6 AUG 2023 Visit to BAPMAF by Juan Diego Diaz’s friend Rebecca Alvarez of Mexico Univ who is researching into modern Afrobeats whilst studying at the Univ of Ghana SPA Dance Dept for a few months
5-10 AUG After travelling to Togo and the Benin Republic to study the Afro-Brazilian music culture there Juan Diego Diaz’s comes and stays at Bokoor House for a few day
4 AUG American half Ghanaian undergrad student Cameron Scott interviewed me for his research paper on the evolution of Jamaican Dancehall in Ghana ie into Afro-Dancehall
2 AUG Belgian-Canadian Piet Defraeye and my ex SPA student Ameley Abigail Quaye both of the Canadian Univ of Alberta Dept of Performing Arts, come to ask me about songs relevant to Patrice Lumumba’s assassination in 1961 ( I had had a zoom conversation with Piet on this a couple of years ago and had given him and Abigail some songs eg the one by EK Nyame.] So I will send them Bob Cole and King Onyina’s songs on Lumumba. They told me that were still collecting poems, plays and music from Africa and all over the world on this topic – as well as Congolese bar art paintings. Also a few days ago they got an Ewe kids tune about Lumumba sung to them by Prof Awo Asiedu Dean of the Univ of Ghana n SPA. I told them them about the recent 2021 ‘White Malice’ book by the British Historian Susan Williams that documents the US government duping Louis Armstrong in 1960 (on his second African tour) by, unknown to him, putting CIA agents on his plane to Katanga where he was performing and where the agents met Moise Tshombe an co were planning to kill Prime Minister Lumumba (Piet also put me in touch with fellow Canadian scholar & Sound Archivist Mike Frishkopf who I had met years ago
1 AUGUST 2023 I was interviewed at bapmaf by Fauziyatu (Fauzi) Moro. a partly northern Ghanaian lady of the Univ of Wisconsin at Madison doing her PhD thesis on ‘Migrant Popular Entertainment in Nima Accra’. She had earlier sent me refs to the Nima Harlem Club and Sugar Babies ‘concert party’ that performed in Hausa. (Nate Plagemen gave her my contact). I told her of the different social class strata of venues: ballroom orchestra of elites; Post World War 2 dance bands of upwardly mobile urbanites; and guitar bands/concert parties of the poor urbanites (would include Nima northern migrant zongo dwellers) and rural populations. I discuss ‘primary’ coastal popular musicsyncretism with later and/or inland ‘secondary’ forms eg Dagbon ‘simpa music’ and Ewe borborbor. Also told her of little northern impact on Ghana pop entertainment until the 1980s when Rawlings put electricity into the north – but may be different in Nigeria as bigger Muslim population (eg the Hausa highlife of Delta Dandies of 1950s and later Northern Pyramids of 1970s). Fauzi also mentioned the notion of ‘parallel modernities’ in the northern Nigerian researches of Brian Larkin eg influence of Indian films on Hausa pop entertainment. I add also the 2013-5 research in Tamale of my Mphil students Sheriff Ghale on this northern town becoming a post 1980s popular music and video entertainment hub, after Rawlings had added Tamale to the national electrical grid . [Nb I met the UK anthropologist Larkin of Columbia Univ New York in May 2000 at the ‘Religion & Media’ conference at GIMPA at which I gave a paper on Ghanaian gospel]
26 JULY Visit by my 2017-18 Mphil student Josh Opoku Brew (he attended the ICTM conf) now of the Dept of Music Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences of the Univ of Pittsburgh, to discuss his Phd on Palmwine music and the environment. I mentioned the retro-active invention of the name ‘palmwine music’ ie when amplified/electric guitars were introduced to Ghana (and Nigeria and Sierra Leone) from the 1950s – and that few highlife songs of past were on environmental issues s no one then realised how soon global warming and environmental collapse was coming to us. Neverthless acoustic palmwine highlife music (use of instruments made of natural products) is a good vehicle for sending environmental messages to the public
24 JULY Interviewed at BAPMAF by Tiziana Morosetti of Goldsmith College London and friend of James & Patience Gibbs, who is doing research on the history of Univ of the Ghana at Legon and its Drama Dept between the 1960s and 80s and so investigating the intersection between British scholars and African playwrights and artists at the time, and the changes in the university curricula that have occurred since independence.
22 JULY Visit and meal at BAPMAF by Juan Diego Diaz (a Colombian Canadian national) an Assoc Prof of Music Depart The University of California , with two of his PhD students who had all came for the July ICTM/ICTMD conference at Legon. One of the students was the American Jennifer Shellil who now works at a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos and the other was the Chilean Ana Maria Diaz Puto
21 JULY Two hour interview in Kaneshie for the podcast ‘If More Lets Divide’ by the poet Matombo Nana Sei Appiah and Fred Yemoh. Topics included my own work in the Ghana music sector, the ‘world music’ phenomenon and why has Afrobeats become so popular internationally as compared to earlier highlife and hiplife. Fred made the interesting comment that afrobeats was the first West African popular music idiom not so much directly influenced by Black American/Caribbean/Latin music (like highlife by calypso & jazz, hiplife by US hiphop & rap and Afro dancehall by Jamaican dancehall (+ EJC juju music by the samba, Fela Afrobeat soul, burger highlife by disco, soukous by the rumba). Rather afrobeats is a new African cosmopolitan phenomenon in its own right created by youth who have now fully mastered electronic music and distribution (EJC Ghana youth first learnt the ropes of techno-music via burger highlife and hiplife).Fred also mentioned helping afrobeats crossing over the Atlantic is that its language is mainly in an international language ie the Pidgin version of English. I point out that so whereas soul-funk and hiphop was in the black American dialect and Jamaican reggae and dancehall is in Patois English, afrobeats is in the West African dialect of English. Motombo and Fred also asked me how I felt about giving out all this info to members of a younger generation like themselves, so I told them of the ‘grandparent factor’ in Ghana; ie the gap in transfer of musical information due to the military govt curfew and musical brain-drain and the first hiplife generations largely rejecting anything old and ‘colo’. So now the ‘grandparent factor’ clicking in with some young Ghanaian becoming interested with the past. As an example I told them about those who came to visit BAPMAF over the last 33 years: at first mainly foreigners plus a few local media radio/TV companies – and now plenty of young Ghanaians (+ some Nigerian) musicians, creative artists & podcasters.
19 JULY Visit by US musicologist Mark Levine of UCLA who had presented a report at the ICTM on UNESCO work on refugees and music, such as the Kakuma-sound.org Mark helped found to supply musical instruments to the huge 30 year old refugee camp of 200,000 at Kukuma in eastern DR Congo. Mark came to see me about my consultancy involvement in a filmed trip to West-Central Africa by the Cuban-Mexican Latin pianist Arturo O’Farril (son of the famous Cuban Cubop trumpeter Chico O’Farril 1921-2001) who operated the Grammy awarded Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra in New York and is now a curator of the cities new 40 million dollar Afro-Latin Jazz Centre. I already met Alberto via the zoom ‘Ocean Has Rhythm’ seminar at which I presented at in 19 May 2021 (during covid) organised by Mark Levine (at which Ama Wray also participated)
17 JULY 2023 Visit to BAPMAF by Nigerian Alaba Elesanmi (now doing a PhD in the States) who interviewed me about Fela, including the black pages in Carlos Moore’s 1982 book ‘Fela This Bitch of a Life’ and Fela’s turn to mysticism in the 1980s. Alaba’s ICTM conference paper last week was ‘A Case Study of Fela’s Reincarnation in the Black Atlantic Soundscape’.
16 JULY 2023 Visit to BAPMAF from American guitarist & music scholar Nathaniel Braddock who did his MA on Yaa Amponsah with David Locke at Tuffs University and has come several times before to BAPMAF, once in 2017 with highlife guitarist Anthony Akablay. Nate has recently come from Kumasi where he interviewed 92 year old Koo Nimo (now in a wheel-chair) and so came also to interview me on Koo Nimo and palmwine music.
13 & 15 JULY Attended 2 session of the 47th World Conference of the International Council for Traditional Music (the ICTM) being hosted by the SPA at Legon from 13-19 July (Last such event at Legon was in 1966) Went to opening conference and chaired a session called ‘New Perspectives on Music and Dance in the Diaspora’ All 3 presenters did so by zoom but I did meet the black British lady Ama Wray who reseaeches into Black dance and whom I one interacted with in 19 May 2021 For the ‘Ocean Has Rhythm’ zoom seminar organised by Prof Professor Mark Levine of the University of California at Irvine. After my chairing I went to a session entitled ‘Case Studies of the Black Atlantic’ where I saw Alaba Ilesanmi talking on Fela and then the French scholar Elina Djebbari talk on the Ivorian San Pedro region ‘Bolle’ popular dance (drums, struck bottle and musical saw) influenced by Krus and also by the quadrille. She referred to my work on the Kru and also my idea of ‘progressive indigenisation (ie in this case of the quadrille) After this session I talked to Alaba and also Adeolu Ogunsanya of the Idadan Univ Music Dept (ao.ogunsanya@ui.edu.ng) who recalled seeing me talk and play palmwine highlife at a music seminar at the Surelere Complex in Lagos (date 2o13 ?) Others I met at the conference my old Colombian friend Juan Diago Diaz (Afro-Brazilian Tabom research and a group played at the SPA drama studio and Juan danced). Juan also gave me a copy of his new book ‘Africanness in Action’. Also met South African Wilhelm Delpont (I had reviewed some article for his Cape Town Journal of Musical Arts in Africa), Mike Frishkopf and Kathy Armstrong both from Canada, Kwase Ampene, Bertha Adom and Kofi Akpabli selling my just published bio ‘From Britian to Bokoor’, Misonu Amu (Ephraim Amu’s daughter) , Judith Opoku-Boateng (gave me a shirt). Onche Rajesh Ugbabe, Aaron Bebe and Local Dimension who mentioned me as their bands ‘grandfather’. My fairly recent Mphil students Josh Brew (who had done a paper on Okyame Kwame for me) and was presenting a ICTM paper on palmwine music, and Mary Amoateng Akyaamah now doing research on womens music in Bolgatanga. Some of my older Mphil students there were Moses Adjetey (now with GBC gram library) and trumpeter Peter Marfo (now with Eastern Region NCC in Koforidua). Also met my very old circa 2000 BA students Sammy Nyamuame (of the ‘Style Gallant’ group that had got this early name for classical music name from my classes) and Martha Annan whom I had once done a music project with on the dangers of water born Volta River diseases. Also ex SPA drummer now in the US Francis Akotua. Daniel Avorgbedor was the princicpal local organiser of the ICTM event who got me to do my chairing session. Many SPA staff there: like Adwoa Arhine and Awo Asiedu (key local organisers of event) and Eric Sunu Doe, Eyram Fiagbedzi, Mike Okontah, Osei Korankye, Grace Donkor, Austin Emielu, Kwashe Kuwor, Terry Bright Owusu and 2 of my current students Maud Senam Ashiabor and Sheila Naa Lamily Odai-Lamptey. At the ICTM conf 400 papers, were presented half physical & half by zoom – including zoom session on archaeology by Sarah Wurz & Joshua Kumbani – but as this was by zoom and was being held in late afternoon I didn’t go
12 JULY I was on the ‘Popular Music Heritage and the UNESCO List’ panel with Dr. Albert Oikelme of the Univ of Lagos, Dr. Markus Coester, Abdourahamane Diallo Country Head of UNESCO and a representative of the Ghana Copyright Administration, of the ‘Beyond the Digital Return Workshop’ held at the Maison Francaise Auditorium, Univ of Ghana Legon, and organised by Dr Markus Coester of the University of Bayeuth Germany, 11-12 July 2024. Diallo told us that kente designs should be listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024 and Highlife music in 2025. Some others present were Anthony Seeger of UCLA, Nana Swanzy (related to Jacob Sams family), Moses Adjei of GBC, Kofi Kodunu PhD student of the Legon Music Dept, Judith Opoku-Boateng of the IAS NketiaArchives, musician Akablay and the Kundum Trio, Lee Watkins of Rhodes Univ International Library of African Music ILAM and US Nathaniel Braddock
25 MAY Thuerday I did my Inaugural Lecture for the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) of which I was in 2020 made a Fellow, at Nkrumah Hall of the GAAS headquarters on Casely Hayford Road Airport Residential Area in Accra. Lecture title is the ‘Contribution of African Popular Music Studies to Universities’ Audience was at least 200. Some were school children from Wesleyan Girls Senior High School and boys from the Accra Academy Senior High School. Dr Eric Sunu and the Univ Music Dept Palmwine band and the sepereaa player Osei Korankye played at the event. Prof Helen Yitah and the political scientist Prof Joseph Ayee introduced me and gave closing remarks . Some of the people I met were Professor Ivan Addae-Mensnah (interested in the 1956 &1960 Louis Amstrong trips) MUSICIANS Smart Nkansah, Bessa Simons, Nii Tettey Tetty, Atongo Zimba, Rocky Dawuni and Caren Sullivan, Kyekyeku Eugene Oppong UNIV IAS, SPA & Music Dept Adwoa Arhine, Eyram Fiagbedzi, Gace Takyi Donkor, Ben Amakyi. tall Mike Okontah, second xylpophone teacher Yeboah, current Mhil student Sheila Naa Lamily Odai-Lamptey, Emmanuella Deilla Djagbletey (and some others). Ex Mphil student Benjamin Aduru Arhin, Mphil student Samuel Agyare Asare (thesis on Onyina), Prof Esi Sutherland-Addy, Prof Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Judith Opoku-Boateng, Jesse Shipley, Ben Lebreve of Akwaaba Music, ex copyright Admininstrato Andrews Amagatche and wife, James Owusu Ansah ex Mphil student and now of current Copyright Administration Kumasi (he arranged a short chat for me with Koo Nimo), Nana Swanzi Quainoo of the Highlife Story web, Frank Owusu Frimpomg of Vivivi Studio, Paa K. Holdbrook-Smith of the Highlife Safari web, Evans Asare of KPMG , Nana Damoah and Kofi Akpabli of Dakpabli Press, Panji Anoff and daughter Gaddafia, Nigerian Mphil student Onche Ugbabe Rajesh and two Nigerian historian friends, Joseph Frimpong of Ashesi Univ, Beatmenace Kofi Boakye Ansah and his wife Dela (Willie Anku’s youngest daughter). Elizabeth Addo-Yobo Folklore officer of the National Folklore Board. YOUTUBE LINK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9zGKH3NyOQ
20-25 MAY Correspondence with Tommaso Vitali and Renata Avantario wife of the lateItalian film-maker Michele Avantario who worked with Fela Kuti in the 1980s and 90s and saved 8 hours of of the Black President film rushes. Renata and Tommaso are planning doc film on Fela called ‘Fela my Living God’ that uses some of these rushes (with permission of the Fela estate) that focuses on the time Fela was making the Black President film. I sent sent them around 20 or so snapshot black and white photos I had taken of Fela and co, the Africa Shrine (then at the Empire Hotel Mushin), the Pan African Shrrine iteslf and filming at Abeokuta in 1974, 1975 and 1977
16 MAY 2023 Visit by some students and staff of Carlton University of Ottawa after I gave a larger group of them a lecture at the Music Dept. Group leader Kathy Armstrong (I know her as she & husband Rory were members of the Flaming Donnos drum group of Canada and Rory stayed at Bokoor House in 1991). John Rosefield sound engineer lecturer, Chistine Duff and Rebecca Cowal. Also Duriyo Kwadzo Michael and Dunyo Yao Rory assistants from the Volta Region
12 APRIL The video crew of the Leap of Faith (LOF) London, Black British media company in to interview me for one episode of their ‘Travelling Man’ series. Nigerian Tomi Okeowo is the Unit Producer, Julian ‘Jules’ Niccar Annan is its Music Producer (+447850421871) and interviewed me. Also Nigerian Ola Aiteru and local guy Joy Williams who is the grandson of the famous Ghanaian actor George Williams (aka the musician Buddy Pip). Team will also film Panji Anoff & Kofi Boachie-Ansah Beat Menace
27 MARCH 2023 Sent BAPMAF photos of Sloopy Mike Gyamfi & Eddie Donkor to the young Dutch journalist Chard van den Berg [chardvandenberg@gmail.com] doing a Dutch article on Sloopy whose a star in Ghana but is fairly anonymous in the Netherlands
3 MARCH Visit by Dr. Wunu Wise of Cape Coast University whose interested in musictherapy and the neuro-cognitive responses to music
23 FEB Visit from the Nigerian Caveman band’s bassist Kingsley Okorie and his girlfriend Bula Pefok
19 FEB As Fapempong around quick visit by American musicologist Steve feld to give me his and Yemo Nunu ‘Flicks ‘ book ‘Cool Runnings’ on the Pow-Pow music Ga Lorry drivers that goes back to 1950s
19 FEB Poet Fapempong and Nana Yawason came to do a half hour video interviewfor Kantanka TV (Christo Asafo’s Prophet Safo TV station)
17 FEB Did two hour zoom interview on Fela Kuti for Ruby Walsh & Jad Adumrad of Riverside FM Radio of the University of Califonia
17 FEB Emmanuel Agbavitor USA-Togolese New York in Ghana student interested in archiving
16 FEB Did 1.5 hour zoom presentation on Celebrating Music and Culture for Fred Apronti (one of my ex Ashesi Univ students) and his Bank of America colleagues in their New York headquarters for Black History Month. 80 virtually attended. Last year I did the same for him and his Bank of America colleagues when he was based in its Paris Office
15 FEB Justice Baidoo freelance journalist and ex Joy FM Radio interviewed me on the1930-40s Axim Trio concert party (E.K. Dadson, Bob Johnson etc) for a podcast
11 FEB Visit from two of my current Legon Music Dept Mphil students Emmanuella Gjagbletey and Sheila Naa Lamley (ex nurse) Gave them masses of e-book readings, films and music samples
9 JAN Visit by Nigerian/Danish Sarah Lorentzen (sarahlorentzen@gmail.com) with Benjamin James the drummer of the Eastern Nigerian highlife group The Cavemen
8 JAN Visit by German radio man Wolfgang Koenig (koenig_dj@hotmail.com) and his colleague Katrin Hensel (in 2007 she made a film on Ghana’s fancy coffins). They laterwent to see Kojo Yankah’s Pan African Museum in Cape Coast
4 JAN 2023 Visit from my Legon Mphil student Samuel Agyare doing a thesis on the highlife musician Onyina. Gave him materials on late 1950s Univ based African Music Society of Prof Nketia and my father (Edmund Coillins) etc that includes a refence to my Dads’s then philosophy student (and guitar player) Kwasi Wiredu giving jazz guitar records to Onyina (thus Onyina’s sudden use of advanced jazz chords in his highlifes)
14 DEC 2022 Interviewed by Grace Takyi Donkor who is doing a PhD on ‘Women’s Representation in Ghanaian Highlife music upto the 1960’ for the Univ of Ghana MusicDepartment at Legon.
