Life Stories

There’s no better introduction to Ebo Taylor’s distinct West African funk than Life Stories. The two-disc set compiles material recorded solo and with various bands throughout the ‘70s, as the composer mixes daring brass riffs and jazz harmonies with highlife guitar and African rhythms. The epic “Peace On Earth” has horn shredders trading solos over twinkly electric piano. The Super Sounds Namba band holds it down on “Yes Indeed” with hard-hitting hand percussion. There’s also “Heaven”, the freewheeling Afrobeat jam later sampled by Usher.