is Dead producers Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The swirling horns and gritty guitars are reminiscent of his seminal seventies recordings that made him one of Africa’s (and the worlds) most prolific and revolutionary artists. 

This October, Ebo Taylor embarks on a historic tour across the Americas, accompanied by The Ebo Taylor Family Band and his protégé, Pat Thomas. For the first time ever, Ebo will bring his legendary sound to stages in Mexico and Brazil. These performances also mark the debut of Jazz Is Dead concerts on both Mexican and Brazilian soil. They'll play a rare Toronto show at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on October 31. Tickets are $42.50 – get 'em right here.

Jazz Is Dead announces another offering of top-shelf recordings taking listeners on a journey through the funky sounds of Ghana all the way to down to the psychedelic soul and samba of Brazil. Produced by label founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jazz Is Dead Series 3 features new analog recordings from living legends Ebo Taylor, Hyldon, Dom Salvador, Antonio Carlos e Jocafi, Carlos Dafé, Joyce e Tutty Moreno as well as an unreleased LP from The Midnight Hour: Lost Tapes.

For Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, collaborating with music icons and personal heroes is a dream come true. As Younge notes, “with Series 1, our first 10 LPs, we established the sonic foundation of the Jazz Is Dead label. It’s that experimental jazz/funk that we would always search for while digging through records. With Series 2, we expanded upon this approach spending more time with our ideas and the nuances of our sound. But with Series 3, we hit a new level we never thought we could attain with the legends. The tears, the laughs and the disbelief at what we’ve accomplished is astounding. For some of these artists, these albums can be viewed as some of their best recordings to date proving that they still have a lot to say.”

In 1970s Brazil, the Black Rio Movement redefined what soul music meant for black pride in Rio de Janeiro (and Brazil). Afro-Brazilians came together and developed a funk and dance scene that challenged Brazil’s military dictatorship and the systemic racism that plagued their people. Dom Salvador, Hyldon and Carlos Dafé were all instrumental in establishing the voice of Black Rio. It was during Jazz Is Dead's concert series with these maestros that they were able to identify the through line connecting each of their individual stories to the seminal Black Rio Movement.

From Brazilian jazz to samba funk, Dom Salvador is the grand master of the Black Rio movement who later became the musical director for Harry Belafonte. Salvador is one of Brazil’s most recorded pianists and producers with over 1000 recordings to his credit. On his forthcoming release with Jazz Is Dead, producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad highlight Salvador’s unique fusion of jazz, funk and samba.

Hyldon is recognized worldwide as a torchbearer of Brazil’s psychedelic soul. In the 1970’s, Hyldon worked with Jazz Is Dead alumni Azymuth, to produce some of Brazil’s most coveted albums. On his forthcoming release with Jazz Is Dead, Adrian Younge partners with Hyldon to create a new album that echoes the sentiments of his 1975 classic “Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda.” In addition, this new album is one of the last recordings of the late Ivan “Mamão” Conti, drummer of Azymuth.

With his sultry voice, Carlos Dafé is notoriously known as Brazil’s Prince of Soul. He is also a voice heard on Arthur Verocai’s holy grail self-titled, debut album. On his forthcoming Jazz Is Dead release, Dafé meets Adrian Younge’s world of psychedelic and orchestral soul: a perfect harmony reminiscent of the Brazilian greats Tim Maia and Cassiano.

Antonio Carlos e Jocafi made some of the sweetest samba-soul of the 1970s by way of Salvador, Bahia. The duo emerged out of Brazil’s competitive music festivals mixing funky grooves, acid-rock guitars and sophisticated harmonies. Nearly 50 years after their initial release, Jazz Is Dead brought the pair to perform in the US for their very first time. It was during this trip they recorded their forthcoming Jazz Is Dead album in collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Together they created a delightful, anthemic album mirroring their classic Bahian sound.

The dynamic voice of singer/composer Joyce combined with the syncopated rhythms of her husband, the legendary drummer Tutty Moreno, forged a new trajectory in Brazilian music. This sound also inspired the acid jazz movement of the 1990s when DJs like Gilles Peterson discovered classic hits such as “Feminina” and “Aldeia De Ogum”. Jazz Is Dead brought the couple to Los Angeles to perform a special concert and record a new album. With Adrian Younge’s beautiful string arrangements and Joyce and Tutty’s experimental samba-jazz, their synergy reverberates on the forthcoming Jazz Is Dead album.

In 2016, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad came together to create a new group, The Midnight Hour. With the fusion of hip hop, jazz and breaks the album continues the conversations started by yesterday’s jazz and funk pioneers; those that created the bedrock of samples for hip hop’s golden era. On their forthcoming Jazz Is Dead album, The Midnight Hour: Lost Tapes, Younge and Muhammad dig deep into their vault of analog tapes to share music previously unreleased. 

Watch a performance by Ebo Taylor from 2014...

Ghanaian great Ebo Taylor @ Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, Wednesday

Ghanaian Afrobeat/highlife guitarist, bandleader, producer Ebo Taylor makes his first U.S. appearance in Brooklyn tonight. 

Midweek Mixdown: Duncan Brooker's Ghana 45 mix

Here's a choice selection of vintage West African highlife, Afro blues and more courtesy of Duncan Brooker.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's 80s electro funk and disco recirculated

The 1989 joint "Burkina Faso" is the highlight of Analog Africa's limited 4-track EP of Ambolley's overlooked material.