30 NOV Visits and interview by three New York University in Ghana students who aretaking mine and Eric Sunus’s new Afrobeats and hiplife course: Kanayo Kuchler, Syndie Giles and DJ Jibril Hakim
21 NOV 2022 Visit by Nigerian gradate student composer and musicologist studying atthe Univ of Ghana at Legon Music Dept Onche Rajesh Ugbabe and his friend Margaret who is a soil scientist
7 SEPT 2022 Visit by 2 UK guitarists Simon Lee and half Guyanaian Kevin Richards of London band Mampama band. Kevin used to play with Ray Allen. Came with Vivienne Bruce, daughter of King Bruce, wife of saxist Ray Allen and cousin of Bibi ad Rama Brew kevrichie62@hotmail.com and simonleemusic@yahoo.com
27 AUG Visit by Dutch based Ghanaian trumpeter Berima Amo who leads the Osabarima highlife big band and just released their ‘Journey of the African Drum ‘ CD
26 AUG Leila Adu-Gilmore (leila.adu-gilmore@nyu.edu) Ghana/New Zealand music researcher. Her dad is Ralph Adu UK based musician who knew Osibisa, Kris Bediako etc She interview ed me about tonal practices (microtones etc) in Ghanaian highlife
12 AUG Visit from Emeritus Prof Kofi Agawu of Princeton Univ USA who is gathering information on the 1970s Ghanaian Afro-rock Hedzoleh Soundz band. He was accompanied by one of my ex grad students Dr Senyoh Adjei who is now a lecturer at the Music Dept of Cape Coast University.
1 AUG 2022 Thank you email from Ghanaian-British young lady Danielle Welbeck (Oxford University undergrad). Dear Professor Collins, I hope all is well with you. I am getting in touch nearly a year since our meeting to extend my thanks to you for meeting me and father. Fortunately, I was able to complete my degree and last week I graduate with a First Class. Thank you again for all your help, Best wishes Danielle [she and her Ghanaian father Dan came 9 Sept 2021 when she was researching the relationship between Nkrumah period highlife and nationalism and Pan Africanism]
24 JULY Went with my son Thomas Collins and his wife Becky to the Alisa Hotel to meet a group of 17 Oakton Community College, Illinois teachers who are planning to bring students to Ghana next year – their current trip being organised by Mimi Abe Blay Asmah of Blastours. At this dinner meeting some Ghanaians were Fritz Balfour (media-man and politician), Joseph Oduro-Frimpong (film and popular culture lecturer Ashesi Univ) and some staff the University of Ghana Archaology Dept, African Studies and Business Administration. I had a long talk with one of the leaders of the American group, Dr Donovan Brand, who is interested in New Orleans and Ghanaian brass band music and wants to research into their similarities and connections.
16 JULY The Africa Institute Sharjah invited me to the launch of a play by the Ghanaian playwright Mohammed Ibn-Abdallah’s called ‘The Song of the Pharaoh’ (in both English and Arabic) at the Bass Lounge Accra. I have known Ben since he came back to Ghana from the United States in 1983 and also later when he became a PNDC Government Minister of Culture (when he made me one of the Trustees of the Ghanaian Folklore Board – Copyright Administration between 1991-1997). When he first came in to the book launch event he immediately – before even sitting down – pointed his walking stick at me and said something about a book I had given him that he had read many many times. On chatting with him later I discovered it was a copy of Norman Mailer’s 1983 ‘Ancient Evenings’ that I had given him in 1983 or 1984. It is a novel set in Ancient Egypt about 1350bc that deals with the transition from the monotheistic reign of Akhenaten – back to the polytheistic priesthood of Amun – which is exactly the topic of his ‘Song of the Pharoahs’ play: and it obviously helped him in the conceiving/writing of this play,
15 JULY Visit from and interviewed by Bravado film company making a film on Ghanaian music past present and future. They have also interviewed Koo Nimo and Panji Anoff and are planning to interview Stonebwoy, DJ Black and Kwabena Kwabena. The interviewer was ex KNUST art student Nana Kofi Asihene and others were producer ex SPA Legon student Aphua Larbi and photographer Nii Ofoli Tompa Yartey.
5 JULY Long telephone call from Mark Chillensi an American trumpeter who has played with many American, African and Jamaican bands and is planning to do a PhD at the University of the West Indies in Kingston in Jamaica – focusing on the Atlantic round trip in terms of the trumpet and particularly the influence of brass bands and jazz
5 & 17 JULY Visits by British political scientist Jeff Haynes who was in Ghana in the mid/late 1980s doing research on the Rawlings/PNDC government for his PhD
2 JULY Visit by Nigerian graduate student Onche Ugbabe who is auditing my Legon Music Department MPhil courses
22-23 JUNE 2022 John Collins attended a zoom meeting to launch the book ‘Understanding America: The Essential Contribution of Afro-American Music to the Sociocultural Meaning of the Continent’ edited by Fernando Palacios Mateos and published by the Centro de Publicaciones, PUCE, Quito, Ecuador [ISBN: 978-9978-77-613-1]This 600 page book included chapters by the University of Ghana at Legon lecturers Kofi Agyekum of the Linguistics Dept, Nii Dortey and Laryea Akwetteh of the Institute of African Studies, and Adwoa Arhine, Kwashie Kuwor, Eyram Fiagbedzi, Ben Amakye-Boateng and John Collins of the School of Performing Arts: with Collins supplying chapter 26 (pp. 504-529) entitled ‘The impact of African American and Afro-Latin/Caribbean Popular Performance on Anglophone West Africa (1800-1950s). John Collins attended the opening zoom meeting on the 22nd June and the final panel, Dialogue Group 5 on the 23rd called ‘From “reverse” migration to the African continent, a historical process that makes visible the dialogic possibilities of mutual enrichment between cultures through sound practices’. It was moderated by Daniel Avorgbedor of the University of Ghana, Raimund Voguels of the Center for World Music, University of Hildesheim, Germany and Carlos Corrales of the PUCE. Some of the friends and colleagues of John Collins that were present at the Dialogue Group 5 session were Kenneth Bilby of the Smithsonian Institution, the Jazz historian Eddie Meadows of UCLA and Isabele de Aranzadi who does research on Equitorial Guinea music. Some of the points that Collins raised are as follow:-
- The re-contextualisation of Black American music in Africa. Eg American hiphip linked to black ghetto poverty and oppression in America – in Ghana became ‘hiplife’ that was initially created by middle class Ghanaian urban youth as a musical identifier or flag of their generation cf the music of the older generation
- That the first black Americans/Caribbeans to come to West Africa (freed slaves, missionaries, soldiers, sailors) were seen as bringers of cosmopolitan ideas and new technologies (carpentry, food processing, building design etc) and novel music and dance styles and techniques – and that the idea of them being ‘black brothers coming home’ really (at least in Ghana) started in the 1950s/60 s when Ghana was becoming independent and Pan Africanism was in the musical air (eg Louis Armstrong, James Brown and later Bob Marley).
- That the ‘gate of no return ‘ at Capes Coast is infact a misnomer – as although it was the plan of white racist slavers to send slaves on a one-way ticket – some of the descendants of slaves did come back and make crucial cultural re-connections with Africa – with the earliest known example being Jamaican gumbay/goombay introduced by Jamaican rebel maroon to Freetown Sierra Leone 222 years ago – and which then spread through West/Central Africa, influencing local neo-traditional and popular music.
- That the music/dance of Africa being taken by slaves to the Americas and then returning ‘home’ – is often seen as a Black Atlantic loop or feedback cycle However, since the 1980s African popular music (itself containing elements of African-American music) has also crossed the Atlantic to the West, beginning with the ‘World Music’ of the 1980s and now the global ‘afrobeats’ craze of today. As such the Black Atlantic loops and cycles should be conceived as being dynamic ongoing spiral in time (a point that particularly resonated with Carolyn Cooper of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica
- As a parting Afro-futurist shot Collins said that the music of Africa and its diaspora has become so transcultural, global and cosmopolitan – that it will surely be this sort of music and dance that will accompany humans when they go into space and colonise the planets.
21 JUNE Theophilus Kaleobbs of Mx24 TV station 30 minute interview on World Music Day with John Collins, Rex Omar of GHAMRO and Besssa Simon of MUSIGA.
25 MAY 2022. Communication with Dr. Daniel Kotin of the History Dept of Washington State University Vancouver and Nate Sleeter who directs education projects for the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, Virginia. They wish to use the BAPMAF stored George Padmote Feb. 5, 1952. Ghana Morning Telegraph article ‘West Indian Musicians Perform Song on Nkrumah’ for their forthcoming World History Commons website. World History Commons is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies whose goal is to bring free, high quality resources to teachers and students of world history – and the Padmore article would go into its module ‘Music and Decolonization in the Black Atlantic.’
10 MAY British photographer Peter Murphy who was in Ghana and Nigerian in 1970s sent me contact photo prints of traditional Ga ceremonies, Mustapha Tettey Addy and brothers in early 1970s and 1979-80 prints of Fela and Femi Kuti , Lekan Animashaun, Hugh Masekela, Lijadu Sisters, Sunny Ade, Sonny Okosun, Bobby Benson,
21 APRIL Two of my American New York University in Ghana students came to visit who are doing the new Afrobeats and Hiplife course that me an Eric Sunu Doe are teaching. The two students who came were Hayley Villapadua and Jesiah Mathews
APRIL 2022 Twenty minute Radio program ‘ECHOES OF YAA AMPONSAH’ link sent me by US guitarist Nathaniel Braddock [nbraddo@yahoo.com] . This US Afropop Public Radio program was hosted by Banning Eyre) and involved Anthony Akablay, Koo Nimo, Kofi Electric (played on Paul Simons Graceland album ) and John Collins https://afropop.org/audio-programs/echoes-of-ya-amponsah
APRIL 2022 Sent link by Nathaniel Braddock of a performance of the Kwaa Mensah song “Obra Ye Ku” from Vintage Palmwine (Dutch Otrabanda CD – recorded by John Collins Bokoor Studio in 1980s) – with singing partly in Hebrew!!! See https://youtu.be/vB64oGdeVHg posted by Yair Hashachar just before the second Covid-19 lockdown in Israel, played beautiful songs from Israel, West Africa, and Brazil in a small backyard in southern Tel Aviv. This particular tune is an adaptation of the Ghanaian Palmwine song ‘Obra Ye Ku’ by Kwaa Mensah. Lyrics by Roni Shafir, guitar and vocals Yair Hashachar, vocals Faye Shapiro and percussion calabashes Ben Aylon. Braddock himself a US guitarist who was did an MA on Yaa Amponsah at Tuffs with David Locke and he came to BAPMAF in 2017 with the Nzima highlife guitarist Anthony Akablay
17 MARCH John Collins and Prof Kofi Anyidoho were interviewed by Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe on the topic of ‘Music: the Sounds, Rhythm and Lyrics’ for two of the GBC Unique FM (95.7) half-hour World View program forr Ghana Heritage Month, produced by Fred Yevu.
11 MARCH Visit from 5 of my current 7 Legon graduate students. Laura Ebemah PhDNigerian who teaches voice training by facebook to 9,000 Nigerian singers, Nii Adjei SowahPhD son of late Dance Department lecturer Oh Nii, Samuel Agyare Mphil, Mary Amoateng Mphil, Theophilus Samuel Nortey Mphil and Onche Rajesh Ugbabe (Nigerian composer who is auditing all my Mphil classes).
11 MARCH Professor Andrew Apter of the UCLA African Studies is downloading by Google Drive the 34GB of BAPMAF archives that I/Thomas sent him (a copy of which has already been sent to the Univ ersity of Ghana Institute of African Studies Nketia Library) for use by students and scholars.
8 MARCH 2022 Radio program produced by Yusuf Sacoor of the Readipop, Reading UK, radio series ‘Music Changing Lives’ program. The program was on Afrobeat and afrobeats and those interviewed by Zoom were John Collins and Lampo Dynasty (Danny Amponsah) a Ghanaian UK based musician. Link to Music Changing Lives programs is:-https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/readipop-musicchanging-lives/id1509468728.
8 MARCH Visit from two members (tenor singer Frank Edwin and baritone singer Samuel Asare) of the Genesis Gospel Singers of the Kristo Aasafo Mission who recorded at Bokoor Studio in 1983 and whose song Mmoma Ntutu appeared on the UK Cherry Red ‘Guitar and Gun’ album that year and later released by Sterns African Records on CD. The guitarists for the 1983 recording were the late Paa Gymah and Sloopy Mike Gyamfi (now a paramount chief in the Eastern Region) and drummer Captain Moro (settled in Holland) .Frank and Samuel came to ask me advice as how to market remixes of their music and I suggested they contact some young computer proficient musician members of their Kristo Asafo church to advise them on digital promotion and marketing.
4 MARCH John Collins gave a statement on ‘Elevating Highlife to a UNESCO World Intangible Heritage Status’ at the Highlife Stakeholders Conference held at the Accra Tourist Information Centre: organised by UNESCO (Ghana Director Aboulrahamane Diallo from Niger and deputy Carl Ampah), the Ghana Cultural Forum (Asare Yamoahand Daddy Bosco), the Ghana Folklore Board (Executive Director Bernice Deh-Kumah and Nana Asase), Musicians Union of Ghana MUSIGA (Acting President Bessa Simons) and Deputy Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture Mark Okraku Mantey. Some others present were musicians Blay-Ambolley, Smart Nkansah and Aka Blay, Frank Frimpong of Vivivi recording studio (late saxist Teddy Owusu’s brother), Kofi Boakye Beat Menace Studio, Dr Eric Sunu Doe and Prof Austin Emielu of the Legon Music Dept, music promoter Paa K. Holbrook-Smith and by zoom from UK Kwese Owusu of CreativeStorm.
25 FEB Visit from and interview by French phD student Margaux Lavernher about her work concerning the 1970/80s professional photographer James Barnor who had a studio in James Town and took many photos of bands, musicians and with E.E. Lamptey did album covers for some of them (like EK Nyame, Ani Johnson, Happy Stars etc). I knew both Barnor and Lamptey
11 FEB Visit and interview by Dele Adeyemo [dele.j.adeyemo@gmail.com Scottish-Nigerian architect studying urbanision and hilife in Ghana and doing hisphD at Goldsmiths College London – currently on an Andrew Mellon research fellowship with the Canadian Center for Architecture Africa project. For his highlife and moderisation research: https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/articles/80058/the-modernizing-beat.
23 JAN Visit from koligo player Atongo Zimba, British-Lebanese rerord producer (Jinn Records, UK) Abraham Maughrabi and Ghanaian photographer Kpogeh Selassie.
18 JAN Visit from Duch Ghana club owner Topido Kees an Adonene Ranga Obril from Burkina Faso.
15 JAN 2022 Visit from Catalonian Spanish Ghana based chemistry teacher Rosa Druguet. Got to know of place via Spanish environmentalist Nuria Badielle (see 12 Nov 2021 visit).
8 JAN 2022 Visit by PhD student Katharina Gartner of the Dept of African Studies of the Univ of Vienna. She donated two books on trans-atllantic jazz written by Gerhard Kubik who is her PhD supervisor and with whom last year she arranged a zoom meeting between us. We also discussed the possibibly of sending a copy of the digitised BAPMAF archives to Vienna University.
7 JAN 2022 visit by Ghanaian-Dutch singer guatarist Kay Slice who is leader of the Razor Blade Band composed of African muscians in Holland – and is also an Afrofuturist.
27 DEC 2021 visit [with all Covid protocols observed as I was recovering from Covid] from Germans bass player and university African music researcher Yannick Nolting yannickbass77@gmail.com who works with singer-percussionist Eric Owusu and the Jemraa Groove band (formed 2020) and is releasing in 2022 the Susuma CD on Agoro Records Hannover : laid-back jazz-guitarband highlife fusion + horns, sung in Ga & Akan.
28 DEC Long telephone call before departing to the States from the Kyirem kids cultural group leader Christian Kofi Mawuto that in the mid-1970s played side by side with Bokoor Band at Penta Club. Now a US based lawer who runs the Chattanooga based Mawre & Co band and the Ogya World Music Band and teaches African music and particualrly Ewe drums at schools there. I met him after 40 years of so at the King Bruce BB Band fan-club ‘Living Legends’ meeting held at the Arts Council on the 8 Dec 2021 [Mawuto’s email: mawre_co1@yahoo.com Tel US 423 305 411]
7 DEC Zoom lecture by John Collins using BAPMAF photos and music samples ‘The Evolution of West African Popular Music’ for the Staff of the Bank or America organised byy Frederick Apronti of the bank’s Paris Branch
16 DEC 2021 John Collins given an ‘Achievement Award’ by the Ghana Association of Writers, GAW, (current president Francis Gbormittah) that was part of the 5th GAW Literary Awards 2001 held at the Omanye Aba Hall, AMA Audidorium, Accra
8 DEC 2021 John Collins was guest speaker at the inauguration of the ‘The Living Legends of the BB Bands’ NGO dedicated to King Bruce of the 1950/60s Black Beats highlife dance band and the six other band he operated out of Jamestown in the 1970s-1997) . Event was held at the Centre for National Culture Accra (Arts Centre). Some of the musicians present, many of whom who passed through King Bruce’s seven BB bands, were KK Kabobo, drummer Sol Amarfio (Osibisa), Tommy Darling (Barbecues & Wantu Wazuri), Nat Adjartey (Black Beats road manager), Cardinal Lesley Tex (mid 1970s Szaabu Sounds with me and Bob Pinodo – now a priest), Pozo Hayes, Desmond Ababio (ex Black Beats keyboards), Jerry James Lartey (ex Bokoor band and Saka-Saka), Indigenous Sounds, Sol Amarfio’s brother Nii Amankwei III (drummer I knew in James Town 1970s – now a Ga chief), Aryee Brown (ex Barbecues keyboards and now a printer) and the leader of the Kyirem children’s Ga cultural group (Christian Kofi Mawuto) that my 1970s Bokoor Band used to play alongside with. After my talk on how I met King Bruce in the 1970s when I was staying at Temple House in Jamestown and then interacted with him over the years, I handed a fully formatted digital copy of my 160 page biography on King Bruce that I wrote between 1987-8 (updated in 2010) called the ‘The King of Black Beats’ – so that the Bruce family and/or the Living Legends NGO can find a printer.
3 DEC Visit from Victoria Gegwood and T. Clottey of the Afrochella music organisation/ museum in Nima to choose some bapmaf photos (25) for their Ghana highlife music photo exhibition that runsa from on 23 Dec 2021 to 4tJanary 2022
2 DEC Visit from film makers Anita Afonu (she made Nketia the Maestro film) and Oxford student Dan Hodgkinson who are planning to make a fim about the development of the film industry in Ghana 1960-80s
14 NOV Visit from Khadijat El Alawa of the of Afrochella Music Museum, Nima, Accra that will open in December 2021 She is asking for some input into the event.
13 NOV Visit by Henrietta Wheal of the British Council Accra and her British drummer husband, and the Spanish environmentalist Nuria Badielle who has been in Ghana for 8 years with the West African Primate Conservation Action (WACPA) NGO
9 NOV 2021 Visit from Germans Jay Rutledge (and his friend Peki) of the German OutHere Records that is organising the current tour of the German based Ghanaian highlife and highlife-funk bigband Santrofi. Jay and Peki also arrange German tours for Pat Thomas Ebo Taylor etc. Interviewed me for radio and donated BAPMAF the new maiden Santrofi CD ‘Alewa’
1 NOV Zoom meeting with Nana Oforiatta-Ayim of the ANO art gallery in Osu Accra who has been put in charge of the National Museum that has been closed down for seven years. People present at meeting including those interested in local fashion, foods and buildings , herbal healing, skate boarding, and Colter Harper and Judith Opoku-Boateng of the IAS Nketia Archives. This initial meeting was to arrange who will be involved in three month displays in the various areas of the National Museum when it re-opens on the 28 Dec 2021
30 OCT Visit by three young film-makers, Daniel ‘Sonny’ Agyarko, Aseye Fiagbe and Kenmell Amor-Gottfried, about the ‘Too Much Music’ film they are working on about the late keyboard player Kiki Gyan and the Osibisa Afro-rock band
29 OCT Visit from the current Director of the Goethe Institute in Accra, Heike Friesel, (accompanied by John Owoo) to discuss possible project on the criss-cross highlife and other local popular music connections between Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire, as her husband is currently the Director of the Goethe Institute in Abidjan. She also donated 8 CDs of 8 groups that recorded live at the Goethe Institute during Covid by 8 groups that include Dela Botwi’s Hewale,Akablays Kundum Trio, Blay Amboleys Sekondi Band, thefive piece all female Lipstick Band, the Ga Beiko Band the Gh Jazz Collective (includesFrank Ayisi and Victor Dei)
26 OCT 2021 I gave a a zoom lecture on the origins of highlife for the 55 strong BA World Music class of Dr. Colter Harper of the Anthropology Department of SUNY Buffalo, USA , of which I am an alumni, as I did my PhD there on and off between 1989 and 1994.
