Reflecting On The Revolution Of Ebo Taylor
Where do you even start when setting out to write about someone as culturally captivating, cosmically creative, and universally unique as the Ghanaian-based guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, and arranger Deroy Ebow Taylor? A career defined by the atmospheric alchemy of Africa’s meditative melodies and liberating landscapes rich in ritualistic rhythms and heavenly harmonies, Taylor’s overwhelmingly beautiful output and legendary leadership raged through the warm nights of Ghana like an iron fist followed by many. His eager efforts towards spiritualism in sound paved the way for Afrobeat and Highlife to transcend the continental confines of the planet through sensational signals, conveyed in the legend’s carefully communicated language, which can be heard from any point in the galaxy and beyond, echoing this ethereal love that can be felt to the mortal marrow. He’ll be missed, but never replaced. He’ll be cherished for eternity, but never taken for granted. Since the release of his monumental classic, 1977’s “My Love and Music”, Taylor has successfully shaped the soothing structures of African music as a whole. Combining the endless equations within his radical repertoire, the veteran musician struck a cultural chord with his audience and fans, much like a poetic politician whose whispered words bring confidence to the core of just what makes us who we are. Having collaborated with the likes of Fela Kuti, Pat Thomas, Uhuru Yenzu, and Charles Kofi Amankwaa Mann, known professionally as C.K. Mann, Taylor released an incredible body of work with his early bands, the Stargazers, the Broadway Dance Band, and the acclaimed Black Star Highlife Band, which took London by storm in the early 1960s. Throughout the mid to late 1970s and well into the 1980s, Taylor released some of his most sophisticated and sublime efforts to date, such as his 1977 self-titled classic, “Conflict”, with longtime collaborator Uhuru Yenzu, and in more recent years, “Love and Death” and “Yen Ara”. Taylor was 90.
