Guitarist and producer Ebo Taylor and vocalist Pat Thomas launched their careers in Ghana, but their individual and combined bodies of work—which traverse highlife, funk, jazz, Afrobeat and more—now stand as testaments to Africa’s global influence.
Born in Cape Coast, Ghana, in 1936, Taylor began shaking up the music world in the late 1950s as leader and producer of the Stargazers, part of the wave of postwar bands that helped popularize the jazzy, refreshing sounds of highlife. In 1962, Taylor brought a different group, the Black Star Highlife Band, to the UK, where he studied at London’s Eric Gilder School of Music and explored new genres and studio techniques. While in the UK he also developed community with fellow African musicians, including Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, Afro-pop saxophonist Teddy Osei, and Ghanaian jazz-rock drummer Sol Amarfio (who later cofounded legendary African-Carribean group Osibisa). Taylor returned to Ghana in 1965 and worked as a producer and arranger before founding legendary highlife band the Blue Monks in 1970.
Thomas, who’s ten years Taylor’s junior, moved from his native Agona to Accra the following year to join Taylor and his crew, and they’ve collaborated on and off ever since. Their infectious, feel-good music on 1984’s Pat Thomas & Ebo Taylor rests on a foundation of pulsating, repetitive rhythms crafted from intricate layers of traditional and electronic instruments, including axatse (a close relative of the shekere), gankogui (a double bell also called an agogo), keyboard, and guitar, all further elevated by masterful, genre-bending horn arrangements.
Taylor and Thomas are currently on the road for Taylor’s final U.S. tour, which he’s using to say farewell to his fans while sharing the wealth of wisdom he’s accumulated in a career nearly seven decades long. Together, Thomas and Taylor remind us of the unifying language of music, and if you’re lucky enough to witness their powerhouse partnership in the flesh, you won’t regret it.
Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas Mon 4/7, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $41, $61 balcony, $486 six-person opera box, 17+