JAN – OCT 2021 In touch with Caleb Quaye a student at Falmouth University who is The grandson of the UK based jazz band leader Cab Kaye (Augustus Kwamlah Quay) Whom I met in London in the 1970s – and great-grandson of Caleb Jonas Quaye who was a pianist of the 1916 Jazz Kings of Accra and in the early 1920 and under the name ‘Mope Desmond’ went to the the UK where he played with the Five Musical Dragons, and also the touring Southern Syncopated Orchestra that at one point featured the African American alto-saxophonist Sidney Bechet. Mope Quaye died in 1922.
14 OCT Visit from Benjamin LeBreve, A Ghana based Frenchman and manager of the Awkaaba African music promotions company
10 OCT Visit from John Poku and Dr. Amon Saba Saakana Trinidadian literary scholar and ex music journalist (interviewed Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Osibisa etc -knew Jamaican Nigerian-based Lindsay Barrett of West Africa magazine) Saba is also an archaeologist and Egyptologist. He wrote the first book on Jamaican popular music in 1980 called ‘Jah Music: The Evolution of the Jamaican Popular Song’
5 OCT Visit from Emmanuel Amponsah the drummer of the Takoradi based highlife dance/traditional Native Afrik Band (includes seprewa and kologo lute) set up 4 years ago. Emmanuel obtained his training as a drummer in the Western Diamonds Band. He was particularly interested in asking me about ways of promoting his music at home and abroad. He came with Kwesi Gyebi-Tweneboa of Legacy Music who is not only doing research into early highlife band amplifiers but also what is distinctive about bass playing in guitar bands (ie melodic cf walking-bass of dance bands)
5 OCT Another of several telephone interviews I have done with William des Bordes aka ‘DJ Lovin C’ of the Silver FM radio stations in Kumasi. In this one he asked me about my long relationship with Nana Ampadu (GHACIMS, MUSIGA, Ghana Folklore Board, etc) who sadly died on the 27th September
3 OCT Visit from American historian Andrew Apter of UCLA African Studies (son of historian David Apter) and his guitarist son Julian. Andrew has done a lot of work on Yoruba culture and is currently working on the Fanti slave forts.We discussed the possibility of keeping a set of BAPMAF digtal archives at the UCLA African Studies Center as a safety copy and for use by students and scholars
16 SEPT Visit from Valerie ‘Papaya’ Mann, ex President of the African American Association of Ghana whom I once worked with in 2005 for th US Embassy-BAPMAF Black History Month
15 SEPT 2021 Visit from two ex members of King Bruce’s Black Beats and other 7 BB bands. The road manager Nat Adjartey and the late 1970s Black Beats drummer Aryee Ankrah/Brown who spent 30 years in Holland with Charles Tetteh’s and Sloopy Mike Gyamfi’s Kumbi Saleh band etc. They informed me of the recent death of Eddie Bruce and also Chikinchee. Told they they have formed an NGO called ‘Living Legends of BB Band’s that meets once a month at Jubilees House Jamestown (another of its officials is Eric Lamptey) Want me to join the organisation and also give a talk. We also discussed the possibility of me giving them an old version of my King Bruce book so that their NGO can find a publisher; as Ayree owns a printing press.
11 SEPT Visit from young African American Chailen August (grandson of Sly and the Family Stone bass player) doing a semester at the University of Ghana and researching the relationship between Hip Hop and Pan Africanism
9 SEPT Visit from Ghanaian-British young lady Danielle Welbeck (Oxford University undergrad) and her father Dan. She is researching the relationship between Nkrumah period highlife and nationalism and Pan Africanism (sent her George Padmore’s 1952 Sekondi newspaper report on ‘subversive’ pro CPP song lyrics by a Ghanaian/West Indian calypso band)
8 SEPT University of Ghana celebration of John Collins as one of Ghana’s Legends of African Arts (earlier ones this year were Efua Sutherland, Nii Yartey, Mohammed Ben Abdullah and Kofi Anyidoho), Zoom celebration hosted by Africanus Aveh at which around 80 attended LINK https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lg-rlBwpgBo8hnyMetHQxmRsakZYQeYs/view?ts=613a8466
7 SEPT Visit from Italian Francesco Longo of Edinburgh University doing research into Appollo highlife of south-eastern Cote d’Ivoire and of neighbouring (same ethnic group) Nzima of western Ghana
MAY-SEPT BAPMAF DONATION TO UNIVERSITY IAS ARCHIVES Sent/sending 34 ‘talking head’ cassettes of interviews/radio programs/taped seminars with BAPMAF holdings digitised by the University of Ghana Institute of African Studies Nketia Music Archives Amongst other items contains interviews and talks with/by ,the dance band highlife musicians King Bruce, Oscarmore Ofori, Joe Eyison, Joe Mensah and Stan Plange, highlife guitar band musicians K. Oppong and T.O. Jazz, choreographer Prof A.M. Opoku, artist Saka Acquaye, composer Ephraim Amu, drummer Kofi Ghanaba, Afro-rock musician Amartey Hedzoleh, media-man Beattie Casely-Hayford, musicologist Prof George Dor, the government cultural officials Ebo Hawkson and Joe Nkrumah, music producer Faisal Helwani, Fela Kuti’s onetime manager Benson Idonije, musical clown Ajax Bukana, jazz singer Bibi Brew, concert party actress Grace Omabo, Nana Danso Abiam of the Pan African Orchestra, Prof JHK Nketia, Prof Atta Annan Mensah, Kwame Sarpong of the Cape Coast Gram Library and James/Jimmy Moxon Ghana first Minister of Information + numerous radio interviews of John collins from 1980S by Ghana, Dutch, British, Canadian and French radio stations
25 AUGUST visit from and interviewed by Kwesi Gyebi-Teneboa of Legacy Music Accra who is doing research into early highlife band amplifiers
22 AUGUST Dr Werner Kahl donated a small cassette player to BAPMAF to replace the TEAC machine that has broken down so that I can continue the ‘talking heads’ donation to the Institute of African Studies Nketia Music Archives project of scores of cassette tape interviews and radio program of/by John Collins
15 AUGUST visit from crew (mainly from North Carolina State University) of the film ‘Talking Black in America’. Included the local facilitator Nobel Nazzeh + Renee Blake, Neal Hutcheson (later contacted me about Maya Deren), Danica Mullen, Marrisa Morgan and the lady who interviewed me, Sarah Phillips, on similarities and parallels between Africa- Black Diasporic music and language
JULY 5 CD DONATION TO JC/BAPMAF 2 CDs from Dr Ben Boone [descendent of famous Daniel Boone and a recent Fulbright Scholar at Legon Music Dept] ‘The Poets are Gathering’ and the Ghana Jazz Ensemble (incl Boone alto sax, Bernard Ayisa tenor sax, Victor Dei on kb, Sandra Huson vokes. From Ronnie Graham of Retro Tan CDs of old recording by Siti Binti Saad (Taarab), Francis Mwakitime (guitarist) and Didier Bosco Mwenga guitarist and son of famous Congolese Jean Bosco
JULY BOOK DONATION from Steven Feld of of his plus Nii Nemo Nunu and Hannah Shreckenbach illustrated booklet ‘ Cool Running:The Story of Ghana’s Honk Horn Lorries and Por Por Music’ that-includes 2 CD’s
24 JULY My 4 University of Ghana Mphil students who I am teaching by zoom came: Mawulorm Akua Batsa, Dorcas Banzie from Wa, Sedem Kirk Zeglo Ewe bass guitarist, Awura-Ama Agyapong singer
21 JULY Stuart Hill of Accra branch of Webster University and Kobby Ankomah-Graham came to discuss possible Webster Univ music program for visiting USA students
11 JULY Visit from Nii Tetteh Tetty of Kusum cult group and President of the Accra Music Association of Cultural Groups] 2016 tetteyleno@hotmail.com tel 0542585966 long discussion on state of music education in Ghana and particularly traditional music
21 JUNE John Collins received from Charterhouse the ‘Vodophone Ghana Music Awards as one of the ‘Titans’ of the music industry category; others being the late Kenn Kafui, the ex MUSIGA President Sidiku Buari and the music producer Big Ben.
29 MAY 2021 became one of the Board Directors (with musicians Jimmy Beckley and Victor Dei ) of the Jazz Breeze Cultural Centre.
19 MAY key note presentation for the 19 May zoom seminar ‘Ocean has Rhythm: Four Centuries of Musical Travels Across the Atlantic and the Circuit of Sound it Created’ organised by Prof Professor Mark Levine of the University of California at Irvine. Other profs involved were Scot Brown, world’s foremost authority on funk, Rasul Miller, who focuses on Black Muslim communities in the Atlantic World, Arturo O’Farril who dealt with Latin music and Ama Wray with dance, For link to this 2 hour program go to:- https://uci.zoom.us/rec/share/MGUSg5CTOI4p1gZvITyVwWVHCL5-iQOZAn-z4TzSuSrI0jRgOgYjp8rhS-yDJHJv.uvmwmrT78HK_d4Vw
12 MAY first JC/BAPMAF donation of talking head 16 cassettes to IAS Nketia archives I am Currently involved in collecting around 30 cassettes from my BAPMAF archives that go back to the 1980s for the Nketia Archives ‘talking heads’ project. Discovered a lot of my old cassettes were not seriously damaged by floods. Amongst other items contains interviews and talks with/by King Bruce, Oscarmore Ofori, A.M. Opoku, Saka Acquaye, Ephraim Amu, Kofi Ghanaba, Amartey Hedzoleh, Beattie Casely-Hayford, George Dor, Joe Mensah, Ebo Hawkson, Faisal Helwani, Joe Nkrumah, Fela Kuti’s onetime manager Benson Idonije, Ajax Bukana, S.K. Oppong, T.O. Jazz – and also Bibi Brew and Grace Omaboe
6 APRIL Zoom meeting between UK based More Mogya project and BAPMAF to begin a collaboration between them. Includes London based Ghanaian musician Larry Achiampong and assistant Zara, Ben Borthwick of the Plymouth based KARST organisation and independent curator Julia Green
23 MARCH Video clip of 1983 Bokoor Recording has gone viral on instagram www.instagram.com/tv/CMlBeDWnjGe/?igshid=ed9szx0pgp7u It is a recording of the song “Sum Nyame” by Sloopy Mike Gyamfi’s Adinkra highlife band that I did in 1983 at my semi open-air mud-built 4-track Bokoor Recording Studio in Accra, . This instagram snippet come from a longer 50 minute film that is an episode on Ghanaian popular music called ‘Repercussions’ series made by BBC Channel 4/Third Eye Production in 1983. The fuller version can be accessed through Ghana Music History Part 2 /www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTRerlj3UVg (Part 1 is also available on youtube)
18 MARCH Visit by the Cameroonian xylophone player (plays two wooden xylophones at once to obtain a chromatic scale) Masango Thierry Obase-Aboli (tel 0557398330) who is working with Ghanaian and other West African musicians on a new album. Whilst Masanga was at Bokoor House a visit by the longterm Ghanaian resident, the German violinist Thomas Woernle who plays with Amakye Dedc and until this year, when he reached 60 years old, was a longtime member of the Ghana National Symphony Orchestra
16 MARCH Fui Tsikata junior (M.anifest’s manager) and the South African based Brazilian film maker Gota came to interview and film me inside the BAPMAF display room for a film they are making on the musician and rap poet M.anifest who is Prof J.H.K Nketia’s grandson
15 MARCH interviewed by French journalist arine Jeannin of La Monde, ADP and RFI, and the Pathe photo journalist Vincent .
3 MARCH 2021 Letter from Dutch pop historian Stan Rijven “Dear John, thanks so much for the reminder of ‘Soul to Soul’, indeed an important moment in the history of the Black Atlantic. In return another musical marker in this ongoing process. Guy Warren. An EP of my collection I once showed you is now on my request digitalized by Fred Gales. As a contribution to BAPMAF to celebrate Ghana’s 64th birthday! Best wishes for you and your great son, your STAN” [Guy Warren and Red Saunders Brunswick EP 4 songs: Africa Speaks, Duet, Invocation of the Horned Viper and The High Life.
25 FEBRUARY Zoom interview by George Gyesaw of the Heritage Photo Project of the University of Ghana Institute of African Studies Kwabena Nketetia Archives to provide info on around 20 of the many photos I had donated to African Studies in 2016 via Judith Opoku-Boateng.
18 FEB 2021 Visit and Bokoor House garden interview on highlife by students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism Priscilla Ahovi, Wendy Quarm, Richard Kankam-Boadu, Tony Selorm and Gabriel Okyere.
15 FEB Visit and garden interview by Vincent Dumashe, Kalpera Wari, Kwarku Samual-Brobbey and Joseph Darko of the Organised Noise podcast, about the history of highlife.
18 JANUARY 2021 This entry is in connection with my JUNE 12–JULY 18, 2017 entry when I contacted Janet Topp-Fargion of the British Sound Archives to repatriate digital copies of Rattray’s 1921 Ashanti drum recordings to Ghana. I made this suggestion to her as these old recording represent a 100 year old slice of Ashanti fontomfrom, adowa and kete music that can be compared by current musicologists to modern forms (for changes in tempo, rhythm, words etc) . This was done after I got back home to Accra, when I arranged with Professor Dzodzi Tsikata, the Director of the Univeristy of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies and Judith Opoku-Boateng (Nketia ‘s neice) the Director of the IAS J.H. Kwabena Nketia Music Archives to officially receive these recording . This repatriation was done by Janet with some pomp and ceremony, who presented a hard-drive containing this old Ghanaian music and a lab-top computer to go with it, at the 49th Annual Conference of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) held at the University of Ghana in October 2018.
13 JANUARY 2021 Visit from the American musicologist John Chernoff’s (of the ‘African music and sensibility’ book fame) old friend ‘Santana’ Stephen Afotoke and his younger musician friend Edwin Asante.
23 DEC 2020 Visit from the US-Nicaraguan DJ Juan Gomez who was a student of mine at the University of Ghana Music Department in 2011
7 DECEMBER BAPMAF began collaborating with Ben Ben Borthwick and Larry Achiampong of the UK based Mogya Na Nsuo (blood and water) project from 17 Dec which is being supported by the British Council’s Digital Collaboration Fund. The Mogya Na Nsuo project aims to preserve and interpret the legacy of Highlife, reinventing it for a new generation of musicians and audiences in Ghana and internationally. It is a partnership between KARST and Bokoor African Popular Music Archive Foundation (BAPMAF) with British born Ghanaian artist-musician Larry Achiampong.
6 DECEMBER 2020 Recently heard from Sisse Wendy Bøgeberg that her family wants me to handle Flemmings Harrev’s unfinished book on gumbe after the family dug up correspondences by Flemmin on his gumbe work that mentioned me as well as Ken Bilby and Barbara Hampton. So arranging with Flemming’s family to send materials to Ken – as just last year he had had a long zoom talk with Flemming about the book. So he will contact Dr Hampton and preliminary organise the materials for a book or festschrifte
3 DECEMBER Visit from James Owusu-Ansah ex John Collins Mphil student and now for some years a Research Officer of the Ghana Copyright Office (he donated a just published booklet by the Office on the ’Economic Contribution of Copyright Industries to Ghana‘). Accompanied by Kwaku Sarfo a recording engineer and owner of the Eagle Wings recording studio in Kumasi.
6 NOVEMBER Interaction via web video conference with ethnomusicologists Gerhard Kubik and Katherina Gartner and some of their students Katharina Gartner, of the Department of African Studies of the University of Vienna for the ‘Music Expressive Culture andTrans-Continent Relations’ class
30 OCTOBER sent five photos to Godfred Akoto Boafo, Commissioning Editor, The Conversation Africa(Ghana) [ godfred.boafo@theconversation.com ] ‘Ghana’s politics has strong ties with performing arts. This is how it started’ based on my 2008 Legon jJournal article
29 OCTOBER 2020 Just heard from Sisse Wendy Bøgeberg Harrev of the death of her uncle Flemming Harrev in Copenhagen in 13 September 2020 . In the early 1990s he donated a gramophone with bapmaf that enabled John Collins to copy and later digitise 325 shellac 78rpm 1930-60’s I had collected from a chop in Accra in 1975 with help of an English friend called Peter Drury I met Flemming in 1982 and stayed with him in Copenhagen on many occasions in the early-mid 1980s when he organized drum-highlife guitar workshop and lecture tours for me in Scandinavia.
- Flemming stayed with me in Ghana when he came for the IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) conference held in Accra in 1987 for which I was on the local organising committee and he represented the Danish branch.
- In the late 1980s Flemming and I worked with the Ghanaian musician King Bruce on a biography of this leader of the famous Ghanaian 1950/60s Black Beats highlife dance band.]
- Flemming contributed a chapter on Francophone West Africa to my ‘West African Pop Roots’ book published by Temple University Press in 1992
- Flemming made a major contribution to our understanding of the historical links between the 250 year old Caribbean goombay/gumbe drum dance and West African versions of it. He did painstaking historical works from documented sources and wrote several articles on this. In these he was able to help us put together the complex story of this music that went to the Caribbean with African slaves, was modified in the late 18th century into Gumbe/Goombay in Jamaica, and returned to Africa with maroon freed-slaves who settled in Freetown Sierra Leone in 1800. From hence this drum-dance spread into almost 20 West and Central African countries, supplying a critical component to later West African popular and neo-traditional music styles such as highlife, ashiko/assiko, konkoma, maringa, mailo jazz, simpa and the kolomashie.
- Flemming and I went to the Virgin Islands in April 2001 for the 12th Triennial Symposium on African Arts, of the Arts Council of the US African Studies Association, We presented two papers together in tandem on the Goombay/Gumbe/Gube/Le Goumbe/Gome drum-dance of the Caribbean and West Africa .
- I have been in correspondence with Flemming in connection with his African music website http://www.Afrodisc.com and www.afrodisc.com.The most recent was just this August when Flemming sent me a copy of the 1938 HMV record song ‘Lamle’ by Sam’s guitar band, so that I could identify its rhythm.
17 OCT Saturday 12.20 to 1.20 GMT John Collins I am on a panel organized by the Ghana Writers Project ‘Pa Gya! Literary Festival’ that concerns the slave trade and the arts also involved the Bristol based playright Yasmin Wilde, the British based writer Anni Domingo and Ghanaian host Kobby Ankomah-Graham
5 OCT film crew came to o interview john Collins by Abrabɔ Fapempong documentary programme (on Kantanka TV, UTV, Adom TV, Youtube and other social media platforms) created, hosted and produced by Fapempong Acheampong (an Akuapem Twi poet and M.C).
