The trumpeter and songwriter Mac Tontoh, one of the founding members of the acclaimed 70s band Osibisa, passed away on 16 August 2010 at the age of 69.
Born Kweku Adabanka Tonto in Kumasi, Ghana, Tonto's first professional break came when he joined The Comets, led by his brother, Teddy Osei (who he later collaborated with in Osibisa).They became very popular for highlife and jazz in Ghana and Nigeria during the early 1960s .
Tontoh then spent a brief period in Accra with the Brigade Band of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, which played mainly at state functions, before joining the Uhuru Band. Uhuru was a big band which played its own brand of highlife as well as hits from American composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Glenn Miller.
After a rendezvous with brother Teddy and drummer Sol Amarfio in Tunisia, the trio traveled to London and formed Osibisa in 1969 along with Spartacus R , Robert Bailey, Wendell Richardson and Lasisi Amao.
Fusing rhythms from Africa with rock and jazz, Osibisa played a central role in developing an awareness of African music among European and North American audiences in the 1970s, bringing it into the pop music mainstream.Tontoh co-wrote all of Osibisa’s major hits, including Music for Gong Gong, Welcome Home and Sunshine Day. Osibisa was released in 1971, reaching number 11 in the UK album charts. The album cover artwork featured a flying elephant emerging from a primeval forest and became a classic of its time.
Woyaya and Heads followed suit in 1971 and 1972 respectively. Woyaya reached number 11 in the UK and Art Garfunkel later covered its title track in 1976.
Born Kweku Adabanka Tonto in Kumasi, Ghana, Tonto's first professional break came when he joined The Comets, led by his brother, Teddy Osei (who he later collaborated with in Osibisa).They became very popular for highlife and jazz in Ghana and Nigeria during the early 1960s .
Tontoh then spent a brief period in Accra with the Brigade Band of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, which played mainly at state functions, before joining the Uhuru Band. Uhuru was a big band which played its own brand of highlife as well as hits from American composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Glenn Miller.
After a rendezvous with brother Teddy and drummer Sol Amarfio in Tunisia, the trio traveled to London and formed Osibisa in 1969 along with Spartacus R , Robert Bailey, Wendell Richardson and Lasisi Amao.
Fusing rhythms from Africa with rock and jazz, Osibisa played a central role in developing an awareness of African music among European and North American audiences in the 1970s, bringing it into the pop music mainstream.Tontoh co-wrote all of Osibisa’s major hits, including Music for Gong Gong, Welcome Home and Sunshine Day. Osibisa was released in 1971, reaching number 11 in the UK album charts. The album cover artwork featured a flying elephant emerging from a primeval forest and became a classic of its time.
Woyaya and Heads followed suit in 1971 and 1972 respectively. Woyaya reached number 11 in the UK and Art Garfunkel later covered its title track in 1976.
Apart from his activities with Osibisa, Mac also collaborated with many of the rock luminaries on the London scene of 1970s, playing horn sessions for the Rolling Stones, Peter Green and Elton John amongst others.
In 1992 Tontoh moved back to Ghana and, with the help of producer/engineer Mike Swai, set up his own recording studio in Accra. They then set about searching for and collaborating with some of the most dynamic and talented young Ghanaian musicians.
The first product of this new phase was Tontoh’s first solo album, Rhythms and Sounds (1994). Following this Mac decided to look deeper into the musical traditions of his own people, the Ashanti and formed a new band, the Kete Warriors.
Mac toured the UK with the Kete Warriors in 2000 and 2001. Since returning to Ghana after the group’s successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2001, Mac took a break from making music and was concentrating on his work with the Ghana National Commission on Culture, until his death.
Read the obituary of Mac Tontoh's' fellow Osibisa founder member Spartacus R. who passed away on 30 July 2010
In 1992 Tontoh moved back to Ghana and, with the help of producer/engineer Mike Swai, set up his own recording studio in Accra. They then set about searching for and collaborating with some of the most dynamic and talented young Ghanaian musicians.
The first product of this new phase was Tontoh’s first solo album, Rhythms and Sounds (1994). Following this Mac decided to look deeper into the musical traditions of his own people, the Ashanti and formed a new band, the Kete Warriors.
Mac toured the UK with the Kete Warriors in 2000 and 2001. Since returning to Ghana after the group’s successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2001, Mac took a break from making music and was concentrating on his work with the Ghana National Commission on Culture, until his death.
Read the obituary of Mac Tontoh's' fellow Osibisa founder member Spartacus R. who passed away on 30 July 2010