Basa Basa's disco highlife gem Homowo gets deluxe reissue treatment from Vintage Voudou

Basa Basa's rare Homowo LP from 1979 is being released by Alex Figueira's Vintage Voudou label on February 13. 

Ghanaian great Pat Thomas finally gets a proper retrospective

Pat Thomas's Coming Home: Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1967-81 is out now on Strut.

The U.K.-based Strut label has just released the first early career retrospective for Ghanaian highlife master Pat Thomas, covering the Golden Voice Of Africa's late ‘60s big band highlife recordings, funky '70s Afrobeat jams through to the disco hi-life movement of the early ‘80s. With the 65 year-old Thomas now dazzling audiences on the road in support of last year’s album with Kwishibu Area Band, the well-chosen Coming Home 2CD / 3LP collection offers an enlightening glimpse of Thomas’ exceptionally productive and incredibly influential career in Ghana prior to his arrival in Toronto during the 80s and inevitable resurgence.

Growing up with music around him (“my uncle, King Onyina, was an important highlife musician”), Thomas was inspired to become a singer after hearing vocalist Joss Aikins: “He sang with Broadway Dance Band and Decca in Ghana chose him to sing with any group that came into their studios.”

When a new incarnation of Broadway Dance Band was created in ‘67, led by Ebo Taylor, Thomas received his first big break. “Ebo started to write new songs. I added the lyrics and sang them and it worked very well. Ebo and I agreed on things at a very early stage. I understood him and where he was coming from with his music.”

The partnership with Taylor would become one of the enduring forces in Ghanaian music during the ‘70s, creating a fresh, progressive new highlife sound. They played together as The Blue Monks – regularly appearing Accra's popular Tip Toe Gardens nightclub – before forming Sweet Beans in '74 with the backing of Ghana’s Cocoa Marketing Board. Listen to "Merebre" off the False Lover album by Pat Thomas & The Sweet Beans.


The False Lover album for the Gapophone label established Thomas across Ghana. His backing band, The Sweet Beans – featuring bassist Anim Addo, drummer Kofi Addison, guitarist Bannerman Wood, keyboardist Bob Fician, percussionist J.N.K. Asiedu, trumpeter Lovis Hammond, saxophonists J.R. Arhin, Atta Kennedy, Korle Patrick and Conacov –  eventually disbanded but the musicians stayed together as Marijata. “The guys initially used Jewel Ackah as their vocalist but they involved me and I re-vocalled the album. This became the ‘Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata’ LP. At that time, I would go to George Prah at Gapophone to ask for money and he would say, ‘if you want me to pay you, go and write a song!’ So, tracks like ‘Coming Home’ came about that way, written on the spot.”

A second Marijata album followed before a damaging coup in Ghana in 1979. “Jerry Rawlings’ 'house-cleaning' was designed to stop corruption but it seriously damaged our country’s music culture. That's when the music died. Before that, there was so much music everywhere. It was so important and then the coup destroyed it all. Bars and venues closed everywhere because of the strict curfews.” Check out the scorching "I Need More" from 1977's Pat Thomas & Marijata album on Gapophone.


Thomas left for Berlin and stayed true to his highlife roots, becoming the first Ghanaian to record highlife there. “Guitarist George Darko was already there playing clubs with his band and I then began to work with some great Ghanaian highlife players who eventually became the Roots Anabo Band. There was Ekow Brown, Sammy Quist on guitar and a guy called Willie. We were put in a big studio, Audio-Tonstudio, where many big artists had recorded. We simply called the album 1980. George Darko played on it, Bob Fician came in on keyboards, Kologbo on rhythm guitar, Nat Osmasu on bass." Listen to the synth-tweaked dancefloor destroyer Yamona from the 1980 album below.


Thomas then travelled to Togo and London before heading to Canada where he spent much of the rest of the 80s living, teaching and performing in Toronto as part of the vibrant Queen West music scene. “A professor/doctor friend arranged for me to come over to Toronto. There was a band there who took me on. While I was flying in, looking at Toronto from the sky, I thought it looked so heavy! I had a sense that I was going to live in this city and I end up there on and off for 10 years.  I taught percussion privately there, played for universities, Ghanaian societies and a WOMAD Festival. The band and I also landed a one-year contract at The BamBoo nightclub in the city.”

Pat is now back in Ghana, recording and touring worldwide with Kwashibu Area Band, a project put together by talented young musicians Kwame Yeboah and Ben Abarbanel Wolff. Explains Thomas, “Highlife is part of Ghana's musical DNA but, what people like Ebo Taylor and I did was to make it fresh and modernize it, make it more relevant to our day and more funky. We took the great Kwa music of Kumasi and other local styles and added Western elements with new horn arrangements, vocals, guitar and other developments. Since then, highlife has become the world's music and I am proud to still bring it to audiences wherever we play." Check out the horn-hyped "We Are Coming Home" from 1976's Stage Two album on Gapophone.

Whaddya mean you don't know The Steneboofs

Before Gyedu Blay Ambolley hit it big with the Apagya Show Band, he cut this proto-rap joint in 1973.

Happy 75th Birthday Mavis Staples!

Celebrating the birthday of Mavis Staples with a stellar 1971 Staple Singers performance in Ghana.