20-29 AUGUST Communication with Grace Aba Ayensu [grace@heritagephotolab.com]of the Heritage Photo Lab project [heritagephotolab.com] that conserves Ghana’s photographic heritage. The project is sponsored by the Institut Francais and the Goethe-Institut and partnered with the JHK Nketia Archives and the Nubuke Foundation BAPMAF sent them 50 photos and caption of highlife bands from 1950s-1970s
16 and 20 AUGUST Visits by John Poku (Bediako) and ‘Baby’ Violet Whitaker (and British husband John) who was a members of the 1970s Temple House family – when Bokoor Band was located there . She told me of the time Nkrumah had to hide at Temple House when he was on the run from the British colonialists in January 1950
JUNE Visits by Nigerian musician Funsho Ogundipe and also by Emmanuel Opare for advice on his planned Sankofa Highlife Show
4 JUNE Visit from Atongo Zimba to discuss a recording that he has made that includes tracks from 3 sources. With Werner Kahl and Aaron Sukura Bebe done recently at Atongo’s studio in Accra – and the old recoding that I did with Atongo, Dela Botri, Solar and Juma Santos done at Panji Anoff’s Pidgin Studio [ex Ghana film Studio) many years ago.
26 MAY Skype meeting with Giorgos Makakris who is a DJ and presenter for Greek National Kosmos Radio ERT. Met him circa 12 years ago via Matts Karlssen the then Ghana World Bank Country Director
15 MAY ZOOM meeting with American musicologist Ben Boone and British music biographer Duncan Heining to discuss Jazz and West Africa.
1 MAY ZOOM meeting with Charles William Adofo. of the local Williams Studio in Accra to discuss a possible film on Ghanaian music
5 MARCH Presentation on ‘The Influence of Jazz on Ghana up to he 1980s‘ for the Jazz Symposium at the Ghana Club, Accra, 5 March 2020 organised by Yosef Kwame, the +223 Jazz Bar, the Ghana Jazz Society, MUSIGA. (featured Blay Ambolley, Bessa Simons and Koo Nimo).
5 MARCH Morning class at BAPMAF on the BAPMAF Archives for my New York in Ghana class of 11 students.
3 MARCH Talk ‘Private Collections 1: BAPMAF and the Bokoor Studio Digitisation Project’, for the Heritage in Perspective Conference, held at the Susana Lodge Conference Room 3-5 March 2020,organised by Dr, Marcus Coester and Goethe Institute, Accra.
29 FEB Another visit fromKevin ‘K’ Adu Yeboah Dutch based Ghanaian DJ to discus themes in my book ‘African Musical Symbolism’.
14TH FEB New York University in Ghana program at its Cantonments location honouring Kofi Ghanaba and launching the digitised version of his archives done 12-4 or so years ago by NYU. I spoke on a panel with Prof. Kofi Anyidoho and Prof. Awam Amkpa. A copy of this archives was also formally handed over to Judith Opoku-Boateng iof the University of University of Ghana Institute of African Studies.
12 FEB Lectured 12 American SIT exchange students who came with Atta (long time SIT facilitator) and Karin Akoto my old Ashesi University Teaching Assistant.
7 FEB Visit by Kevin ‘K’ Adu Yeboah Rotterdam based Ghanaian DJ and German keyboard player and DJ Casten Meyer, and Anne Backhus a German journalist with the Der Spiegel newspaper.
2 FEB 2020 Visit by Portuguese journalist and writer Dr Ana Sobril who is writing a book on African and Australian n Aboriginal rap music. Her Portuguese father who was an officer in the Portuguese colonial army in Angola supported the independence movement and it Cuban an allies and so fought against the South African/USA backed stooges.
15 DECEMBER 2019 John Collins talk (with BAPMAF archives photos) on the history of the popular music in James Town and Ussher Town, for the ‘Artists Talk and Music Production Workshop’ held at the James Town Café at Ussher Town, Accra, organised by Hisham Mayet of the Sublime Frequency Record label and Dr. Colter Harper of the University of Pittsburgh.
28 NOVEMBER John Collins and musician Kyekyeku, presented a 45 minute lecture and guitar demonstration entitled ‘Highlife Music – A Journey Through the Genre’ at the Auditorium of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Accra, for the ACCES Festival held in Accra, 28-30 November 2019, [organised by http://www.musicinafrica.net]. After this Collins was presented with a book on Kenyan benga music called ‘Shades of Benga’ by its author Tabu Osusa.
15 NOVEMBER Visit by the Spanish – Denmark based – guitarist and musicologist Fernando Palacios and discussion about John Collins contributing a chapter to his forthcoming book on Afro-Latin and Caribbean music. Later in day Karen Yalley and the Joy TV film crew came to interview s Collins about the state of the Ghanaian music industry cf that of Nigeria, and the use of Fela Kuti phrases by the Nigerian ‘afrobeats’ artist Burna Boy who is, incidentally the grandson of Fela’s one-time manager Benson Idonije. The segment on Burna Boy was broadcast that evening on Joy News
3 OCTOBER 9 photos of goombay drums of Jamaica, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria from American musicologist Ken Bilby (also see his 14 July 2019 visit to BAPMAF)
26 SEPT Lecture by John Collins on BAPMAF for his current NYU in Ghana class of 5 students Includes Kylie marsh Lenah Ankliss Caleb Bernard (harmonica player) and Sophia Kuriscak.
25 SEPT John Collins on the ‘ publishing the core convention’ panel consisting of the publishers Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli, artist Dr. Dorothy Amenuke and novelist Bisi Adjapan (music by Daddo and the Abajo band) held at the Abajo spot of the Accra Art Centre, Accra; that opened the thee day ‘ Nkabom Literary Art Festival’ organized by Kwame Aidoo and co.
23 SEPT Visit from musician/musicologist Leila Adu-Gilmore (half New Zealander and half Ghanaian – father is UK based musician Ralph Adu ), Assistant Professor, Music Technology, New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
4 SEPT Visit by the University of Ghana SPA Dance Department MPhil student Precious Hannah and radio-man Dominique Mensah, to interview John Collins on highlife hiplife and afrobeats
6th. SEPT 2019 John Collins presentation entitled ‘Today’s Pop-music is Tomorrow’s Tradition’ for the Creative Arts Industry and Intellectual Property Workshop, held at the Airport View Hotel, organized by the Play Music Ghana PMG NGO. Some other presenters included Benjamin Oduro Arhin Jnr (PMG), Kwame Boadi (Council Member of Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CEO of Ingenious Africa), Socrate Safo (Director, Creative Arts Council, National Commission on Culture), Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante (Acting Director, National Folklore Board) , Officer Kwasi Ofori Appiah (Founder of Watch Your Tongue), Alfred Patrick Addaquay (CEO of Alfred on Black & White Keys)
31 AUGUST 2019 Visit by the UK music promoter Michael Haight and Victoria Cooke curator of the Accra Kendinski Hotel Art Gallery. To discuss the historical importance of the Napoleon club and its owner Faisal Helwani for the Ghanaian music scene .
6 AUGUST Visit by Paa K Holbrook-Smith and Bobby Benson Junior – who is the youngest son of the famous Nigerian dance-band highlife muscian Bobby Benson . Benson Junior is writing a book about his father
2 AUGUST 2019 Tuff’s University M.A. student Nathaniel Braddock came to interview John Collins on the Yaa Amponsah song, and its origin and influence He is one of David Locke’s students
14 JULY John Collins interviewed at BAPMAF by the American musicologists Banning Eyre and Ken Bilby for their film on Goombay/Gumbe that has involved them filming in Jamaica, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana. John Collins also helped them locate some bands in Ghana that use the goombay/gome drum.
6 JULY Visit by New York University undergrad student Isabel Parkey for discussion on Ghanaian folkloric copyright and the nonsensical application of folkloric taxes to Ghanaian nationals for her Folklore and Mythology class.
28 JUNE visit from American anthropologists Lane Clark and Stephan Miescher who are making a 2 hour educational/documentary film on the Akosombo Dam called ‘Ghana Electric Dream’ . They came to discuss how to get some snippets of old time highlife for their sound-track -including some done at Bokoor Studio by Koo Nimo, Kwaa Mensah and T.O. Jazz.
7 JUNE Visit by ex Legon Music Department student of John Collins, Yoofi Nketsiah, who is doing a Ph.D at Yale supervised by Professor Michael Veal. Yoofi interviewed John Collins on the pedagogy of teaching African music and dance at the University of Ghana Since independence.
1 JUNE John Collins gave an illustrated presentation on the Ghanaian Afro-jazz drummer Kofi Ghanaba (aka Guy Warren) at the John Coltrane Jazz Club in Adenta Accra, to celebrate what would have been the late Ghanaba’s 96 birthday. Film-maker Nii Kwortey also showed some video of Ghana playing at Achimota School twenty years ago and the Naya Plange band supplied the music for the evening
22 MAY The New York US based grandson of Mr Y.B. Bampoe ‘Opia’ of the Jaguar Jokers concert party, Derrick K. Mintah, came to obtain information that Bampoe’s family are collecting for a memorial web page. Also John Collins spoke on the phone to another grandson James Ampratwum in New York who is in charge of this family project.
20 MAY The Joy Prime Time TV’s anchor man/editor, Israel Laryea, interviewed Collins on whether the Dance-Hall musician Shatta Wale’s song ‘I know my level’ that won the best highlife song at the Vodophone Ghana Music Awards on the 18 May, was a highlife. Collins determined it was not but rather an ‘Afro-Pop or ‘Afro-Dance-Hall’ song. This interview was done two days after Shatta Wale attacked Stonebwoy on stage who was receiving the best Dance Hall song award: and Stonebwoy pulled a gun on him.
17 MAY Jean-Claudel (Beninois) interviewed John Collins for Joy FM Radio on the current highlife music scene. Also the American musicologist Professor Jesse Weaver came to visit.
9 MAY The film unit of the University of Ghana’s School of Performing Arts did a long video interview with John Collins about the late Professor Nketia.
30 MARCH The Akwapim poet/linguist Archibold Fapempong interviewed John Collins on the late Prof. Nketia and also Collins’ own life story; for the ‘Cosoa Hwe’ TV program.
22 MARCH Samuel Nkrumah Mintah (and ex University of Ghana Legon student) interviewed John Collins for a local film on music and slavery.
17 MARCH 2019 John and Thomas Collins signed memo of understanding with the American musicologist Dr. Colter Harper concerning the digitisation of 300 4-track studio tapes done by Bokoor Studio between 1981 and the late 1990s. So far all the studio log books have been digitised as well as around 70 of the tapes. Good quality mixdown copies will be ‘repatriated’ to the musicians who made them, and also good quality mixdowns and lower grade MP3 copies (for student listening purposes) will be deposited with the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies J.H. Kwabena Nketia Archives
12 MARCH Citi FM film crew led by Godwin Okoto came to interview John Collins on his Highlife Time 3 book and the current state of the music industry for the TV channels ‘Face-top-Face’ program that was broadcast the same evening
7 MARCH visit to BAPMAF by 9 lady New York University in Ghana students. Illustrated talk by John Collins on the archives and also on current local gospel music by Thomas Collins
23 FEB Visit from two American musician friends of Colter Harper, Benjamin Lazar Davis and double bass player Bridget Kearney
13 FEB The French TV film producer Olivier Barthelemy came for consultations concerning a short film he is making on old highlife venues for the European Arte Channel.
12 FEB Visit from the Frafra kologo player Atongo Zimba to discuss release of four of his songs recorded in 2002 at Panji Anoff‘s Pidgin Studio in Accra. Other musicians were John Collins guitar, Juma Santos (Jim Riley) cowbells and Dela Botri atenteben flute.
7-8 FEB Correspondence from Dr. Alexis Malefakis Kurator Afrika of the Universität Zürich Völkerkundemuseum [Ethnomusic Museum] for the use of four 1980s songs from Bokoor Sounds studio (by F. Kenya and by the Happy Boys) for the museum’s ‘Talking with Drums’ exhibition.
1 FEB 2019 Visit from Arnold de Boer (Zea), a Dutch guitarist & music producer (Makkum records) with a Dutch film crew and two Bolgatanga Upper East Kologo lute musicians that the Makkum label recently produced; King Ayisoba and Ayuunle Sule. Interviewed John and then also Ayisoba and John talking about the koligo and the importance of live music. Arnold donated 4 CDS and 5 Vinyl albums to BAPMAF of Ayisoba (Wicked leaders) and Sule (We have one destiny), as well as Prince Buju (We are in the war), Antimina (Sympathetic friends) and a compilations of various artists called ‘This is FraFra Power’ and ‘This is Kologo Power.’
11 JANUARY 2019 Second visit from John Doe Yao Dordzro on Cape Coast University doing a PhD on local brass bands. He copied some brass band photos and the manuscript on Cape Coast brass bands that Professor A.A Mensah wrote in the 1960s and gave me in the 1970’s.
29 DECEMBER 2018 Visit from Elom Tettey-Tamakloe doing an MA on music and politics (includes on Fela) at Haverford University USA.
15 DECEMBER Interviewed on the impact of changing recording technology on highlife composition by Ayesu Stephen Ntyanteh who is doing a PhD for the Music Department of the University of Winneba.
14 DECEMBER Filmed interview with me on Dela Botri of Hewaleh Sounds by guitarist Nunana ‘Giveus’ Abofu and keyboardist Festus Aboagye of the Baykerz Band and the House Entertainment media company
28 NOVEMBER John Collins gave a BAPMAF presentation on the panel entitled ‘From Dust to Breath: Bringing to Life the Archives within the City’. For the Museum Conversations Symposium entitled ‘Fragmented Dilemmas: Where do we Go’, held at the Ghana National Museum Accra 26-8 November 2018, organised by the Goethe Institute, the Museums and Monuments Board and Foundation for Contemporary Art, Ghana.
26 NOVEMBER Sent two 1958 Onyina highlife guitar band songs, the ‘Destiny of Africa’ and ‘Lumumba’, to Professor Dzodzi Tsikata and Dr. Chica Mba of the University of Ghana Institute of African Studies for the forthcoming December 2018 60th anniversary of the All African Peoples Conference (precursor of the African Union)
24 NOVEMBER Presentation by John Collins on ‘Jazz and Highlife’ at the Coltrane Jazz Club in Adenta in Accra. The neo-traditional Kadi Band also played
10 NOVEMBER Interviewed on how to preserve intangible heritages by Christopher Wetcher and Deirdre Prins-Soloni of UNESCO Ghana and South Africa respectively, and Festus Osei-Agyapong Jr. of the Ghana National Folklore Board.
22 and 28 OCTOBER MPhil student Nat Huson writing on Afrojazz came and the following week Kennedy Dankyi-Appah and Kyremateng Baffour of the Ghana Highlife Show Organisation
20 OCTOBER John Collins and Koo Nimo discussed their latest books ‘Highlife Time 3’ and ‘Six Strings and a Note’ at the Goethe Institute Writers Project. Martina Odonkor was the moderator
5 – 12h OCTOBER Three interviews with John Collins on highlife and his new Highlife Time 3 book. 5th On Joy FM for Doreen Andoh’s Cosmopolitan Mix morning show On 6th telephone interview for Fox FM Kumasi by William des Bordes, aka DJ ‘Lovin C’. On 12th with Andy Dosty for his Day Breakers morning show on Hitz 103.9 FM
2 OCTOBER Presentation on ‘The Historical Importance of Old African Popular Music Recordings’ for the International Association of of Sound and Audio-Visual Archives (IASA) 49th Annual Conference , University of Ghana, Legon, 2-5 October 2018
28 SEPTEMBER Kennedy Dankyi-Appah of DSTV, film-maker Collins and Kyerematen Baffour of Legon Music Department came to film me about forthcoming Ghana Highlife Show.
22 SEPTEMBER Visit from Nat Huson Mphil student of the Music Dept Legon doing thesis on the ‘Afro-Classical-Jazz’ of Kofi Ghanba and Nana Danso Abbiam
12 SEPTEMBER BAPMAF invitation to three British musicians – Rebecca ‘Bex” Burch, Laurel Pardue and Jim Hart – to visit Ghana, November 30th to December 14th 2018
29 AUGUST John Collins presented his Highlife Time 3 book at the Goethe Institute’s Ghana Writers Forum organised by Martin Egblewogbe and Martina Odorkor
24 AUGUST Visit from Nigerian journalist Eromo Egbejule whom John Collins met at the University of Port Harcourt Rex Lawson Conference some years ago. Eromo is a stringer for Africa Report/Guardian UK and interviewed Collins on the Takoradi Highlife scene
4 AUGUST Brad Klump music Professor of Humber College Inst of Technology & Advanced Learning Toronto, Canada ex-student of Prof A.A. Mensah visiting Ghana on a tech aid project.
2 AUGUST Rebecca Awuah (one of Prof. Collins ex Legon students) interviewed on her GTV ‘Editors Roundtable’ morning show John Collins, Ben Brako and Kofi Akapli on the history and current state of Highlife.
26 JULY Dziffa Akua Ametan of the Citi FM Morning Shows TV program interviewed John Collins and Nana Damoah in connection with Highlife Time 3
7 JULY 2018 John Collins did radio program for Eazy FM to help launch Highlife Time 3 at the Jamestown Cafe just a few yards from Ussher Fort and a short distance from Temple House where John lived in the 1970s. So during the interview Collins was able to mention some of the old top James Town music spots and veteran musicians whom in the 1970s gave him information on local music history: like Squire Addo and Frank Torto of the 1920’s Jazz Kings and Excelsior Orchestra, the concert party performers Bob Cole and E.K. Nyame, King Bruce of the Black Beats and Otoo Lincoln of Bukom and the the ‘inventor’ of the Ga Kpanlogo drum dance. The James Town Cafe was set up by the architect Joe Osae-Addo two years ago and its role is to preserve the local architecture of James Town. Last year French President Macron visited the place (this year went to Fela’s Shrine in Lagos) and Joe Addo took him on a guided tour of Jamestown. Asase Gwa palmwine band graced occasion and members the radio panel/executives of the Cafe were Max Vardon, Henry Abraham (son of Professor Willie Abraham who was Edmund Collins philosophy student at Legon and wrote ‘Conscientism’ with Nkrumah), Ronnie Quist (who recalled watching John play Hendrix at Achimota School in 1969), Franklin Ayensu who through marriage is related to Faisal Helwani and the photographer Allotey Bruce-Konuah. The Australian High Commissioner Andrew Barnes was also there.
1st JULY Launch of John Collins Anansesem/Dakpabli ‘HighlifeTme 3’ book at the +233 Jazz Club Accra at which 300 came. Musicians who played were Koo Nimo, Dela Botri’s Hewale and John and Tom Collins. Some of the musicians present: Rex Omar, Blay Ambolley, Okyeame Kwame, drummer Kofi Electric, Jimmy Beckley, Kofi Kudonu and Mark ‘Fish’ Villas of the Big Shots, guitarist Nene Naa, B.B. Dowunu-Hammond, seprewa player Osei Korankye, the Nigerian Dr. Austin Emielu and music students Joshua Opoku Brew, Stephen Anderson and Kwadwo Boakye-Ansah Gyekye. MC’s were Paa K. Holbrook-Smith, Kafui Dey, Mamavi Owusu-Aboagye and Kojo Akoto Boateng. Some others at event were Andrews Amegatcher ex Copyright Board, Rita Ray of the BBC, Judith Opoku-Boateng and Professors Esi Sutherland-Addy, Daniel Avorgbedor and Akosua Adomako Ampofo of the University of Ghana at Legon African Studies, the Colombian Ambassador Claudia Turbay Quintero, Francis Twum Mensah of GHAPI, Rev. Dr. Elias Asiama and Terry Bright Ofusu of the Legon School of Performing Arts, Poom van Landerwicke of Wild Gecko, James Owusu Armah of the Kumasi Copyright Administration, Evans Asare of KPMG, Ben LeBreve of Akwaaba Music, Korkor Amarteifio of the Institute for Music and Development, Sam Mensah of the Ghana Jazz Society.
