Saka Acquaye and His African Ensemble: Ghana: High-Life And Other Popular Music (2002)

By

NILS JACOBSON,

Nils Jacobson

Senior Contributor - Since 1999

Still scratching his head and wondering if it's real

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Published: February 10, 2003

With all the sophistication that accompanied highlife's ascendancy as the popular music of West Africa, its roots remain somewhat obscured. Highlife, born in Ghana, incorporates rhythmic styles and instruments from Cuba and the Caribbean, jazz styles from America, and traditional music from West Africa. In the '50s, it was a revolutionary mix. By the '60s, highlife was rapidly becoming an institution.

This record offers an unusual snapshot of highlife in its rawest form. Saka Acquaye, a multi-instrumentalist who formed his African Ensemble in the '50s, leads the group of eleven musicians featured on this reissue from 1969. Up to five players are busy at the drums at any given time, which imbues the music with an assertive polyrhythmic texture. "Drum Festival," a percussion-only piece, showcases the ways this group can assemble a vehicle from moving parts.

While the styles and approaches vary from piece to piece, the common theme is elaboration of images, moods, and morals through song. The opening track, "Sugar Soup," digs deep into West African folk music to tell the story of a girl who goes overboard preparing a soup for her lover. The vocals here betray their West African roots, with distinctive call-and-response units based around a simple repeated theme. "Saturday Night" opens with a horn fanfare, bringing Cuban drums and the unusual voice of the vibraphone to the fore. A popular tune at the time, it has a very catchy swing feel.

"Concomba" highlights the cultural collisions that resulted in highlife: basically a calypso tune, the piece features chord changes and a nice vibraphone solo, plus (of course) a richly textured rhythmic foundation. As a reflection of highlife's origins, it also points toward the direction the music would subsequently head.

Saka Acquaye's ensemble does a nice job of tying things together. This music has a raw feel, unlike a lot of the highlife that was coming out of Nigeria at the time. It's simpler, more organic, and—significantly—more African. Its back-to-roots approach might make it difficult for Western ears to appreciate, but if you're open to raw culture this record is a fun ride.

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Track Listing: 1. Sugar Soup 2. Down the Congo 3. Saturday Night 4. Drum Festival 5. Concomba 6. Beyond Africa 7. Congo Beat 8. Echoes of the African Forest 9. Bus Conductor 10. Ebony 11. Kenya Sunset 12. Awuben 13. Akudonno

Personnel: Saka Acquaye: drums, flute, and tenor saxophone; Garvine Masseaux: vibes & drums; George Brooks: double-bass; Edward Cooper: trumpet and mellophone; Wilfred Letman: trumpet; Charles Earland: tenor saxophone; Walter Miller: guitar; Robert Crowder, Joseph Acquaye, Benny Parkes, Sunny Morgan: drums.

Record Label: Nonesuch Records | Style: Beyond Jazz