Prof. John Collins
Internationally acclaimed ethnomusicologist Prof. John Collins will read from his latest book ‘Highlife Time 3’ at the Goethe-Institut in Accra on Wednesday, August 29.
‘Highlife Time 3’, which was published by Dakpabli & Associates in collaboration with Anansesem Publications, traces the origins of highlife music to the present while including information on palm wine music (‘adaha’), brass bands, concert party, guitar and dance bands.
It also encompasses off-shoots such as Afro-rock, Afrobeat, burger highlife, gospel highlife, hip-hop highlife (hiplife) and contemporary highlife.
The book also includes chapters on the traditional background or roots of highlife, the entrance of women into the Ghanaian highlife profession and the biographies of numerous Ghanaian and Nigerian highlife musicians.
Prof. Collins has been active in the Ghanaian and West African scene since 1969 as a guitarist, band leader, writer and teacher.
He has a B.A. degree in Sociology and Archeology from the University of Ghana and a PhD in ethnomusicology from the State University of New York (USA).
In 2008, he naturalised as a Ghanaian and has taught at the University of Ghana’s Department of Music, where he served as head of department from 2003 to 2005.
The academic, who is also a performing artist, also taught at Ashesi University in Berekuso, near Accra.
Writers Project of Ghana and Goethe-Institut Ghana are presenting the programme.