22 & 29 JUNE concerning the launch of the Highlife Time 3 book John Collins interviewed 22 June by Daniel Dadze for the Joy FM morning show. And on 29th June by Bernard Avlo for the Citi FM Morning show.
19& 26 APRIL John Collins did two Eezy FM radio with Mike Eghan which for the second one involved Collins and his son Thomas playing guitar and harmonica together.
12 MAY Prof. Collins gave a 2 hour presentation at the Alliance Francaise in Accra entitled ‘Jazz and Africa: The Return Trip’ at the first National Jazz Workshop sponsored by the US Embassy and organised by Ben Boone, a Fulbright Professor currently at the University of Ghana Music Dept. After the talk Collins played a 12 bar blues harmonica song in ‘B’ with Boones quintet, that included this American sax player with keyboardist Victor Dey Jr, bassist Bright Osei, drummer Frank Kissi and saxist Bernard Ayisa.
15-19 APRIL Visit on 15th from Mike Eghan to discuss a 90 minute interview with John that was done on his radio program on Eazy FM Radio on the 19th April
14 APRIL Visit from the publishers Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli who are collaborating with Anansesem Press to publish John Collins’ ‘Highlife Time 3’ book in May. Came with a professional photographer
12 APRIL Visit from Italian musician Federico Masetti who is involved with music therapy and cultural NGO projects such as the Kumasi Hope Exchange Program, the Okoradse Kabum Cultural Group and Mandy Budge’s Multikids Academy in East Legon
9 APRIL 2018 The American Calypso in Africa researcher Daniel Kotin of the History Dept of Washington State Univ. Vancouver USA, who John Collins/BAPMAF has assisted with information since 2013 sent the’ Calypso Dream ‘ DVD for teaching purposes
7 APRIL Irene Ayiredina and six other students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism visited BAPMAF to do an audio interview for their Tutor Tim Quasiga with John Collins on highlife music
6 MARCH ‘Living the Highlife’ 30 minute film by the Ghana Joy News TV Hotline program broadcast on March 6th 2018, produced by Mohammed Mahama. Includes interviews with John Collins, Ebo Taylor, Kwabena Kwabena and Rex Omar.
[LINK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBsrdfHFgNo%5D
21 FEB Osei Owusu of the Institute of Professional Studies (Madina) and camera operator Jonas Charway came to do a filmed interview of John Collins talking about Jerry Hansen and the Ramblers band for their Apollo Studio Productions
18 FEB CNN film crew for ‘Inside Africa’ program came to interview John Collins on the history of guitar band and dance band highlife. Included Crew consisted of Collins Amalo, Danny Adotie accompanied by Panji Anoff of Pidgin Studio.
17 FEB John Collins spoke briefly with some others who knew the late Hugh Masekela at a commemorative at the Alliance Francaise organised by P.K. Holbrook-Smith, Panji Anoff and the Sierra Leone singer Yomo Sower. Bands that play included West Coast Band, Ebo Taylor (solo), Nigerian Dede Mabiaku and Liberian Miatta Fahnbulleh
3 FEB John Collins presentation entitled ‘The Prehistory of African Music Questions Racial Theories on the Origins of Human Intelligence’ for the Black History Month ‘Strengthened Through our Music’ panel, organised by the Ghanaian African American Association, at the Dubois Memorial Centre Centre, Accra, 3rd February, 2018.
20 JAN Second visit (first 2016) from Katie Young, Canadian ethnomusicologist doing Phd in the UK into Tamale film music
2 JAN 2018 Visit from ‘Bex’ Rebecca Bunch UK percussionist who has been studying the gyil in Nandom since 2002. Runs the Vula Viel band in the UK
21 NOV 2017 Prof Collins gave an illustrated talk on the history of Ghanaian popular music to the ‘Buzz Meets Biz’ international workshop organized by the Erasmus organisation, the European Union and the local organiser Ben Lebreve of the Akwaaba Music – held at the Alliance Francaise. John Interacted with Ghanaian, German, Spanish, Nigerian, Kenyan, Japanese, Jamaican, Palestinian and British students musicians and music engineers. Other speakers included Panji Anoff (Pidgin Music), Ade Bantu (Nigeria), Gregg Tendwa (Kenya), Wanlov Kubolor, Osei Korankye and Nana Yaa (Ghana).
18 NOV Visit from Jamaican New York University dance scholar Dani Roomes and Frederick Tsatsu Aprondi.
14 NOV Report out by Sonja Heinmann of the Dutch World Music Forum in whcih Prof Collins was involved in 14 June 2017 in Amsterdam called ‘Old vinyls, new view – the A & B side of our musical future’ http://www.worldmusicforum.nl/old-vinyls-new-views-the-a-b-side-of-our-musical-future/
20 OCT Thomas Burkhalter and Peter Guyer part of a 4 man German RecTV came to do a filmed interview of Prof Collins giving an overview on Ghanaian musical developments for a film they have almost completed. Also filmed the BAPMAF archives
15 OCT Danish educator Karl Peter Samuelsen Holm who interviewed Prof Collins in Ghana 20 year ago came to do a follow-up filmed interview. Also donated two books to BAPMAF on the Akwamu Kingdom,
15 OCT Visit French-Swizz film crew of Serge Elleinstein and Jacques Sarasan who made the films ‘On the Rumba River’(about pioneering Congolese guitarist Wendo Kolosoy) and Je Chanterai Pouor Toi’ (2003 film on Malian guitarist Boubacar Traore) The two came in connection with a planned film on Fela Kuti and Jacques also donated the 2 films to BAPMAF
7 OCT Osei Owusu of the University of Professional Studies, Apollo Studio, for information on film about Jerry Hansen and the Ramblers
13 SEPT Video interview of John Collins on highlife music and industry by poet Kwame ‘Write’ Aidoo and University of Massachusetts PhD student and filmmaker Nii Kotei
3 SEPT Visit by members of NY Univ u Global Institute for Advanced Research composer Dr. Andy Teirstein and dance professsor Alrich Brown.
1 SEPT visit from PhD (and John Collins former Mphil) student now at Cape Coast University Nana Quainoo and my current Mphil student Stephen Anderson inquiring on Fanti brass bands
AUGUST 4 Visit from the American guitarist Colter Harper and also ex Mphil student of John Collins Eric Sunu Doe, now doing a PhD for Rhodes University South Africa and researching Ghanaian palmwine music
AUGUST 5 Visit from Prof. Courtnay Micots of the University of Florida doing research into Ghanaian masquerade fancy dress. Visit from fiilmmaker Kwaw Ansah to collect materials for his planned Bisa Abrewa (Ask Old Ladies) Museum in Sekondi. The musician Slooopy Mike Gyanfi and wife Judith also visited.
AUGUST 2 Raymond Gyemeki of the University Physics Dept, who helped BAPMAF with technical matters and its website, passed away last week.
JUNE 12–JULY 18, 2017 John and Thomas Collins trip to Holland & UK.14th June John Collins attended the World Music Forum conference ‘Old Vinyls, New Views: the A and B side of our Musical Future’ at the Bimhuis Café Amsterdam organized by Sonja Heimann and the popular music journalist/historian Stan Riven. Speakers included Hisham Mayer (Sublime Frequencies), Andy Lineham (British Library’s popular music curator), Fred Gales (IMMS), Harry van Biessum (Beeld & Geluid), Bernard Kleikamp (Pan Records), Paul Gompes (Netherlands Jazz Archives), Felix van Laamsweerde (Jaap Kunst student & ex ethnomusicological conservator of the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute), Marcus Cohen (DEN) and Tim de Wolf (Audio Archaeology). John Collins gave the keynote speech entitled ‘The Importance of Preserving Old African Popular Music Recordings’. John Collins also launched his latest two books: ‘Fela: Kalakuta Notes’ (Wesleyan University Press, USA, 2015) and ‘Highlife Giants’ Cassava Republic Press, Nigeria, 2016. John Collins also did pre-publicity for the event on 12th June for Stan Rijven’s ‘Listen to the Music’ program on 40Up Radio, Amsterdam.
7th July 2017 John Collins visited the British Library/National Sound Archives in London to discuss with Janet Topp-Fargion (Lead Curator of World and Traditional Music) and Andy Lineham (Popular Music Curator) the possibility of sending and re-patriating digital copies to Ghana of Robert Sutherland Rattray’s early 1920s Mampong recordings (on cylindrical discs) of traditional Ashanti music/
MAY 2017 Visit by the UK based Medical Assistant Enoch Turkson-Baidoo who had been a member of Kojo Emmanuel Dadson’s 1970s Talents Incorporated theatrical group
APRIL 2017 Visits to BAPMAF by American Brandon Polack making a film on African rhythms, and by guitarist Akablay of Abiza Band accompanied by American guitarist Nathan Braddock. Also visit from US-Nicaraguan ex-Legon student and now deejay Juan Gomez. John Collins interviewed By Ernestina Adei and Edna Gyapong of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Also interviewed by Portuguese Deejay Branko and by Dan Kotin, American researcher into highlife, calypso and independence. Visit by Edmund Ayitey Larmie guitarist of the 1970s Bass Basa Sounds who is now resident in Germany. During the month of April Colombian musicologist (also taught Legon Music Dept 2016) Juan Diego Meneses stayed at Bokoor. House
MARCH 1, 2017 Ghana Television film crew led by Bright Dunei came to BAPMAF and interviewed John Collins on highlife, independence and Nkrumah for a program to be broadcast on 6th March, as part of Ghana’s Sixtieth Independence Celebration.
JAN 4, 2017. John Collins invited on the panel of the ‘Our Shared Culture: Music, Dance, Drama, Folklore’ session of the Official Launch of Black History Month, held at the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Centre Accra, 4 February 2017, organised by the African American Association of Ghana
DEC 17. John Collins gave a presentation on jazz and highlife for the Ghana Jazz Society function at the +233 Jazz club in Accra organised by Sam Mensah. Afterwards there were performances by Ebo Taylor, Alfred Kari Bannerman, Kojo Essah (of Takashi). Victor Dey, Pat Thomas – and Koo Nimo on which for one song John Collins accompanied him on the asratoa/televi percussion instrument.
NOV 19. Visit to BAPMAF by two students of the Cape coast University Theatre Department, Cudjoe Collins and Vanessa Odoom. They interviewed Prof Collins about the role of the performing arts in Ghana since independence.
NOV 15. In one a several meetings between Professors Collins and Nketia at the Institute of African Studies at Legon John Collins discovered that Prof Nketia was very appreciative ‘ pleased and relieved’ by Collins work on African popular music and had mentioned this on page 84 of his new book ‘Reinstating Traditional Music in Contemporary Context’ (Regnum African Publications Ghana 2016)
NOV 5 Prof Collins gave a presentation on Afro-Latin connections at the residence of the Colombian Ambassador in Ghana Claudia Turbay Quintero at which were present the Colombian writer Diana Uribe and the Kenyan cajon player and Head of the Cajon/Gome project Emma Kamau.
OCT 29 Visit by some executive members of the Act For Change Jamestown based theatre for development/community theatre NGO (of which I am a patron) Included Director Collins Seymah Smith, Samuel Lamptey, Nii Martei and half German volunteer Annet Zaja. Spoke on their current work on underage marriage in Somanya and the role of concert party comedy and ‘Bob’s for community theatre.
OCT 27 Prof Collins on the ‘It’s Your Story – Don’t Lose It’ panel with Professors Daniel Avorgbedor and J.H.K Nketia at the University of Ghana Institute of African Studies, to mark UNESCO’s ‘World Day for Audiovisual Heritage’
SEPT 10 John Collins invited on the high table with Profs. J.H.K. Nketia, Kwesi Yankah, Kofi Asare-Opoku and Dorothy Gordon for the launch at the University of Ghana Institute of African Studies of Koo Nimo’s just published book ‘Six Strings and a Note’ by Obeng-Amuako Edmonds. Koo Nimo mentioned Collins, Nketia and Yankah as some of his inspirers. The MC was the actor/satirist/comedian KSM (Kwaku Sintim-Misa) and some present were Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Kojo Antwi, Charles Eassmon, Rex Omar, Wofa Rockson (Koo’s half brother), Paa K. Holbrook-Smith, Bibi Dowuona-Hammond and journalist John Owoo.
AUGUST 30, Donation to John Collins by Professor Kofi Agawu of his new book ‘The African Imagination in Music’
AUG 30, 2016. Donation to BAPMAF by Pinncok Casely-Hayford of 3 reel-to-reel master tapes recorded by his late father Beattie Casely-Hayford, 1) old recording from 1950s. 2) Recording of Koo Nimo done in 1980s with assistance of Professor Laing and 3) of Beattie giving a talk on highlife at the British Council, Accra in 1983.
AUG 27 Visit by Ghanaian musician Jigga Morfy and American professor of African History John Phillips (currently at Hirosaki University, Japan) AUG 26 Visit to by Dr Michael Wellen a curator of Houston Art Gallery
AUG 19 Visit by Will Malinsky UCLA MA student researching Ga ‘cultural’ folk music
AUG 16, 2016. Donation of some JCollins-BAPMAF materials to University of Ghana Institute of African Studies J.H.K. NKetia Archives (Director Professor Dzodzi Tsikita) Items includes
- x600 DIGITED SINGLES RECORDS (78 and 45 rpm format, 1930s-80s – mainly Ghanaian highlife)
- x92 RECORD ALBUMS OF WEST AFRICAN POPULAR MUSIC -mainly Ghanaian and Nigerian.
- x150 GHANAIAN RECORD ALBUM COVERS AND POSTERS
- x220 PHOTOS FOR VIRTUAL PICTURE GALLERY ‘THE GOLDEN YEARS OF HIGHLIFE’ with photo captions and accompanying information sheets.
- x3 VIDEO FILMS ( palmwine guitar music, the BAPMAF archives and a Togolese concert party)
- x77 GHANAIAN SONGS RELATED TO GENDER ISSUES ( copy also sent to CEGENSA in 2008)
- x3 AUDIO INTERVIEW BY/WITH JOHN COLLINS (of Saka Acquaye, Faisal Helwani, King Bruce)
- x120 BOOKS, ARTICLES, PAPERS, BIOS BY JOHN COLLINS
- READING MATERIALS FOR JOHN COLLINS UNIV. OF GHANA MUSIC DEPT COURSES Undergraduate & M.Phil classes: African Popular Music, Sociology of Music, Africa & the Black Diaspora
- A SOME BOOKS AND JOURNALS BY JOHN COLLINS, SOME CDS AND 5 VIDEOS FILMS, .
AUGUST 5TH Visit by Ralph Nyadu-Addo PhD Candidate, Lecturer & Consultant International SEPT Programme, Leipzig University, Germany – to interview John Collins on the Ghanaian music industry.
JULY 2016 A Panel in honour of John Collins entitled ‘Praxis, Perspectives and Methods on Ghanaian Popular Music’. Was held as Session XI of the Ghana Studies Association Triennial Conference ‘Global Ghana’ held at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 6-9 July, 2016. Sponsors the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) University of Ghana, Legon; the African and African American Studies Program, Dartmouth College; the Institute of African Studies, Columbia University; the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy (CENFAD) Temple University and the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora/ASWAD.
JUNE 2016. Prof Collins gave a keynote speech on ‘Highlife The Evergreen’ and a palmwine guitar music demonstration at the O’Jez Restaurant. National Stadium Surulere, Lagos June 17th 2016 for the ‘Benson&80 Celebration’ 16-19th June Organized by the Committee for Relevant Art [CORA] and Culture Advocates Caucus [CAS], Nigeria.
MARCH 24 AND JUNE 5TH 2016 Death and funeral of John Collins’ wife Dovi Helen Collins. Members of Legon Music Dept, and many musicians visit Bokoor House
MARCH 18 2016 Prof Collins did a presentation on importance of music for educations (with Reggie Rockstone, jazz singer Ofei Kodjoe and Valerie Manu headmistress) for the ‘Breaking Barriers :A Musical celebration of Black Music’ program of the Roman Ridge School. Accra
MARCH 2016 Publication of John Collins ‘Highlife Giants of West Africa’ book by Cassava Republic Press, Abuja, Nigeria.
MARCH 5. Prof Collins presented awards to Ebo Taylor and Bob Pinodo at the MOGA Awards at the Alisa Hotel Accra organised by CITI FM.
FEB 2016 Visits UK DJ George Haskell and also other UK Mogadisco DJs Jack Bryant plus Iyabosa ‘Bossa’ Igbinoba and Yemi Brown (Nigerian extraction). Also radio journalist Kojo Akoto Boating of Citi FM
DEC 3rd 2015 Visit from Kenyan born British film-maker Richard Gayer in connection with his proposed film ‘Africa Sings and Dances’
OCT 17 Launch of John Collins new ‘Fela Kalakuta Notes’ book (published by Wesleyan University Press, June 2015) at the ‘Felabration’ held at the Alliance Francaise, Accra
SEPT 18 Prof Collins gave a talk at a seminar on Nkrumah’s policy on the arts for the ‘Nkrumah, the Fugu and the Creative Industry – Overview of 60 Years’ held at the World Bank building Accra, at which the musicians union MUSIGA also launched it report of the music industry (statistics and recommendation) that Prof Collins was also involved with
AUG 26 visit from Freitas Fernandes-Aurelien French-Portuguese researcher on Togolese concert parties. Came with Prince Amoo. Some BAPMAF materials on concert parties were given to Freitas who in turn donated a film he made in 2013 on the Togolese concert party of d’Azé Kokovivina
JULY 2015 supplied information on Ebo Taylor and Oscarmore Ofori for for Ekow Cann, Space FM Radio in Tarkwa,Visit by Wanluv the Kubolor and Mutombo Da Poet
MAY 13 TV3 film crew news team came BAPMAF. Patrick Alabi Rita Opare-Addo, Peter Asane and presenter Stephen Schandorf. On borborbor, MUSIGA industry report importance of dance etc
MAY Donation of a DVD of the Tamale based simpa group Wait and See from Canadian student David Ewenson.
APRIL 26th visit by A.V. Sizalo and the TV3 film team to interview me about the Kpanlogo drum dance
APRIL 2015 25th visit from HNSDV TV producer A.Y. Sizalo and TV3 film crew to interview me on the kpanlogo drum-dance of the Ga’s as part of their ongoing local music series.
JANUARY 2015 Prof Collins went too Nigeria with some BAPMAF materials (photos and music) to present one of the lead papers (History of Highlife and its Interface with Nigeria). at the Rex Jim Lawson International Highlife Music Conference, held at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria 21-23 Jan. 2015.
