Joseph Bannor & Band

AFROBEAT

Afrobeat (Afrofunk) is a West African music genre that combines influences from Nigerian (e.g. Yoruba and Igbo music) and Ghanaian (e.g. Highlife) music with American funk, jazz and soul influences.

Afrobeats, a combination of sounds that originated in West Africa in the 21st century, is to be distinguished from Afrobeat. With various influences, Afrobeats is an eclectic combination of genres such as hip-hop, house, jùjú, ndombolo, R&B, soca and dancehall.

Although the two genres are often mixed together, they are not the same thing.

Many jazz musicians have been attracted to the Afrobeat genre. From Roy Ayers in the 1970s to Randy Weston in the 1990s, collaborations have resulted in albums such as Africa:Centre of the World by Roy Ayers, which was released on the Polydore label in 1981. In 1994, the American jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis included samples of Fela's ‘Beasts of No Nation’ in his album Buckshot LeFonque.

AFROFUSION

is a dance and musical style that emerged between the 1970s and 2000s.

This musical style invokes fusions of various regional and inter-continental musical cultures, such as jazz, hip hop, kwaito, reggae, soul, pop, kwela, blues, folk, rock and afrobeat.

As a genre and musical compositional form, Afro fusion incorporates traditional African music, alternative music as well as Afropop, blending various genres in an experimental crossover-like style. Afrofusion songs often include vocals in a range of African languages alongside other languages such as Spanish, English and French. For example English, isiXhosa, Duala and Spanish in the multilingual song "Waka Waka".

Joseph Bannor

@kunimyelor_gh

Joseph is a Ghanaian super talented musician residing in Accra. He's got a world class touch on his traditional percussion instruments. Arranger bei Best Wave Music Technologies.

General Associate of Arts and Sciences - Juni 2001–Aug. 2023 at Modern Sciences and Arts University.

Joseph had a passion for music since age 8 and pursued it professionally after completing school. His notable milestones include:

- Pan-African Youth Orchestra (PAYO)

started here and showcased his talent among young musicians from diverse Ghanaian backgrounds.

- Pan-African Orchestra (PAO):

his skills earned him a promotion to this renowned orchestra, known for blending African traditional and neo-traditional sounds. The PAO, founded by Nana Danso Abiam in 1988, features instruments like atenteben flutes, gyile xylophones, kora harp-lutes and gonje fiddles.

- Soul Winners Band:

Joseph later joined this Ghanaian gospel group, which had a global hit album and performed alongside American gospel artists. The band's lead, Kenneth Appiah, is a composer and Afro-pop performer from Accra.

Then to the Gh jazz collectives with notable names like Victor Dey jnr, Bernard Ayisa. Got the chance to play also with Etienne Mbappe, Sean Nowell, Nicolas Genest, Bruce Harrisand more.

- Chorkor Jazz Band:

Now, Joseph is leading his own band, blending local folk songs with international genres, incorporating up to 80% Ghanaian drums and showcasing strong vocal skills.

With a new album on the horizon, his musical journey continues to evolve.