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Emmanuel Tettey Mensah (31 May 1919 – 19 July 1996), was a
on
The original "Tempos" band was formed in 1946 as a " jam session" group by some European soldiers stationed in Accra. It played for army dances and at the Accra club. Over time, African musicians replaced the European ones, until finally it became an all-African band. Mensah joined the band in 1947. Shortly after this the band split up, to be reformed again with Mensah as its leader. The group gained international attention and in 1957 Mensah performed with Louis Armstrong.
The highlife style of music started to decline in the 1960s, but E. T. Mensah remained active for years afterwards. He co-starred on a highly successful album with the
"A HOT BOX OF HIGHLIFE DELIGHTS! E.T. Mensah & The Tempos: King of Highlife Anthology"
RetroAfric.com ;Contributing artist * ''
"Best of The Beat on Afropop: E.T. Mensah, Highlife and History--Ghana’s 60th Independence Day"
Afripop, 15 March 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mensah, E.T. 1919 births 1996 deaths Ghanaian highlife musicians Musicians from Accra Ga-Adangbe people
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian musician who was regarded as the "King of Highlife
Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...
" music. He led The Tempos, a band that toured widely in West Africa.
Early years
Mensah was born at Accra, in theGold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
, West Africa. His early education took place at the Government School, Accra, and later at Accra High School. At the age of 12 he learned to play flute in the Government School band and in 1932 he began playing piccolo and flute in the Accra Orchestra, a schoolchildren's band. The leader of the Accra Orchestra at the time was a teacher, Joe Lamptey, who gathered talented young people together to form a band. Mensah continued to play with this orchestra and also learnt to play the alto-saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
. His musical career was given an opportunity when he was able to finance his own musical ventures by opening a pharmacy.''Decca Presents E. T. Mensah And His Tempo's Band'' — album informationon
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
WAL 1001
E.T. Mensah also has an elder brother, Yebuah Mensah, who was the leader of a dance orchestra in the Gold Coast. Yebuah Mensah and his younger brother E.T. Mensah formed the Accra Rhythmic Orchestra, which won the Lambeth Walk Dance Competition in 1939 at the King George Memorial Hall, now known as the Parliament House in Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
.
The Tempos and later career
The original "Tempos" band was formed in 1946 as a " jam session" group by some European soldiers stationed in Accra. It played for army dances and at the Accra club. Over time, African musicians replaced the European ones, until finally it became an all-African band. Mensah joined the band in 1947. Shortly after this the band split up, to be reformed again with Mensah as its leader. The group gained international attention and in 1957 Mensah performed with Louis Armstrong.
The highlife style of music started to decline in the 1960s, but E. T. Mensah remained active for years afterwards. He co-starred on a highly successful album with the Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n trumpeter Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya.
Discography
;E. T. Mensah & The Tempos * ''King of Highlife Anthology'', four-CD box (2015, RetroAfrica)RetroAfric.com ;Contributing artist * ''
The Rough Guide to West African Music
''The Rough Guide to West African Music'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1995. The second release of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, it largely focuses on Malian music, with six of the twelve tracks comin ...
'' (1996, World Music Network
World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music.
The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...
)
* '' The Rough Guide to Highlife'' (2003, World Music Network)
References
Further reading
*External links
* Africa House at New York University. * * * *"Best of The Beat on Afropop: E.T. Mensah, Highlife and History--Ghana’s 60th Independence Day"
Afripop, 15 March 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mensah, E.T. 1919 births 1996 deaths Ghanaian highlife musicians Musicians from Accra Ga-Adangbe people