Ghanaian songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, arranger, and producer
Ebo Taylor has worked with countryman, songwriter, and vocalist
Pat Thomas off and on from the late 1960s through the early part of the 21st century. They played together in the
Broadway Dance Band and
the Stargazers, and later in the
Blue Monks. Together with
Taylor's crack band
Uhuru Yenzu, the pair cut this brief but utterly magical disc of transcendent, funky highlife for the magical Ghanaian label
Essiebons, which was the equivalent of
Motown in Ghana and distributed by
Polygram.
Uhuru Yenzu is a septet made up of some of the best jazz and R&B musicians in the country including tenor saxophonist
George Abunyewa, trumpeter
Atta Kennedy, prolific session drummer
Paa Thomas, and alto saxist
George Amissah.
Thomas helmed both the guitar and bass chairs on this session that resulted in "Uhuru Special," one of the most infectiously danceable fusions of highlife and funk ever recorded. It's also one of the longest at over ten minutes, with its cascading horns, call-and-response vocals between
Thomas and backing vocalists
Anna Sagoe and
Abunyewa, and driven by bubbling snare breaks, triple-time percussion, and a bumping bassline.
Taylor's melodious hooks are accented by interplay from the horns punctuating all of his picked lines. It's a non-stop dance jam that incudes terrific sax and trumpet breaks along with brilliant vocal improvisations. Another highlight in this four-song set is the souled-out "Go Slow," with its bluesy meld of jazz and highlife,
Taylor's shimmering guitar breaks, and
Thomas' deeply soulful lead vocals. While "Wiase Ahonya" is relatively brief, the interlocking vocal lines create another line of melodic attack, while
Taylor and drummer
Paa Thomas hold down the groove that touches on funky Afrobeat in its exhibition of highlife and romantic soul. The jazz tinge is more prevalent in closer "Gyae Su," where
Taylor's guitar and
Thomas' vocals act as duet partners inside a compulsively attractive melody with horns adding harmonic fills, and a frantic bassline to keep it on track. Throughout its nearly-seven-minute length, drummer
Paa Thomas crafts subtly shaded backbeats and tight breaks inside the bouncy rhythm. While
Thomas and
Taylor worked together almost immediately afterward on their better-known self-titled duo album,
Hitsville Re-Visited stands head and shoulders above it for its raw, immediate production, sophisticated compositions, and utterly celebratory mood. Reissued in 2019 by the U.K.'s venerable
Mr. Bongo label, it has been thoroughly remastered, making it an essential purchase for fans of vintage African music. ~ Thom Jurek
