Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas

Merging American jazz elements with highlife--the pop music of his home country of Ghana--Ebo Taylor has been active in the World music community for around 50 years. His style is funky and full of percussion-heavy African rhythms that represent the lively, dance-oriented music coming from Ghana throughout the second half of the 20th Century. However, Taylor is also fascinated by the sounds of the West, particularly the United States and England, where he moved to study back in 1962. Funk, soul and jazz all add to the passionate music Taylor and his revolving cast of bandmates make. This fusion of African styles and Western influence has led to Ebo Taylor being frequently associated with the Afrobeat style, where he is regarded as one of the genre's finest guitarists.