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In Ghana in the 1950s, Teddy Osei (saxophone) and Sol Amarfio (drums) played in a highlife band called The Star Gazers. They left to form The Comets, with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet, and scored a hit in West Africa with their 1958 song "Pete Pete." In 1962 Osei moved to London to study music on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government. In 1964 he formed Cat's Paw, an early "world music" band that combined highlife, rock and soul. In 1969 he persuaded Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and Osibisa was born. Joining them in the first incarnation were Grenadian Spartacus R (bass); Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboard); Antiguan Wendell Richardson (lead guitar); and Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussionist and tenor saxophone). Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, rock, Latin and R&B.
The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to large audiences in Japan, Australia, India and Africa. During this time Ghanaians Darko Adams 'Potato' (died 1995) and Kiki Djan (died 2004) were also members of the band. In 1980 Osibisa performed at a special Zimbabwean independence celebration, and in 1983 were filmed onstage at the Marquee Club in London. Changes in the music industry however (punk and disco primarily) meant declining sales for the band, and a series of label changes resulted. The band returned to Ghana to set up a recording studio and theatre complex to help younger highlife musicians.[2] In the 1990s their music was widely anthologized in many collections, most of them paying no royalties whatsoever to the band.[3]
In 1996 Osei reformed the band, and many of their past releases began coming out on CD. The band remains active in 2009, although Osei has cut back his touring schedule due to the effects of a stroke.[4]
Many of Osibisa's works are highly danceable. A fair comparison would be to Earth, Wind, & Fire from the USA, but with a “world” flair. Both groups feature highly complicated and sophisticated dance music with Afro-Caribbean bass-drum grooves and dynamic horn charts (example: Ojah Awake), and both groups could be criticized as “insipid disco” on titles which seek a more commercial appeal (example: Dance the Body Music, Lets Do It).
The name Osibisa was described by the band members as meaning "criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife.[5][6] Their style influenced many of the emerging African musicians of the time.
Musicians
Saxophone — Teddy Osei
Trumpet — Colin Graham
Percussion, Congas — Kofi Ayivor, Nii Tagoe
Drums — Sol Amarfio, KB
Keyboards — Bessa Simons, Kwame Yeboah, Chris Jerome, Emmmanuel Rentzos
Guitars — Kari Bannerman, Gregg Kofi Brown, Wendell Richardson
Bass Guitar — Victor Mensah, Herman Asafo
Vocals Gregg Kofi Brown, Teddy Osei, EmmanuelRentzos, Wendell Richeardson & all on BV's
Tour Manager Mick Tresnan AKA Mick Tee
Tracklist
01 - Who's Got the Paper
02 - Why
03 - Osibirock
04 - Kelele
05 - Atinga bells
06 - African jive
07 - We belong
08 - Komfo (high priest)
09 - Kangaroo
10 - Home affairs
