AARON
BEBE SUKURA: TEACHER OF THE NORTHERN XYLOPHONE
Aaron Bebe Sukura was b=
orn in
1970 in the village of Tanchara in Ghana’s Upper West Regi=
on and
has been playing the local gyil (wooden xylophone) since boyhood, which he
learnt from his father. In 1992 Aaron moved to Accra<=
/st1:City>
where he began at the Music Department of the University of Ghana=
at Legon. Aaron is also an
accomplished mbira (Zimbabwean hand-piano) player and a seprewa harp-lute
player, a traditional Akan instrument whose ‘odonson’ style was
incorporated into Highlife in the 1920’s and 30’s
Besides teaching at the
university Aaron has played with the Novisi dance group, the Ghana Dance
Ensemble, the Pan African Orchestra, the Abibigromma Theater Company of the=
University School for the Performing Arts and
Hewale Sounds. Together with John Collins he is also co-leader of the Local
Dimension ‘palmwine’ highlife band that was started in 1997 by =
some
students and staff of the Music and Dance Departments of the University of Ghana=
at Legon. This seven piece group is led by Aaron Bebe Sukura on seprewa
harp-lute, xylophone, mbira thumb-piano and John Collins on guitar and
harmonica. For several years the band also featured the late great T.O. Jazz
(of Ampoumah’s guitar band) who taught guitar for two years at the Mu=
sic
Department. His place is now taken in the Local Dimension band by T.O. Jazz=
’s
longtime percussionist and principal singer Kojo Menu. Besides highlife, th=
is
acoustic group plays Afro-Beat, Congo Jazz (i.e. Soukous), Dagari music and
songs in the traditional Adowa and Agbad=
za
styles. In 2002 the band toured Germany,
Switzerland and France
and in 2003 Local Dimension released a CD of Aaron’s compositions
(recorded at Pidgin Studios Accra) entitled N’Yong on the French Disq=
ues
Arion label.
JOHNSON
KEMEH: MASTER DRUM TEACHER
Johnson hails from Ghana’ Volta Region and has been tea=
ching drumming
at the University
of Ghana since the
1970’s. In fact he is
currently the longest standing member of the University Music Department and
hundreds of Ghanaian and foreign students have passed though his practical
course. He formed the Brother=
hood
Foundation Cultural Group of Alajo (a suburb of Accra) in 1976.With this drum-drama and=
dance
group he has also trained many artists including members of the Dance compa=
ny
of the National Theatre, the Dance Ensemble at Legon. The group has played =
at
Kiddifest in Ghana and
toured Holland
in 1997.
EBO
TAYLOR:
HIGHLIFE COMPOSER AND TEACHER
Prolific highlife compo=
ser who
introduced palmwine guitar playing to the highlife dance bands and being
influenced by jazz diminished and augmented and passing chords
Is Fanti and was born a
Saltpond near Cape Coast in 1939 And began learning music o=
rgan
at 9 years old as his father was leader of a local church choir his seconda=
ry
school Saint Augustine
College where he al=
so
began learning guitar. Ebo then went on to spend some time in UK at Eric Guilder School of Music in London and played at Ronne Scott’s jazz club i=
n London
His in=
fluences
are two of the important local acoustic ‘palmwine’ guitarists in
area such as Kwame Asare and Kwaa Mensah .he was also influenced by American guitarists such as =
Kenny Burrell,
Jim Hall and Wes Montgomery and also the music of Miles Davis John Coltrane=
and
Charlie Parker.
At nin=
eteen
year old Ebo sent to Kumasi
to play with the Stargazers Band and composed ‘Mensu’ and
‘Dance Highlife Hits’ for them. Then he moved onto the Takoradi
based Broadway Band that toured African countries as well as Russia and western Europe. He=
composed
‘Beye Buu’ and ‘Wofa Nunu’ for them and then moved =
onto
the Uhuru Band. He is a prolific composer of highlife songs such as ‘Nsamanfo’ ‘Odo Ye Wu’, ‘Gh=
ana Be
Ye Yie’, ‘Twer Nyame’ and also produced and arranged
records by Pat Thomas (‘My Love of Music’ and
‘Nsamanfo’), C.K. Mann (‘Funky Highlife’) Jewel Ack=
ah
and Papa Yankson. Ebo has rel=
eased
eleven record albums in all and has won five national awards.
He is
currently (since 2002) been
teaching guitar and running pop band ( as artist-in- residence) at the =
Music
Dept of the University of Gha=
na at
Legon. He has also
teamed up with old saxo=
phonist
friend Ray Allen who sp=
ent
many years in the UK a=
nd has
now returned to Ghan=
a.
Their small Afro-jazz combo is called Unconditional Love