Highlife Giants: West African Dance Band Pioneers

Highlife Giants: West African Dance Band Pioneers

John Collins
$16.95
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Publisher:
Cassava Republic Press
ISBN:
9781911115298
Pages:
334
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Description

Blending European and African-American styles with traditional African patterns, highlife music was the soundtrack of the independence era. Its influence still resonates today. Highlife Giants is an intimate portrait of the pioneering artistes of West Africa's music scene from the 1920s onwards. It contains interviews with stars including Victor Uwaifo and Ignace De Souza, revealing behind-the-scenes moments such as Louis Armstrong giving Eddie Okonta a trumpet with a golden mouthpiece.

Professor John Collins is a guitarist, harmonica player, and percussionist who has worked with musicians including E.T. Mensah and Fela Kuti. He has authored over one hundred journalistic and academic publications.

About the Author

Professor John Collins is a naturalized Ghanaian of British descent who came to Ghana in 1952. He is a guitarist, harmonica player and percussionist and has worked and recorded with numerous Ghanaian & Nigerian bands. In the 1970s he had his own Bokoor Band and since 1982 has been running Bokoor Recording Studio near Accra. Collins has also written numerous publications on West African popular and neo-traditional music. Collins is a Professor at the Music Department of the University of Ghana in Legon. He is a patron of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and is Chair of Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (BAPMAF).