Ebo Taylor & The Pelikans: Love And Death auf CD

"Love & Death" ist das sensationelle erste Studio-Album der ghanaischen Musiker-Legende Ebo Taylor, das weltweit veröffentlicht wird. Taylor machte sich Namen als einer der führenden Köpfe der Highlife-Ära der 50er und 60er Jahre in Ghana und trat mehr und mehr als Komponist und Frontmann in Erscheinung. Anfang der 60er Jahre zog es Ebo Taylor nach London, wo er zusammen mit seinem Kumpel Fela Kuti an der renomierten Eric Guilder School of Music studierte. Er leitete mehrere bekannte Bands, darunter die berühmte Broadway Band, die Uhuru Dance Band & die Apagya Show Band. Als musikalischer Direktor bei Essiebons, Gapophone und Polygram komponierte und arrangierte er auch zahlreiche Songs für andere große Musiker wie CK Mann, Pat Thomas, Jewel Ackah, Papa Yankson. 2010 ging der nun mittlerweile 74-jährige Ebo Taylor mit der in Berlin ansässigen Afrobeat Academy, bestehend aus Musikern von Poets Of Rhythm, Kabu Kabu und der Legende Marijata aus Ghana, ins Studio, um mit "Love & Death"nach fast 20 Jahren wieder ein Album aufzunehmen. Neben neuen Versionen bekannter Klassiker wie "Victory" und "Love and Death" gibt es eine Reihe neuer Kompositionen, die Love & Death" zu einer einzigartigen Synthese aus Highlife, Jazz und Afrobeat werden lassen.

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Strut link up with one of the true greats of Ghanaian music, Ebo Taylor, for his first internationally released new studio album in over 20 years. Following the wartime big band highlife pioneers like E. T. Mensah, Taylor became a major figure in Ghanaian highlife during the 1950's and 60's as highlife exploded. Cutting his teeth with leading big bands like Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band, Ebo Taylor quickly rose through the ranks and became a prolific composer and frontman. "There weren't many composers in those days for the big bands," remembers Taylor. "The composers were in demand - the bands were large and the scores were very involved." Taylor moved to London in 1962. "Those were the days we were all into jazz, me and Nigerians like Peter King and Fela Kuti - we wanted to play like Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. I had the Black Star Highlife Band sponsored by the Ghanaian High Commission, mainly comprising music students. We tried to incorporate jazz into highlife and progressed through talking and through jam sessions, trying to develop our skills and ideas. We'd sing about politics and situations - like how cold London's weather was!"

Interest in Ebo Taylor's music has grown in recent years with a series of Ghanaian compilations on Soundway Records and Analog Africa and an unexpected sample as Usher lifted a riff from 'Heaven' for his hit 'She Don’t Know'. A new Ebo Taylor album was a natural progression. "For the new album, I wanted to advance the cause of Afrobeat music. Fela started it and we shouldn't just abandon it. We should push it so it is a standard form of music. I selected a few old songs and composed 3 or 4 new ones. I am very happy with the results. I hope this will help to bring Afrobeat to a whole new legion of fans."

Rezensionen

"Funky, dirty und spannend. Beißende Sax-Soli, pointierte Trompeten und cembaloartige Keyboards liefern einen tighten, aber stets tranparenten Sound." (Rolling Stone, 11 / 2010)

"Ein wunderbarer Einstieg in die Musikkultur Westafrikas - präsentiert von einem Helden der ersten Stunde - Album der Woche." (ndr. de)