Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, most notable as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots"[1] — and as a member of The Tempos, alongside E. T. Mensah.
"[7] In 1943, Warren Akwei enlisted in the Office of Strategic Services, a branch of the United States Army that dealt with overt and covert operations in World War II.
[8] He worked at Station ELBC, the National Broadcasting Service of Liberia, as assistant director and disc jockey between 1953 and 1955.
[13] He was buried in a coffin designed as a drum by Eric Adjetey Anang of Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop.
Ghanaba's parents were Susana Awula Abla Moor and Richard Mabuo Akwei, founder and first headmaster of Ghana National School in Accra.
His second child, Glenn Gillespie Warren, also called "Ghanababa" (the son of Ghanaba), is a jazz drummer who played on the album That Happy Feeling (Safari, 1979).
Ghanaba's fourth son, Gamaliel Joseph Warren, inherited his father's musical talent as a jazz drummer.
[citation needed] As Seth Paris notes, "With fellow musicians, like saxophonist Joe Kelly and bassist Oscarmore Ofori, Guy was part of the generation to bring the influences of African-American musical styles into mainstream Ghanaian culture.
During 1948, Guy Warren worked with Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists in the UK, and when he returned to Ghana, helped introduce Afro-Cuban rhythms to the country.
Ghanaba said in a 1973 interview with John Collins, "I had to make a choice between being a poor imitation of Buddy Rich or playing something they couldn't.
His album African Rhythms (Decca, 1962), was supposed to be released a year earlier by Columbia but the deal collapsed.
He asked Nii Anum Telfer to trace a letter from Africa Obonu, later to be known as Ghanababii, a drums and percussion ensemble based at La in Accra that had written to Ghanaba.
By March 1979, he had brought together Zagba Oyortey, Ofei Nkansah, Wendy Addae, Dorothy Gordon (aiti-KACE), Akuoko, Akwasi Adu Amankwa, Anthony Akoto Ampaw (Che-Che), Tsatsu Tsikata, Fui Tsikata, Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, Nii Kwate Owoo, George Quaynor-Mettle, Takyiwa Manu, Kwaku Opoku, F. Ato Austin and James Quarshie.
Ghanaba considered his greatest work to be the African talking drums interpretation of the "Hallelujah Chorus" by Handel.
[23] In 1981, he was enstooled as Odomankoma Kyrema (The Divine Drummer) by Aklowa, the African Heritage Village, based at Takeley, near London, England.
Three historical concerts in dedication of Africa's Contribution to the World took place at London's Royal Albert Hall in March 1986.
In 2001, he participated as The Divine Drummer in the stage show Yaa Asantewaa: Warrior Queen written by Margaret Busby.
Introduced to Robyn Schulkowsky, a female drummer from the U.S. living in Germany, by Sabine Hentzch of the Goethe-Institut in Accra, he said: "My whole life I thought I was the only one on earth who is crazy enough to deal with music the way I do.
On 18 January 2008, he handed his drumsticks to his son Glenn "Ghanababa" Warren at a ceremony at the National Theatre in Accra.
On 21 June 2009, a tribute was held at the Jazz Gallery in New York with Randy Weston, Obo Addy, and Kwaku Martin Obeng.
Ghanaba was among three people picked by Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah to give advice on political, spiritual, and personal matters.
In the 1970s, Ghanaba joined African Obonu (later known as the Ghanababii) and others to perform the monthly Free South Africa Shows.
These were organized at the Accra Community Centre in solidarity with Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa in the fight against apartheid.
[31] Decades earlier, he had wanted to donate it to the government of Nigeria because of its commitment to the second edition of the World Festival of Black Arts in 1977.