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2014 VISITORS Wanluv the Kubolor musician 11th October. Sam Cohen US Fulbright scholar on 14 December. TV producer A.Y. Sizalo and TV3 film crew to interview me on the Agbadza drum-dance of the Ewes as part of an ongoing series on local music series. 20 December visit by American jazz drummer, master drummer and scholar Royal Hartigan. 31st December Dr. Segun Ojuole and Dauda Olabisi Tomiwa of the Music Department of Babcock University, Ogun State Nigera
OCTOBER-DEC 2014 Collaborating with Dinah Reindorf of the Dwanesie Cultural Institute and Kokor Amarteifio of the Danish Cultural Fund on the planned score book ‘Ghanaian Highlife and Folksongs for Schools and Colleges’. Plus wrote a preface
OCTOBER Visits by Titus Ofori Arku leader of the Ghana Fire-Brigade dance-band and Christina Edmund of the Ministry of Interior, in connection with the very first annual Bands Competition of the Security Agencies BACOSA held at the National Theatre Accra on 3rd October of which I was one of the judges (others were actor David Dontor and Musician Bessa Simon)
FEB-OCTOBER 2014 Visits by Dan Walter of the Sigauque Rocording Studio Recording Studio in Maputo in Mozambique, Ghanaian musicologist Nat Damptey, American music lawyer Laurence Singer, Holland based Ghanaian musicians Sloopy Mike Gyamfi, Ghanaian musicians Ekow Micah and Akosua Agyempong of Ghanaian Music Council, Ghanaian-New Zealand musician Leila Adu-Gilmore, Ashesi College students and Hayford Siaw Director- of the Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) NGO
18 JAN 2014 ‘J.B.’ Daniel Koranteng (ex 1970’s Fela-Kuti’s congaist and currently leader of Dzenbii cultural group in Accra) donated over 100 records (mainly West Central Africa: 103 single 45’s, 2 shellac 78’s and 7 albums. Visit by Historian Douglas Sofer of Maryville University USA – came BAPMAF pre floods and met him currently via Mike William’s AYA centre near Legon . Death earlier this month of BAPMAF associate Dr Zabana Kongo of Cape Coast university
DECEMBER 6TH INTERVIEWS Filmmaker Ernest Abbeyquaye (ex GFIC) Trumpet African Production on Ghanaian masquerades. 6th GTV Rebecca Awuoh and Mac Sisu on South African music for news-clip on Mandela’s death +also on J.Collins talk on’ Fela, Ghana and Nkrumah’ at last October’s ‘Felabration’ in Lagos.
DECEMBER visits to BAPMAF ‘Ari’ Ariel Melinger SIT US student (research in Tamale J.Collins as supervisor). American Ann Santo African Music industry research. Irish John Sweehy teacher in Nigeria in the 1970s and Bokoor Sounds fan.
SEPTEMBER visitors to BAPMAF. Prof Sean Henratta Stanford Univ. Chris Bediako UK based musician and brother John Poku. Gloria Kwabea Aryeh-Sietteh Ghanaian/German nurse,.German music photographer Bugs Steffan and Ghanaian wife Gloria. 2 Ashesi College students Joseph Nyamador and Albert York.
12-15 SEPT 2013. BAPMAF is collaborating with the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) that has just signed a contract with the Council for Technical and Vocational Educational Training (COTVET) to establish a MUSIGA Academy. Other institutions collaborating with the MUSIGA Academy are the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana at Legon and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI)
1 AUG BAPMAF public display section now re-open in the downstairs premises
27 MAY 2013. Visit from Alison Okuda of New York University looking through materials on calypso in Ghana (e.g. discographies of E.K. Nyame, E.T. Mensah and Ambassador Records, George Padmore’s Takoradi newspaper report on ‘Independence Calypso’ and comments by King Bruce on calypso influences on his Black Beats in early 1950s).
27th MARCH John Collins gave a presentation on ‘The Concert Party in Ghana’ for the International World Theatre Day Celebration held at the National Theatre, Accra. BAPMAF archival materials were used .
23 MARCH Visit by Daniel J.B.Koranteng (ex Fela congaist and leader of the neo traditional Dzembii Cultural Troupe) who donated 75 vinyl 45rpm singles – mainly Ghanaian guitar band highlife.
9 MARCH 2013 John Collins awarded a Ghana Music Honours (as Music Tutor) on 9th. March by the Musicians Union Ghana MUSIGA at its Ghana Music Week 2013, held at the National Theatre, Accra 4-10th. March.
15 JANUARY 2013 John Collins Chaired one of the panels (on Policy) for the First Stakeholders Meeting of the MUSIGA project ‘Revitalizing the Creative Art Industry: The Contribution of the Music Sector to the Socio–Economic Development of Ghana’, held at the British Council Accra 15th Jan 2013.
NOVEMBER 2012. John Collins became Co-consultant with the KPMG Audit, Tax and Advisory Services Company for the 5 month MUSIGA music union research project ‘Revitalizing the Creative Art Industry: The Contribution of the Music Sector to the Socio –economic development of Ghana’Some BAPMAF materials will be used in this research
AUGUST SEPTEMBER 2012 BAPMAF have become involved with another project. This time with the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) of which I was one of the founding members back in the 1970’s and am now a patron of. MUSIGA is launching a project to collect data on the development and present state of the music industry in Ghana – including the percentage of the Gross National Product it generates and the number of people who are working in the sector. They have called me in as one of the consultants and so I am using some of the BAPMAF materials I have on the music industry . We are currently working on a short Musicians Manifesto that will go to the government next week – and over the next few months we will put together the full report that will go to the government in the New Year. We hope with these positive figures we can convince the government that the music industry is big enough for it to create ways of re-structuring the industry and reduce the regulatory burdens on it, in order to enhance businesses, performing artists, NGO’s, sponsors and entrepreneurs who wish to develop the sector so it can grow to its full potential.
MARCH –JUNE 2012 BAPMAF received a grant of 22,250 euoros from the Prince Claus Cultural Emergency Response organisation in Holland. This grant entitled “Disaster Flood Relief for the BAPMAF music archives” was given to BAPMAF due to the damage it suffered from the 26th October 2011 floods. It included monies to replace lost technical equipment and also for the construction/repairs of BAPMAF physical infrastructure: strengthening walls with embankments/raising the yard and carpark with gravels and concrete/carpentry repairs/pumps water and sewage system
9 JAN 2012 John Collins was interviewed on origins of highlife by Susan Lamptey sizzleflex2000&yahoo.co.uk (tel 0276222221) of RADIO GOLD ( 90.5fm) for its Solid Gold Countdown show broadcast every Saturday afternoon . Some music samples were provided from the BAPMAF archives
26 OCT 2011 DELUGE Devastation struck BAPMAF and Bokoor House where it is situated, in the middle of the night of 26th Oct 2011 in the form of a flood. This occurred over many parts of Accra due to an unseasonal and massive rainfall compounded by more and more people building in or blocking water ways – so that rivers could no longer easily run into the sea. In our particular Taifa-Ofankor area this was compounded by the construction of a 3 mile section of the Kumasi highway (from Achimota to Ofankor) without adequate storm gutters – and also saw-millers in my immediate neighbourhood – some of whom have been dumping sawdust in rivers and wetlands for the last few years. The resulting flooding on the 26th Oct was unprecedented with almost 6 feet of water entering our land and 4.5 feet into the downstairs house and premises where some of the BAPMAF archival holdings are kept. About 10% of the BAPMAF archives was damaged or lost as well as thousands of dollars of technical equipment. As a result the BAPMAF premises are being re-organised so that so that all valuable holdings, library and equipment are kept upstairs where the BAPMAF Highlife Institute exhibition was located. As a result the public exhibition component of BAPMAF has therefore been temporarily closed down until further notice. However all the other research, preservation and promotion work of BAPMAF will continue.
MEDIA AGENCIES some of the media houses and film/broadcasting companies that BAPMAF has been involved with since 2007 to Sept 2011 : the BBC, Joy FM, Ghana Broadcasting, TV3, Citi FM, ETV, American Public Radio, Radio France International, Mietzer-keiner-filmproduktion, Cinecon Africa, Creative Storm, the Soul to Soul project, Analysis Lost Productions and Panafricas.
SEPTEMBER visits by James Wilson musicians of Taxicab Versesmusic project, Ghanaian journalist Isaac Quist and German big band percussionist and composer Max Weisenfeldt
AUGUST 10 Part of film on John Collins and BAPMAF done at BAPMAF by film crew (Augustine Opoku Agyemang, Portia Affan-Gyedu etc) for the Mike Eghan ETV show. Visit by goombay equitorial Africa expert Isabele de Arantadi and blind African American educationalist Dr Richard Donald Smith Nigerian musicologist Odu Jobi Kayode and Ghanaian on Nathan Dampty.
JULY Visits from university lecturers Helen Lauer, James Gibbs, the Congo music expert David Murdoch and as well as Eddie Bruce in connection with the local publication of his forthcoming book on his father written by John Collins and King Bruce in 1987
JUNE visits by students and researchers Nat Plageman, Eric Sunu Doe, Helen Lauer Dougan Kingsly, Jesse Shipley, Clara Amenyo and also Mads Ouserup of the Scandinavian Digidi digital music company
MAY 22nd `2011 Visit to BAPMAF by top Ghanaian highlife singer Pat Thomas in connection with BAPMAF digitizing some of his songs on record,
APRIL 6 & 8th 2011. Received two batches of materials by courier from the Nigerian Highlife maestro Victor Uwaifo (books, brochures, newspaper articles etc) in connection with his 70th birthday celebrations and the writing of his biography by John Collins entitled ‘Victor Uwaifo: Highlife Pioneer, Legend’
MARCH 24 John Collins gave a presentation at a panel on ‘The Legacy of Independence and its Impact on Creativity’ using BAPMAF photos- in the sixth of a series ‘Adventurers in the Diaspora’ that deals with creativity in the Ghanaian arts, business, agriculture and architecture. It was held at the Golden Tulip and organised by ARCHI AFRIKA (Mae-ling J. Lokko and Joe Osae-Addo) others on the panel were Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo of the University Dept. of Communications, Kwesi Owusu of Creative Storm media house and the hiplife musician Reggie Rockstone.
MARCH 12 2011 Visit by Colin Perry and Abigail Harding of UK AnalysisLost productions for possible film ‘Black Star of Highlife’
FEBRUARY 21st 2011 John Collins interviewed on History of Highlife and BAPMAF by Sammy Osei for Citi FM (97.3) for two instalments of their Heritage Month ‘Music of Ghanaian Origin’ program broadcast 16-17th March.
JAN-MARCH 2011 Visits by students: Justin Jack Carleton College; Sally Adwoaa Afriyie and Juan Gomez of the University of Ghana and Erik Johnson of North Western University. Donation of 3 old highlife albums by African American exchange student Juan Gomez (Ray Ellis, Wulomei and Victor Olaiya)
DECEMBER 9th 2010 Visit by Grace Omaboe, the leader of the Obra concert party and famous concert party actress ‘Mammy Dokonu’
OCTOBER 27th Interview at BAPMAF premises with John Collins and also with of Daniel J.B. Koranteng and his Jembe group by Leo Hornak and Rita Ray, for a BBC program on the story of African and the Five Beat Afro-Caribbean clave rhythms.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010 Carlos Moore, his family and an Afro Brazilian film crew came to Ghana in October 2010 from Nigeria where Carlos did a signing launch ceremony for his 1982 book ‘Fela: This Bitch of A Life’ (Allison and Busby) being re-issued in Nigeria by the Cassava Republic Press. The group was in Ghana from 18 October – 7th November to do the film and also a joint signing of his book together with John Collins whose book ‘Fela: Kalakuta Notes’ was published by the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute in 2009. The joint signing event took place at the Nubuke Foundation, Accra on the 4th November. Coincidentally John Collins is also having a book forthcoming from Cassava Republic Press entitled ‘West African Highlife Giants’
Although John Collins read Carlos Moore’s pioneering biography of Fela many years ago they never met up. However, through a mutual Puerto Rican friend, the mathematician and musicologist Errol Montes Pizzaro, as well as the publication of John Collins book in 2009 the two writers on Fela started a regular correspondence. This is what Carlos Moore wrote on the 9th august 2009
‘Dear John, Only this week did I receive your book (it was sent to me from Holland). From cover to cover, the book is simply beautiful! The photos are amazing and the text is so informative and rich. I had previously read your account, but re-reading it here along with all of the other testimonies was quite a revelation. You have done an admirable work; it is a treasure for all those who want to really understand the people and the circumstances that contributed to the birth of Afro-soul, afro-rock and, ultimately, afro-beat. I loved the direct and frank appraisal of the facts; no hero-worship or glossing over of the facts. Fela appears in the complexity that was his. So, this is a truly refreshing work, both erudite and beautifully put together. It was great to hear the voices of so many great musicians who did so much to carve out the musical landscape of post-colonial Africa. John, lovers of African music owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude. Warm regards Carlos’.
As a result of the ongoing correspondences the two writers decided to team up – at least in Ghana. John Collins and the BAPMAF institute first helped prepare travel documents for Carlos and his team. Then Carlos filmed and interviewed John Collins at the BAPMAF premises on 21st October 2010. Also John helped put Carlos in touch with Daniel J.B. Koranteng (ex Fela conga player) Stan Plange (ex leader of Uhurus Band and old friend of Fela) George Gardner (ex lawyer of Fela’s) and via Panji Anoff the magician Professor Hindu in Abura Dunkwa (one time Fela guru). These were all interviewed , the one with Daniel J.B. Koranteng taking place at the BAPMAF Institute Then the joint book launching ceremony took place at the Nubuke Foundation in East Legon Accra on the 4th November. Moreover Carlos’s wife and daughter Ayeola and Rosana believe they are of Ghanaian extraction and so also filmed their trip to their ancestral homeland.
OCTOBER Visit by Dutch journalist Wim Bossima of the De Volkskrant newspaper
SEPTEMBER 2010 John Collins made a short speech and organized a short performance by the seprewa harp-lute player Osei Korankye at the Tribute to Mac Tontoh Concert at the Alliance Francaise in Accra on the 30th Sept 2010 organized by Kwese Owusu’s Creative Storm Company. In the past Mac had donated some photographic materials to BAPMAF Highlife Institute. For his wake keeping This was an official input for the event from the University of Ghana School of Performing Arts (SPA) where Professor Collins teaches – and about twenty-five SPA students attended. The event attracted thousands – and many bands played including Blay Ambolley, Pat Thomas, Ebo Taylor, Kwabena Kwabena, Sarkodie, Obrafour. VIP, Becca, Kojo Antwi. Paa Bobo, Wuta, Praye and Ben Brako. John Collin speech and the seperewa piece were on TV3 News the following day. At the concert Kwesi Yankah (pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana) also spoke about Mac Tontoh. So all in all the speeches by Professors John Collins and Kwesi Yankah as well as their written entries in the funeral brochure meant that the University of Ghana was well represented at this event.
JOHN COLLINS TRIBUTE TO MAC TONTO IN THE FUNERAL BROCHURE As a musician in Ghana during the early 1970s I knew of Mac Tontoh and the famous Osibisa Afro-rock band. Infact it was this band, as well as the music of Santana and Fela Kuti, that inspired a legion of Afro-fusion bands of the time. However, I never got to know Mac personally until after he permanently returned home from the UK in 1992. It was then that he set up a recording studio, was briefly an Executive of MUSIGA and then from 2001 a member of the National Commission on Culture. As a result I often bumped into Mac at various musical events, radio talk shows, at Guy Warren’s house and recall vividly seeing Mac play his flugal horn with a battery of kete-drum playing ‘Warriors’ at a funeral in Accra. So in the late 1990’s, when I began running the University Music Department Process of Arts student music-industry outreach program, I invited Mac to Legon to interact with our students. Later on I sent several teams of Process of Arts students to interview him on his career and the state of the Ghanaian music scene – and Mac’s house in Dzorwulu was always open to them. Sadly a student team was actually arranging to do a series of interviews with him when he fell sick earlier this year. As I knew that Mac had been a member of Uhuru band that so much influenced the young Fela Kuti I also interviewed Mac about this famoustonto creator of Afrobeat in 2001 for my ‘Fela: Kaluta Note’ book that was published in 2009. Mac’s comments on this Nigerian star makes interesting and revealing reading. Not only did Mac have a vast repository of information on African music and was helping our university students, he was also running several projects encouraging school children to appreciate and learn local music. So although he has left us a huge legacy through Osibisa, the musical knowledge he was currently in the process of imparting to our youth will be greatly missed.
AUG/SEPT 2010 – Donation from American musicologist Dr Tim Nevin of Esperanto Sound System of x9 CD’s and also x9 DVD films on South and West African popular music. Visit by donation from US guitarist and author Mark Levine : x2 CD’s and x6 books on North African & Middle Eastern music and also materials on music copyright censorship and freedom.
JULY 2010 – Visits by Teddy Sabutey of JS Productions; Ernest Nii Quaye of TS Productions; Daniel ‘J.B’. Koranteng Crentsil (Fela Kuti’s conga player); Seyram Addom ; ethnomusicologist Walt Javins; master drummer Obo Addy and his wife Susan and a group of American University students.
16 JUNE 2010 – Visit by BBC Radio five team via Nigeria of Jim Conolly and Black British Nigerian interviewer Adebayo Dotun to interview some musicians in relation to British interest in Africa arising from the 2010 World Football Cup in South Africa. Interviewed John Collins, Edmund Mensah, Kojo Peter Menu, Jigga Morfy and Ben Ahorlu. We also played highlife together for them.
28 MARCH 2010 Donation of 70 African ethnic and popular music CDs on hard-drive) for BAPMAF archives from Jigga Morfi’s friend , the Norwegian retired builder visiting Ghana called Gutte [gutte@live.no]
22-8 FEB 2010 Two visits from T.D.B. Adjekum, leader of the Happy Stars guitar band and concert party (also ex Gyasi’s, Onyina’s, Bob Cole’s and E.K.’s bands). Ebo Hawkson arranged for Adjekum to bring seven records to be digitised (done by Thomas Collins). When collecting the digitised copies (audio and data discs) John Collins did a one hour taped interview with Adjekum who, incidentally, had been a friend of Edmund Collins (John Collins’ father) in the 1960’s
DEC 2009 – JAN 2010 John Collins,Thomas Collins and Raymond Gyemeki prepare new BAPMAF website (www.bapmaf.com) with 2500 Ghana Cedi donation from Goethe Institute
NOV-DEC 2009. Series of taped interviews with Amartey Hedzoleh (Lash Laryea) Benson Idonije (Nigerian music journalist). Kwadwo Donkor (highlife composer music producer) & 20th Dec Bibie Bew at her New Morning Club Tesano. Tapes deposited with BAPMAF archives music.
12-15 NOV 2009 BAPMAF supplies Jacqueline Nsiah a Cd with 25 photos for High Vibes festival/exhibition at national Theatre etc sponsored by the French Embassy, UNESCO and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and culture. J Collins also (with Benson Idonije ) gives a highlife presentation at event.
12th. SEPT 2009 EVENT TO CELEBRATE THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE BAPMAF ARCHIVES/HIGHLIFE INSTITUTE & THE GOETHE INSTITUTE Between January-March 2009 the Goethe Institute in Accra provided funds for the music archives and Highlife-music Institute of the Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (BAPMAF This Goethe grant dispersed in January -March 2009 was used to re-furbish the BAPMAF premises for public display and buy electronic equipment to help its ongoing digitisation of 1,500 hours of music, 1, 100 photographs and hundreds of books and other written materials. This event was celebrated at the BAPMAF headquarters located at Bokoor House at Mile 8 on the on the Accra-Nswam Road. The 120 or so visitors were drummed in by the Brotherhood Foundation Cultural Group, short speeches were made by Professor Collins of BAPMAF and Eleonore Sylla of the Goethe Institute and some of the digitised films on Ghanaian music being shown, including a short animated film called ‘African Music Goes Planetary’ by Thomas Collins. Highlife music was played and then the party moved downstairs from the BAPMAF seminar/workshop room to the garden where a music and dancing jam-session erupted. This included the Brotherhood Foundation drumming group, the Ramblers trumpeter Peter Marfo, the trumpeter Edmund Mensah (son of E.T. Mensah), Dela Botri on antenteben flute with Wanlov the Kobolo and Kay Opare playing the atratoa/televi rhythm instrument.
