Highlife
Encyclopedia
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana
in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone
, Nigeria
and other West Africa
n countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia
and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability.
Highlife is characterized by jazz
y horns
and multiple guitar
s which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound (see Daddy Lumba
). Joromi
is a sub-genre.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and other West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability.
Highlife is characterized by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y horns
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
and multiple guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound (see Daddy Lumba
Daddy Lumba
Daddy Lumba is a Ghanaian singer who was based in Cologne, Germany. He was born in Nsuta near Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In the early 1980s, he debuted on the highlife scene with his massive hit "Yeeye Aka Akwantuo Mu" with Nana Acheampong...
). Joromi
Joromi
Joromi is a fashion term from Ghana and West Africa. It can mean:* the style of an embroidered blouse or jerkin * a style of high-life music popularised by Sir Victor Uwaifo...
is a sub-genre.
Artists
Artists who perform the Highlife genre include:- Koo NimoKoo NimoKoo Nimo is a leading folk musician of Palm wine music or Highlife music from Ghana. Born in the village of Foase, in the Atwima District of Ashanti Region in Ghana,West Africa, he worked in various jobs in science and medical-related field while maintaining his interest in music...
- AB Crentsil
- Dr. Sir Warrior
- S. E. RogieS. E. RogieS. E. Rogie was a highlife and palm wine guitarist and singer from Sierra Leone. He was born in 1926 and began performing early, while supporting himself as a tailor. In the 1960s, he became a professional musician, singing in four languages. His hits include "Koneh Pehlawo", "Go Easy with Me"...
- Fela Ransome Kuti in his first band, Koola Lobitos
- Solomon IloriSolomon IloriSolomon Gbadegesin Ilori is an Nigerian drummer and percussionist who moved to New York City in the late 1950s and collaborated with jazz artists such as Art Blakey before recording his debut album for Blue Note Records in 1963.-References:...
- George DarkoGeorge DarkoGeorge Darko is a Ghanaian highlife musician, who introduced the Burger-highlife with his first hit "Ako ti brofo" , which was very popular in the early 1980s....
- Rex LawsonRex LawsonRex Jim Lawson , known as Cardinal Rex, was a singer, trumpeter and bandleader from Kalabari , Nigeria. One of the best-known highlife musicians of the 1960s, Lawson took highlife music to an intoxicating peak that has hardly been heard again after him.Lawson played with Sammy Obot, Bobby Benson,...
- Prince Nico MbargaPrince Nico MbargaPrince Nico Mbarga was a highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria...
- E. T. MensahE. T. MensahEmmanuel Tettey Mensah, best known as E. T. Mensah was a Ghanaian highlife musician.He began as a flutist with the Accra Orchestra, a schoolchildren band, in 1930. In 1948 he formed "The Tempos", a group he might be best known for, and toured West Africa. The group gained international attention...
- OsibisaOsibisaOsibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
- Daddy LumbaDaddy LumbaDaddy Lumba is a Ghanaian singer who was based in Cologne, Germany. He was born in Nsuta near Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In the early 1980s, he debuted on the highlife scene with his massive hit "Yeeye Aka Akwantuo Mu" with Nana Acheampong...
- King BruceKing BruceKing Bruce was a composer, band leader, and musician in Ghana.-Background:Composer, arranger, band leader and multi-instrumentalist made his mark on Ghana's dance band highlife tradition in a variety of ways. He grew up in a musical family. His mother sang in a choir; his two brothers played piano...
- Alhaji K. Frimpong
- Amakye DedeAmakye DedeDan Amakye Dede is a Ghanaian musician. He is one of Ghana's premier highlife artistes and is called "Iron Boy", "the highlife maestro" and "Abrantie" .Dede began his career in 1973 when he joined the Kumapim Royals as a composer and vocalist...
- Victor UwaifoVictor UwaifoSir Victor Uwaifo is a Nigerian musician, writer, sculptor, and musical instrument inventor, born in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria in 1941. He is famous for his joromi music....
- Oriental Brothers International
- Bobby BensonBobby BensonBobby Benson was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigerian music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife style of popular West African music.-Life:...
- Victor OlaiyaVictor OlaiyaVictor Abimbola Olaiya, or 'Dr Victor Olaiya', is a Nigerian trumpeter who plays in the Highlife style. He was possibly the biggest star in Nigeria in the 1950s and early 1960s, but received little recognition outside of Nigeria...
- Chief Stephen Osita OsadebeChief Stephen Osita OsadebeChief Stephen Osita Osadebe , often referred to as just Osadebe, was an Igbo Nigerian Highlife musician from Atani. His career spanned over 40 years, and he is one of the most well known Igbo highlife musicians...
- Baba Ken OkuloloBabá Ken OkuloloBabá Ken Okulolo is a Nigerian bassist and bandleader who was first seen in the U.S. in 1985 with King Sunny Ade's world-touring band. He has played with renowned Afrobeat creator Fela Anikulapo Kuti, highlife master Victor Olaiya, and was a founder of the Afro-rock group Monomono in the 1970s...
Highlife in jazz
- Saxophonist Pharoah SandersPharoah SandersPharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
recorded a song called "High Life" on Rejoice (1981) - Pierre DørgePierre DørgePierre Dørge is a Danish avant-garde jazz guitarist, bandleader and composer born in Copenhagen, Denmark. As leader of New Jungle Orchestra he created a unique and playful combination of traditional and modern jazz with Highlife west-African guitar music.Among his collaborators have been his...
and his New Jungle Orchestra played in the highlife style, e.g. on Even The Moon Is Dancing (1985) - Guitarist Sonny SharrockSonny SharrockWarren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
had a song called "Highlife" on the album of the same name (1990) - Craig HarrisCraig S. Harris (trombonist)Craig S. Harris is a Jazz trombonist and composer who has been a major figure in the jazz avant-garde movement since his stint with Sun Ra in 1976. Subsequently, Harris has worked with such notable jazz artists as Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal...
(trombone) had a song called "High Life" on the album F-StopsF-StopsF-Stops is an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Craig Harris recorded in 1993 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(1993) - "High Life" is an album by jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist Wayne ShorterWayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
that was released on Verve RecordsVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
in 1995.