Ebo Taylor

Though it’s difficult to choose when an artists’ output is as deep and varied as Ebo Taylor’s, his 1977 self-titled album must be one of his best, introducing the world to idiosyncratic blend of highlife, afrobeat, jazz, and funk, and highlighting his abilities as a composer and arranger (he was responsible for launching the careers of C.K Mann and Pat Thomas while working at Essiebons label, and later collaborated with them on several albums). “Saana” opens the record with a light funk rhythm, captivating highlife guitars, smooth vocals, and  jazzy horn lines; “Ntsir A” continues along the same lines, but with highlife vocals in his native Ghanian language (which are maintained in all the subsequent tracks too), while “Ohye Atar Gyan,” with its chant-like vocals and slightly dark organ harmonies, opens the second half of the record, where Taylor seems to delve even deeper into his experimental arrangements. This is where you’ll find the stunning “Heaven,”  rightly revered as one of the best examples of Ghanaian afrobeat thanks to its nursery-rhyme inspired vocals, deep rhythmic grooves, and hypnotic horn riffs.