SOME OF 100 OR SO PEOPLE WHO CAME BAPMAF-GOETHE EVENT BOKOOR HOUSE 12 Sept 09
- JOHNSON KEMEH, leader of the Brotherhood Foundation Cultural Group
- AARON BEBE, University xylophone player & co-leader of Local Dimension Band
- EDDIE BRUCE , son of King Bruce of the famous 1950s to 70’ Black Beats Band –
- EDMUND MENSAH, trumpeter & son of E.T. Mensah of Tempos
- BEN AHORLU AJOKPA or’ Big Ben’ of Omanye FM radio station at Pokuase + 2 other reps
- AMARTEY HEDZOLLEH, founder of the 1early 1970’s Hedzoleh Sounds Afro-rock band
- STAN PLANGE, leader of the of the famous 1960s/70s Uhuru highlife band
- KAY OPARE , maker and player of the televi or asratoa rhythmic instrument
- JIGGA MORFI, musician and leader of the 1970s/80s Blekete Band
- PETER MARFO, trumpeter with the new Ramblers first set up in 1961 by Jerry Hansen
- NII NOI NORTEY, multi-instrumentalist and leader of Musiki Wa Afrika
- OLOLADE ADEWUYI, Nigerian journalist for the Lagos Guardian etc
- PANJI ANOFF, of Pidgin Music Studio and Promotions
- VALERIE LESBROS , Cultural Attache French Embassy
- DELA BOTRI, leader of Hewale Sounds
- CARLOS SAKYI, musician and copyright advocate Couldn’t make it but with apologies
- NATHAN DAMTPEY, Ghanaian musicologist
- ANUM TELFER friend/colleague of the late Kofi Ghanaba Couldn’t come but with apologies
- PAA K HOLBROOK-SMITH, Harmattan Music Company & music promoter
- KOFI DARKO UK based Ghanaian guitarist in Samondi Band. music promoter
- MR KWAKYE recording engineer ex GFIC
- KOJO ACQUAH HARRISON musician
- QUIST & NII KOI reporters + others
- ANDREW AMAGATCHER copyright lawyer
- WUNLOV THE KUBOLO musician
- FRANCIS TWUM music promoter GAPI
- KPAKPO ADDO Uhuru trumpeter donated BAPMAF 3 photos of Uhuru Tel 024 025 8303
- CLIFFARD CAMBELL Jamaican Ph D History student interest in Padmore etc
- ELEONORE SYLLA GOETHE Director of Goethe Institute
- HANS CHRISTIAN WINKLER 2nd Sec German embassy
- VISITING US PROFS ON POSS EXCHANGE PROG x 5
- LORRAINE AYENSU Half Ghana from Bristol learning palmwine koo Nimo
- BURT FEINTBUCH US visitor friend of Jon Kertzer
- MORWAN KALMONI , musician and music lover
- KOJO MENU ex T.O. Jazz. F. Kenya and also Local dimension
- GODWIN YIRENKYI journalist
- LEGON STUDENTS Eric Sunu guitarist, Moses Tsito and Nana Dansowa grad students
- LOCAL DIMENSION Aaron Bebe, Kojo Peter Menu , Fish, Kofi Kudjoni, Nii Okai
- AMERICAN AND FOREIGN STUDENTS (SIT& California) programs x30
- RAYMOND GYEMEKI electrician and computer expert
- DORIS AJOPKA SPRIGGE wife of late Robert sprigged 1950 pianist for Red Spots Highlife Band
- AZONKO SIMPI film music composer and music promoter
MARCH – SEPT 2009 SOME OF THE BAPMAF VISITORS. Karl Haos, Abina Akoma Asante, Lash Laryea musician, Andrea Warren and a group of other New York University Students, Martin Van Aalst Hippo Records of Amsterdam, Felix Tsenicokpor Ewe musician, Adjetey Adjei, Miles Cleret Soundways Records UK, Ama Perras German journalist, Vincent Hinden, Peter Arthur Ghanaian lecturer at KNUST.
MAY-SEPT 2009 JOHN AND THOMAS COLLINS DIGITISATION USING GOETHE FUNDED EQUIPMENT
Digitising Anum Telfer’s collection 40 item collection of albums 78’s and 45’s of Guy and Glen Warren’s music highlife, Ricky Telfer, Onyina, Wulomei, Mick Fleetwood Visitor (in Ghana), 50’s Cuban music and the Polyrhythmic Orchestra of Benin
Scanning album covers for ongoing digitisation project . Supplied music material for Big Ben Ojakpa old time highlife program for Radio Omanye 105.1 FM Pokuase Community radio Station located near Chief’s House. John Collins appeared on this program discussing Ghana and Nigerian highlife on 22nd August.
Preparing audio samples and pdf file reading materials burnt on CD’s for John Collins new University of Ghana Music Department undergraduate level 300 university course on Ghanaian Popular Music.
Duplication of four Afro-rock songs made by Amartey Hedzoleh in the early 1980’s by John Collins/Bokoor Studio. Given to Amartey who no longer had copies. This resulted in one of the songs being put on a planned compilation album of 1970’s/80’s Ghanaian Afro-fusion music being put together by Hippo records in Amsterdam. BAPMAF was not involved in the commercial side of this release 2009 called Ghana Funk) , simply re-connecting a Ghanaian artist with some of his otherwise lost works.
Preparation of digitised song samples, photos and reading materials for John Collins as co -convenor of the New (with New Orleans jazz clarinettist Michael White) University Faculty Network Resource Seminar on ‘The African Roots of Jazz’, 8-12 June 2009, New York.
Digitisation of 22 Commercial Videos on Ghana: John Collins involved with: Art Music in Ghana, Brass Unbound, Roots of Highlife, Highlife Story. Repercussions, Stage Shakers Ghanaian Concert Party , From Yaa Amponsah to Telephone Nkomo (Sloopy Mike Gyamfi story) When the Moment Sings, African Cross Rhythms TV Footage: Womens Digest interview with Prof Nketia, Jaguar Jokers 1994, TV3 Highlife Harvest, MUSIGA show 1993 .Field Recordings: Koo Nimo performance, Ghanaba interview, Ga Gome and Kolomashie performance, Tigari performance, Jaguar Jokers, traditional Ewe music of Tsito, T.O. Jazz performing & being interviewed, Kwaku One On One interview with John Collins, John Collins lecture on highlife , Papa T & Joyce Gilberts guitar band
THOMAS COLLINS MADE 8 VIDEOS using the Goethe Institute’s financed equipment
- ONE: Video of BAPMAF display room & photo exhibition 21 March 20 09.
- TWO: Get together after the Cultural Caravan program of Alliance Francaise at the French Embassy. Performances by Wanlov and King Ayisoba 15 May 2009.
- THREE: Fete de la Musique at Alliance Francaise with Ivorian Zouglou band on small stage and later Bibi Brew and her band on main stage. 21 June 2009.
- FOUR: Local Dimension highlife band performance at University Guest House for visiting Canadian students 27 June 2009.
- FIVE: Guitars in The Park at Rufus Green Parks , 4 July 2009, featuring the artists Aka Blay’s Abiza band, Eden Jazz, Gudis &Sprats (Koo Nimo’s guitar students), Douma from Burkina Fasso, the Asafo reggae band and John Collins doing a musical journey of Africa on guitar and harmonica.
- SIX: MUSIGA program in honour of Barak Obama’s visit held at the Dubois Centre Artists filmed included K.K. Kabobo, Bibi Brew, Slim Buster and Afriwinds. 11 July 2009
- SEVEN Alliance Francaise. Lemi Ghariokwu’s Afrobeat album cover artwork exhibition and accompanying performance by Funsho Ogundipe’s Ayetoro band, Atongo Zimba and Wanlov. 22 august 2009.
- Thomas BAPMAF cartoons African Music Goes Planetary
MAY 2009 became a Patron of the recently formed Volta Music and Entertainment Industry Board
APRIL 2009 Began supplying materials on the highlife history for Ben Ajokpa, a DJ for the newly opened community Omanye FM radio station at Pokuase.
APRIL 5-12 2009. John Collins launches Fela : Kalakuta Notes’ book (Royal Tropical Institute Publications) in Holland/Belgium and receives the following donations from friends and colleagues in Amsterdam. From Stan Rijven, Fred Gales, Rob Beirings and Dr Rob Lokin 17 music CD’s of African/black/world music music and 15 DVD’s on African music (includes Soul to Soul + Blues Music, copyright film RIP + x2 on Fela + Fela Broadway show) mainly to be used for teaching purposes. Also Robb Faverey, a Surinamese Dutch banjo maker/player and instrument collector donated to John Collins/BAPMAF a Cuban maraccas, a malaysian ‘kakapi’ lute, part of a Brazillian berimbau (‘caxexe’) and ‘cuica’ friction drum & most important of all a maroon ‘apinti’ talking-drum/hand-drum related to the Akan apentemma
MARCH-APRIL 2009 Goethe Institute in Accra provides a grant of circa 12,000 Ghana cedis (c $10,000) for re-furbishing BAPMAF premises for public display and also digitalisation/teaching equipment such as scanner, Mac laptop, printer, power point projector, filing cabinet , amplifier , digital still and movie camera etc Assistance getting invoices and equipment from Raymond Gyemeki of Univ Physics Dept
MARCH 2009 Friday State House. Ghanaba’s wake-keeping, John Collins Thomas and Kojo Menu play 4 songs.
DEC 22nd 2008, Death of Kofi Ghanaba/Guy Warren longtime friend of John Collins and fellow archivist. John Collins helps with Ghanaba’s family and friends prepare a funeral brochure
AUGUST 25th 2008 Donation of ALESIS hi-fi amplifier & speakers and a SEAL record turn-table with UHB computer output – from Kris Bediako
AUGUST 2008. John Collins becomes a Patron of the Musicians Union of Ghana, MUSIGA.
JULY 2nd John Collins received an ACRAG (non competitive) Award for Popular Music Award at the National Theatre
APRIL 2008 Donation of 16 45rpm single records of Ghanaian/Nigerian music from Prof David Coplan, Head of the Anthropology Department , Jo’burg University .
MARCH 31st. 2008 With assistance of Thomas Collins set up own provisional BAPMAF website namely:- www.bapmafafricanmusicinfo.page.tl
MARCH 22ND. Visit by ethnomusicologist Steve Feld and by highlife fan and lawyer Kakra Essamuah
MARCH 13th. Visit from Martijn Padding contemporary composer from Dutch Royal Conservatory in Den Haag and Professor Nketia (his secretary Judith Opoku-Boateng) and Bertha Adom and Adjoa Arhin from the Music dept (US New York students took a break and worked with Ghanaba for last 2/3 weeks whilst Prof Collins was recovering from typhoid)
MARCH 8th. 2008. The New York University team has completed it preliminary spread-sheet list of the audio holdings as of January 2008 (circa 1,500 hours 1,862 items) final version done by Richie Levinson. The New York team is now beginning to move on to cataloguing the BAPMAF photo/slide/negative holdings .
FEB 9th -13th 2008. Visit to BAPMAF by Austin Emielu doing a Ph.D on Nigerian Highlife for the SPA of Ilorin University, Nigeria. Exchange of materials and Photostat copies of materials given to Austin
JAN 18th 2008. John Collins obtains Ghanaian citizenship
JAN 2008 Lecture to group of US students brought by Vida Galeota
NOV 2007 Cataloguing of BAPMAF archives by Seth Paris (+ Mikey Hart , Richard ‘Richie’ Levinson., Ben and Sam) and New York Univ. in Ghana (Prof. Awam Ankpa) begins.
SEPT-NOV 2007 beginning research work for ‘Changing Representation of Women in Popular Culture’ for the Univ. of Ghana IAS/CEGENSA (Centre for Gender Studies & Advocacy) project (directors; Takywia Manu/Akosua Adomako).Included supply of 70 highlife songs related to gender from BAPMAF archives for CEGENSA
SEPT 10th. Death of Juma Santos in Chicago of malaria.
SEPT 2007 Beginning of collaboration with Kwadwo Donkoh’s Adinkraway organisation (BOX GP 3093) for possible collaboration between Ghanaians and African American jazz artists and western art musicians.
JULY –AUGUST John Collins in London for 2 weeks as curator for preparations of African Image Alliance Ghana Music Exhibition (Jennifer Kumi and Shaheera Asante ) held at the Greenwich Heritage Centre London from Oct 6-31, 2007, to celebrate Ghana’s Independence Celebration
JUNE/JULY . Lectures (x 5) For US SIT summer school students, Obo Addy and a group of students from Portland University and a Canadian group of 14 students from Simon Frazer University led by Dr. Albert Smith. The BAPMAF Highlife Institute formally opens
MAY 2007 Organised c. x 8 lectures/workshops at BAPMAF premises throughout May with small group of Texas Univ. Arlington students led by Michael Varner and Sierra Leone history Prof Alusine Jalloh, Director of The Africa Program, University of Texas at : jalloh@uta.edu www.uta.edu/africaprogram. Involved lectures by myself and Prof. Addo-Fenning of History Dept. (020-2012371 Cell and 021-502394) and seprewa/drum workshops by Aaron Bebe Sukura, Johnson Kemeh and Francis Akotuwafoh (Gavins Webb’s SPA drummer friend)
MAY 7th 2007 Received Donation of 200 blank CD’s from Kris Bediako in the UK via Pastor Osei.
FEB 24th 2007. Opening to public of BAPMAF Highlife-Music Institute at South Ofankor Accra. Immediate visits by Dutch journalist Yasha Arion, Charterhouse film crew, German journalist Wolfgang Konig, Markus Coester German highlife historian and Eli Cane and Hugo Berkeley of the US based Normal Life Films
DEC 19th 2006 John Collins does first Joy FM Radio One Touch Highlife Memory Lane program with host Kwesi Anim-Adjei
NOV 2006 Death of German Chris Luhn, BAPMAF fan and leader of Native Spirit reggae band
SEPT 4TH. Prof Collins became consultant on the highlife program for the Ghana@50 Secretariat
MAY 3rd. Letter from TV Africa (Kwesi Ahiagbo, Supervising Producer) for old recorded highlife materials. BAPMAF Provided songs by E.T. Mensah’s Tempos.
FEB 24th 2006. The death of Prof Atta Annan Mensah in Canada
FEB 15th. 2006. The signatures for the BAPMAF account of the Legon Branch of the Standard Chartered Bank are now John Collins, Joseph Aduoku and Dr Kongo Zabana
NOV 30th 2005. Some cassette items being digitised by Kristopher Rios a US/Puerto Rican Student of Hamilton College N York State.
OCT 25th. Death of BAPMAF associate Oscarmore Ofori. Funeral Odumase 19th November. John Collins attended and donated family 250,000 cedis
OCT 2005. Donation by American Julian Parker-Burns of about 10 hours (compressed MP3 files) of Ghanaian (+ some Nigerian) highlifes, gospel, neo-traditional, etc music from 45 rpm records (x44) and LP albums (x11) Plus includes jpeg photos of some record covers
OCT 2005 Exchange of Photographic materials between BAPMAF and US highlife venue researcher Nate Plageman. Includes first known reference to ‘highlife’ & ‘blues’ in the Sept. 1925 Grand Soiree program of Cape Coast Literary and Social Club (includes Hon, Casely-Hayford and T. Hutton-Mills) with music by the Rag-a-Jassbo Orchestra
SEPT 28th 2005. John Collins gave an illustrated talk at the opening of Kofi Ghanaba’s (Guy Warrens’s) African Heritage Library at Medie, organised by New York Univ. in Ghana,
AUGUST 2005. BAPMAF co-organiser (with James Gibbs, Awo Asiedu and John Djisenu) of the ‘Researching Ghanaian Theatre’ workshop held at the Nketia Conference Room, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, 27th August 2005.
MARCH 3rd. 2005 BAPMAF provided some of its pre-mounted HIGHLIFE photo exhibition boards for the Rocky Dawuni/Africa Live ‘Independence Splash: Ghana Music Revival Explosion’ at the Accra International Conference Centre,
MARCH – JULY 2005. Another donation from Dr. Robin Lokin of Holland 12 cds of Ghanaian/Nigerian/Congolese music. He is a medical Doctor and organiser of the annual Dutch Afrikafestival Hertme.
FEB 2005. Told by Ben Ahorlu Ajokpa of the death of Robert Sprigge in London at 81 (leaving behind his wife Doris and 4 children) who had taught in the History Dept at Legon from 1953-early 1980’s. In the 1950’s hew played and recorded with the Red Spots dance Band and in the 1970’s donated materials to John Collins (now with the BAPMAF holdings). Mr. Ajokpa (an actor) joins BAPMAF board.
JAN 2005 Donation of some Photos of Jerry Hansen and Ramblers highlife dance band 1960-80’s from current band leader, Peter Marfo
SEPT 2004 – Feb 2005. BAPMAF as co-Director with the US Embassy Public Affairs (David Queen and Sally Hodgson) of ‘African American Heritage Month’(formerly called Black History Month) 19 event program for February 21st-26th 2005. Theme is ‘Uniting Africa’s Past, Present and Future through Celebrating its Performing, Visual and Literary Arts’. Others on the organizing committee included, Nana Dansowa and Panji Anoff, Juma Santos, Janet Butler and Papaya. This is the second time BAPMAF has organised this American event – the first being when the US Public Affairs asked John Collins/BAPMAF to put on seven programs at the National Theatre in 2002.
NOV 26-27TH 2004. Involvement (supply of mobile Highlife photo exhibition) for symposium at the National Theatre, Accra entitled ‘Celebrating Highlife Music: Its Impact and Relevance’, organised by New York University and Heritage Development. John Collins gave the keynote speech.
NOV 2004 . Donation of eleven CD’s of 1950-‘s70’s Nigerian/Congolese music from Dr Rob Lokin, Director of the Dutch annual Afrikafestival at Hertme
OCT 2004. Peter Arthur of KNUST joins BAPMAF (lecturer and writes in newspapers on highlife)
SEPT 2004 – Feb 2005. BAPMAF organises pre-production phase of the US Embassy Public Affairs ‘African Heritage Month’ program for February 2005 . Theme is ‘Uniting Africa’s Past, Present and Future through Celebrating its Performing, Visual and Literary Arts’
OCT 2004. Collaboration with Seth Adams and the Pan African Arts Program NGO for a highlife photo exhibition at the British Council, Accra 6-8th October.
FEB-JUNE 2004 Involved (with University of Ghana Music Dept.) in local work with Paul Biscoff and the Presence music talent-scout organisation for Ghanaian youth,
APRIL 16th 2004 . Prof. Collins gives the keynote talk on the importance of music education for youth at ‘The Recital’ (of pianists 9-17 years old) organised by Ben’s Initiative NGO at the British Council Accra.
MARCH 2004 Supply of three photos (Tempos, Black Beat and J.J.’s poster) for the Calypso. Exhibition being organised by the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (Chief Curator Stephen Stuempfle) . Email: history@historical-museum.org.
FEB 2004. Proposed collaboration on an Afro-fusion music project and digital documentation with the SIGN-TIFICS NGO Ghana (Director Nana Osei K. Mainoo)
JAN 2004 Ethnomusicologist Dr. Kongo Zabana & music producer Panji Anoff join BAPMAF
DEC 15-16 2003 John Collins invited to sit on a nine-person panel of UNESCO on ‘Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Traditional Music and Dance’, held at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris. At same time a visit to the UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Section to which BAPMAF belongs (ID no. GHA/AG/185)
SEPT 21-5. Paper presented by John Collins entitled ‘Showcasing Archives in Africa: The BAPMAF Highlife Centre’ read at the ‘Audiovisual Archives: Memory and Society’ Conference of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), held at the University of Pretoria, South Africa,
JULY 2003 Correspondence between BAPMAF and Dr Stephen Stuempfle, Chief Curator of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, concerning the ‘Calypso: A World Music’ project, that will include research into calypso influences in Africa.
