Ebo Taylor, Musical Innovator of Highlife and Afrobeat, Dies at 90

Ebo Taylor died on Feb. 7 in Saltpond, a coastal town in Ghana. He was 90. His son Henry confirmed that he died in a hospital a day after a festival honoring Mr. Taylor began in Accra. He combined the lilting rhythms of Ghana’s highlife with the driving pulse of Afrobeat and elements of jazz to forge a distinct style that helped define West African music for a generation.

His playing featured elaborate guitar chords, two-fingered arpeggios and hypnotic rhythms; his gruff, plangent voice sang in Fante or English. John Collins wrote in his 1994 book that Mr. Taylor "helped introduce advanced jazz chords" to Ghana’s highlife bands.

He was also close to Fela Kuti, who taught him "harmonies," and the two spent hours listening to John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker in Willesden. Deroy Ebow Taylor was born on Jan. 6, 1936, in Cape Coast, the son of Samuel, a choirmaster, and Sarah Taylor.

Ghana, Saltpond

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