MAY 2003 Donation to John Collins in his capacity as Acting Chairman of the BAPMAF of books on Africa by the Ethno Museum of Basel, Switzerland. These (21 books) in turn were, with shipping assistance from the German Goethe Institute in Accra, then donated by BAPMAF to Professor Alemna and the Balme Library, University of Ghana, Africana Section .
APRIL 2003 Anthony Scorpion Entsie joins BAPMAF.
FEB-MAY 2003 John Collins became short term consultant for the World Bank to prepare a report on the World Bank project to assist the African Music Industry. This was done in collaboration with MUSIGA (the Ghana Musicians Union), GOMAWA (the Ghana Old Musicians and Artists Welfare Association) the GCPU (Ghana Concert Parties Union) and the Ghana Actors Guild.
DEC 2002 One week research by John Collins into the African photographic collection of the Basel Mission Archives at the Basel Mission House in Switzerland. Some photos had a musical content (colonial brass bands, mission bands, traditional groups etc) forty of which were collected on CD for the BAPMAF music archives.
OCT 2002 Correspondence between BAPMAF and Thomas Miessgang Curator of the Artspace Centre in Vienna, Austria on assistance for a planned exhibition entitled ‘The Art of the Guitar’ which will include a section on African guitarists.
SEPT 2002 The local city GDA authority promises to remove the obstacles to the water flow by the unauthorised building downstream of the BAPMAF Centre at Ofankor – and an appeal was made by BAPMAF for funding to help rebuild the Bokoor/BAPMAF premises on a high foundation. By July 2003 almost 4000$ had been collected (some of the contributors are mentioned below in italics) and a foundation, and walls of the new premises were built. Contributers include: Prof. Merrick Posnansky, African Studies Dept UCLA; Prof. Kenichi Tsukada, Music Dept Miyazaki University, Japan; Petra Raimond, Director of the Goethe Institut, ,Accra; Prof. Phillip Peek, Anthropology Dept Drew University, Madison, USA; Pascal Ott, French Embassy, Accra; Didier Martin, Director of Alliance Francaise, Accra; Serious Music magazine, London; Bob George, Curator of the Archives of Contemporary Music, New York; The Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland; Wolfgang Koenig Berlin Multi-Kulti radio; Dr. Jean Allman, Ghana Studies Council, USA; Steve Salm University of Texas; Dr. Simon Harrison Anthropology Dept Univ. of Coleraine, Ireland; Patrick Collins; Sean Kutzor; Stuart Sutton-Jones; Peter Drury; Niek Lemmens; Jan Ole Traasdahl; Ruti Talmor; Dr. John L. Harrison.
MARCH-APRIL 2002 Meetings between John Collins and Giovanni Razzu of UNESCO, Accra, concerning the establishment of a Music Youth Centre – Highlife Institute in the Ussher Town and James Town parts of old Accra, designated a UNESCO preservation area.
FEB-MARCH 2002 BAPMAF and the US Embassy Public Affairs Section (John Dysson ) organise a two month program for Black History Month called ‘Jazz Returns to Africa’ This involved seven programs (between 8th Feb.-22nd March) of lectures by John Collins and performances by the following groups: African Pot Gome Group, Music Department Brass Band, Aaron Bebe Sukura and Atongo Zimba on local seprewa harp-lute and molo lute, Jimmy Beckley’s Afro-Jazz Combo, Takashi, the university based Local Dimension Palmwine Highlife Band, the neo-traditional Hewale Sounds.
JAN 2002 Launch of the Ghana Popular Music 1931-1957 cd at the Dubois Centre, Accra organised by BAPMAF and the Swizz Embassy. Bands that played included F. Kenya, Kwabena Nyama, Local Dimension and the GBC Orchestra, The cd was from the Basel Mission Archives collected and collated by Veit Arlt and Serena Dankwa – sleeve notes by John Collins. At the launch monies s were given to the late Ephraim Amu (via his daughter Missonu) and King Bruce (via his son Eddie) whose music appears on the cd. Full collections of 10 cds of all the Basel Mission Archives digitalised by Arlt and Dankwa were presented to Prof J.H.K. Nketia of the International Centre of African Music and Dance, Dr. S. Asiama of the Institute of African Studies Music Archives, Dr Willie Anku of the Music Dept of the University of Ghana, John Collins of BAPMAF and percussionist Kofi Ghanaba (Guy Warren) of the African Heritage Library.
IN 2002 BAPMAF become a member of the UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity (www.unesco.org/culture/alliance), ID no. GHA/AG/185
SEPT 2001 BAPMAF support for the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board proposed ‘Gome On The Way’ project being organised by Mr. F.B. Duah of the Museum and Senegalese gome/gombe expert and maker Mr Magueye Hane.
AUGUST 2001 John Collins assists Catherine Fellows of the BBC Art Beat program with five programs on African Music and Dance.
MAY 2001 Bokoor House, Bokoor Studios and the BAPMAF Library and Photo Exhibition room were flooded by someone building an un-authorised house downstream. 3000 dollars worth of audio-recording equipment was damaged but fortunately all the BAPMAF books, music tapes, photos and other materials were saved. These materials were then temporarily lodged at the University house of John Collins.
MAY-JUNE 2001 Joint BAPMAF/Alliance Francais/Harmattan Productions organise a two week ‘Highlife Story’ Festival (23rd May – 6th June) that included a photographic exhibition (100 pictures from the BAPMAF photographic collection + some from Mr Vanderpuie), lectures, workshops and panel discussion on Highlife – plus three nights of Highlife concerts. Bands/artists that played were City Boys, Vision Band, Eddie Ntreh, Avalon Allotey, Takashi, Bawasaba, African Pot, Wulomei. Festival opened 23rd May by Didier martin of alliance, Paa K. Holbrook Smith of Harmattan Productions, John Collins of BAPMAF and the Minister of Tourism Nana Akomea
MAY 2001 T.O. Jazz (Thomas Ampoumah) BAPMAF member died on May 4th. Many guitar bands play at his wake-keeping in Dansoman on the 9th. John Collins and Aaron Bebe Sukura also played at his wake-keeping. T.O.’s singer Kojo Menu and Aaron Bebe join BAPMAF
OCT 2000 BAPMAF arranges the transfer of classical and jazz records from the late Jimmy Moxon’s collection (First Minister of Information under Nkrumah) to the Music Dept of the University of Ghana.
JAN 1999 John Collins presents a paper entitled ‘Ghana’s Folk Tax: A Cultural Conundrum’ at the Regional, Seminar on the Application of the UNESCO 1989 Recommendations on Safeguarding Traditional Culture in African Countries, held at the University of Ghana, Legon,
DEC 1998 John Collins and Prof J.H.K. Nketia attend the Afromusique/Africania Colloquium, Grand Bassam, Cote d’Ivoire, 2-5 December and Collins reads a paper ‘Goombay: The Impact of Freed Slaves on African Popular and Neo-Traditional Music’.
FALL 1998 Performance/lecture tour by John Collins and Koo Nimo of American New England Universities (Yale , Harvard, Wesley, Boston, Trinity, etc)
FALL 1998 Veteran highlife guitarist T.O. Jazz (Ampoumah) joins BAPMAF. John Collins became PRO for the Ghana Music Pioneers Association. Later became involved with its sister organisation the Ghana Old Musicians and Artists Welfare Association (GOMAWA). John Collins was given the Ghana National ACRAG Arts Award for thirty years pioneering research into highlife music and sixteen years of running the low-budget Bokoor recording studio. African-American percussionist Juma Santos (James Riley) guest at Bokoor House and assists (later joins) BAPMAF with making a (unsuccessful) funding appeal for his US contacts.
SEPT 1997 John Collins provided a once weekly series of talks on the history of highlife for the Accra FM Radio Gold. John Collins worked on a project of using local popular songs to educate children on the dangers of water-borne diseases – for the Lower Volta Basin Research Project. John Collins presents a paper entitled ‘Gospel Highlife: Ghana’s New Answer to Urban Anxiety ’at a Conference on Music and Healing in Africa and the Black Diaspora organised by the ICAMD at Legon 3-5, September 1997.
SEPT 1997 King Bruce one of founding members of BAPMAF died on 14 September. Wake at Arts Council Accra on 18th October. Many bands play including John Collins and his university based Local Dimension highlife band.
NOV 1996 Launch of book on E.T. Mensah called E.T. The King of Highlife, written in the early 1970’s by John Collins, by Anansesem Press at the DuBois Memorial Centre.
AUGUST 1996 Establishment of a relationship between BAPMAF and Dr. Bayo Martins director of the Music Foundation Archives of Nigeria.
JULY-AUGUST 1996 Correspondence between John Collins and Alan Jabbour Director of the American Folklife Centre of the Library of Congress in Washington DC: to identify highlife and traditional music recordings made in Ghana between 1942-52 by Arthur S Alberts.. Tapes were sent to BAPMAF and some of the material was identified.
JULY 1996 BAPMAF sent out 135 appeal letters for funds/support/collaboration. BAPMAF fills forms for GAPVOD (Ghana Assoc. of Private Voluntary Organisations in Development) ‘Directory on Ghanaian Non Governmental Organisations’ sponsored by the World Bank, UNICEF, Save The Children Fund, Danida, the British Council and the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) . The death of the famous Ghanaian highlife musicians (leader of the Tempos Dance Band) E.T. Mensah. He was a founding patron of BAPMAF. His wake keeping was at State House on the 13 July and funeral at Osu Cemetary the next day.
MARCH 1996 After the BAPMAF/Goethe Highlife Month the BAPMAF Highlife Photo Exhibition was moved to Bokoor House, Ofankor, where it was temporarily housed and opened to the general public. Later, in May 1997, a 40 foot long building (costing the cedi equivalent of 1,720$) was built to permanently display the exhibition. The BAPMAF Highlife Centre then hosted many local and foreign visitors and was televised twice; once for Ghana Broadcasting in 1996 (producer Cynthia Jikpani) and again in 2000 by the London Shai Shai company (producer Martine Stone).
FEB 1996 BAPMAF and the German Goethe Institute in Accra (under its then Director Sabine Hentzch) organised a Highlife Month from 2-29th February that included seminars and films on highlife, performances (Ankobra, Grassroots, Mau Mau Musiki and drummer Kofi Ghanaba) – with the central focus being the Golden Years of Highlife Music Photographic Exhibition supplied by BAPMAF. Organizations who were involved or supported the very successful Highlife Month included the Dubois Centre (Ebo Hawkson, Director), the National Theatre (Dr. Komla Amuoko, Director), the Musicians Union of Ghana MUSIGA (Joe Mensah, President), the University of Ghana (Professors Kofi Agovi and Kwesi Yankah), the Ghana Copyright Administration (Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director), the Ghana National Folklore Boards (Colonel Amuzu, Chairman), the Ghana Concert Party Union ( Mr. S.K. Oppong and Mr. Mensah Executives), the Ghana Record Producers Union (Dick Essilfie-Bondzie and Kojo Donkoh Executives) and the African Heritage Library (Kofi Ghanaba, Director). The Padmore Library also supplied some materials from its archives for the photo exhibition.
AUGUST 1995 Supply of old Jacob Sam (Kwame Asare) songs in BAPMAF collection to Koo Nimo.
JULY 25th 1995 Exchange of archival materials between BAPMAF and Cathy Cole and husband Kwame Braun were doing archival research into the Ghanaian concert party.
JAN 19TH 1995. Launch of Dr Collins book ‘Highlife Time’ at the DuBois centre by the National Folklore Board of Trustees and the books publishing company Anansesem Press.
JAN 1995 Links and exchanges of materials between BAPMAF and Mr. Kwesi Sarpong’s Gramophone Museum at the Centre for National Culture in Cape Coast. Donation by Mr Sarpong to BAPMAF of original 1928 Zonophone recording on shellac 78rpm record of Yaa Amponsah by the Kumasi Trio.
DEC 14th 1994 Talk by John Collins on the Cape Coast contribution to highlife at a PANAFEST function organised by the Ghana National Folklore Board of Trustees at the Cape Coast Town Hall.
DEC 13th 1994 Talk on the major trends in Ghanaian highlife by John Collins at the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon, for a seminar of the International Centre for African Music and Dance (ICAMB) a research centre just established by Professor J.H.K. Nketia.
NOV 4th 1994 Talk on the impact of African-American music on highlife by John Collins at the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Centre in Accra. 200 schoolchildren attend.
NOV1994 Oscarmore Ofori, the highlife composer and folklorist joins BAPMAF
AUGUST 18th 1994 Talk on the indigenisation process in Ghanaian popular music by John Collins for the National Folklore Board of Trustees seminar at Tamale
AUGUST 9th 1994 Donation to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC, via Minister of Information Kojo Yankah, of the Kumasi Trio cassette and a cassette of 1960’s highlife music by the late Ignace de Souza of the Benin Republic
JUNE 1994 Donation by BAPMAF to the Ghana National Folkore Board of Trustess of three highlife recordings on cassette. 1) The Gold Coast Quintet recorded in 1927. 2) The Roots of Highlife recorded in the 1920’s. 3) Jacob Sam (Kwame Asare) and the Kumasi Trio recording for Zonophone in 1928 which included the original versions of the highlife song Yaa Amponsah. (letter of thanks from Board to BAPMAF on 15 July 1995 for this donation). After negotiations with the company holding the rights on the Kumasi Trio recording, the Ghana National Folklore Board brought out a cassette version for the local market. Letter of support from the Ghanaian musicologist Professor Atta Annh Menah a patron of BAPMAF, now resident in Canada.
MAY 1994 Edinam Ansah of Tsito, leader of the Super Canons military band and President of the Volta Region Branch of the Ghana Musicians Union (MUSIGA) joins BAPMAF
MARCH 12th 1993 Klaus Frederking of Germany sends a catalogue and cassetted musical examples to BAPMAF.
FEB 6th 1993 Ashes of Edmund Collins (BAPMAF patron and lecturer at Univ. off Ghana Philosophy Dept from 1952 to1980) who died in London were returned to Ghana and buried at his house/farm (now Bokoor House) at Ofankor
NEW ASSOCIATE BAPMAF MEMBERS Master drummer Okyerema Asante wrote from the US to support BAPMAF. Osei Ntiamoah, a bass and conga player joins BAPMAF and donates 28 old shellac 78rpm highlife records and is invited to join the Executive. The London based Jeremy Smith (nephew of Beattie Casely Hayford) joins BAPMAF in October 1992. Thierry Secretan a photographer from France joins. Julian Hynes, Vida Oparebea and Todd Fraracci, organisers of the annual Toronto Afrofest join – as does Jimmy Beckley of Jimmy’s Jazz Combo.
JAN 1993 Donation of one slide projector to BAPMAF by the Rhythmic Music Conservatory of Copenhagen, Denmark: and support for BAPMAF from its Director Dr Erik Moseholm. Evaluation Report on BAPMAF sent to Mr S.O.Komeiter, Assistant Director, Dept of Social Welfare, BOX M230, Accra (Ref. no. 4249/41).
DEC 14-16th 1992 John Collins gave a presentation at the Round Table Seminars of PANAFEST at Cape Coast on African and African-American popular entertainment. Particular interest in the goombay story (Jamaican frame-drum dance taken to West Africa in 1800) and the suggestion of a BAPMAF supported ‘Goombay 200’ festival to link both sides of this black trans-Atlantic performance genre. BAPMAF donated recently acquired materials on the black nationalist George Padmore to the Padmore Library in Accra. This relates to Padmore’s journalistic report in Ghana in the early 1950’s for the Sekondi Morning Telegraph on 20,000 copies of the pro-independence ‘Freedom for Ghana’ calypso recorded by a group of West Indians and Africans in London and commissioned by Nkrumah’s Convention Peoples Party. BAPMAF gives the Ghana National Folklore Board of Trustees 14 cassettes of old highlifes and some folk-songs on shellac to act as the nucleus for its registration of folkloric works.
SEPT 1992 BAPMAF donated books to Achimota School and Saint John’s Grammar School. Several visits of school-children from Saint John’s School to the Bokoor Recording Studio and BAPMAF Centre with their music teacher, Mr Nyarko.
AUGUST 1992 BAPMAF donated books on African popular music to the National Commission on Culture Library, the Padmore Library, The United States Information Service Library, the Goethe Institute, the British High Commission Library and the Institute of African Studies Library at the Univ. of Ghana, Legon. John Collins gave a paper on the importance of the concert party for educational purposes and also advertised the work of BAPMAF at the Colloquium of NAFAC 92 (National Festival of Arts and Culture) held in in Kumasi from 7-15 August. Koo Nimo receives and Honorary Doctorate from the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.
JULY 1991 BAPMAF donates recorded old highlife materials to the Dubois Memorial Centre in Accra. This consisted of 14 cds (total length 21 hours), mainly of early highlifes 1930-‘s-1960’s, recorded from shellac 78 rpm records collected by John Collins in the 1970’s and later deposited with BAPMAF.
JUNE 1991 Two members of BAPMAF, namely John Collins and Koo Nimo (Daniel Amponsah) invited onto the newly formed Ghana National Folklore Board of Trustees. BAPMAF obtains Certificate or Registration as a Ghanaian voluntary body (Registration no. 402) on April 16th. Professor A.M. Opoku donates BAPMAF a recording made by him in the early 1960’s in Wiawase of a reconstructed pre-war Konkoma group, the Silver Stars.
MAY 1991 Edmund Collins of the University of Ghana Philosophy Department, member of the 1950’s- 1960’s African Music Society and patron of BAPMAF died on May 9th in London. BAPMAF meeting and Koo Nimo receives copy of Beattie Casely-Hayford’s IASPM 1987 lecture on Yaa Amponsah and copy of Mr. Strong playing Yaa Amponsah.
FEB 22nd 1991 The folk-highlife guitarist Kwaa Mensah died in Cape Coast after a short illness. He was a founding member and Executive of BAPMAF and donated substantial materials to the archives.
NOV 1990 Press release on BAPMAF and a lecture on 200 years of West African Music given by John Collins at PAFAM (Pan African Fair for Arts and Music organised by Rex Images/Rex Danquah) held at the Trade Fair Sight, Accra. Certificate of Incorporation and Company Codes name BAPMAF (No 41,108) obtained on 20th November.
SEPT 1990 BAPMAF gave a tape of a lecture on Yaa Amponsah by the late Beattie Casely-Hayford to Koo Nimo and Professor A.M Opoku – the latter, in return, giving BAPMAF a recording made in the early 1960’s of the Wawiase Silver Stars Konkoma group. BAPMAF equipment used to do a free transfer from reel-to-reel tapes to cassettes for Kofi Ghanaba (Guy Warren) of the African Heritage Library, of radio reminiscences of his work with great jazz giants such as Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk.
1990 BAPMAF FOUNDED by John Collins in 1990. Ghana Voluntary Organisation Certificate no. 402 (16th April 1991) and a Ghana Certificate of Incorporation no 41,108 (20th November 1990. An Executive is set up of John Collins as Acting Chairman, Ghassan Kalmoni as Acting Secretary and Joseph Aduoko as Acting Treasurer
1988 -1990 John Collins begins planning the establishment of BAPMAF with the active. encouragement and./or written support of the following :- King Bruce and E.T. Mensah highlife dance-band musicians, Mr. Bampoe or ‘Opia’ of the Jaguar Jokers concert party, the musicologist Professor Atta Annan Mensah, the highlife guitarists Koo Nimo and Kwaa Mensah, the media-man and highlife historian Beattie Caseley-Hayford (who sadly died before the official establishment of BAPMAF), Edmund F. Collins of the Univ. of Ghana Philosophy Dept from 1952 (and mandolin player and guitarist), Robert Sprigge of the History Dept of the Univ. of Ghana (1950’s pianist for the Red Spots highlife band).
John Collins & Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation 