About African Heritage Archive

and Kofi Ghanaba

The development of audio-visual archives to research Africa’s vast repositories of history, economics, politics and culture is of prime importance to New York University’s curricular and research work across the continent. As a part of a larger initiative under its Africa House Expressive Arts and History projects, NYU has entered into a partnership with Kofi Ghanaba (formerly known as Guy Warren)- one of the continent’s most prominent musicians and denizen of trans-Atlantic cultural exchanges between Africa, the USA and Europe.

The partnership entails developing an archive around Kofi Ghanaba’s home, organizing his collections of audiotapes, videos, musical instruments, posters, photographs, and newspapers for research purposes. Kofi Ghanaba will also co-curate the facility as well as organize occasional workshops for visiting students and researchers. Though the bulk of the collection will be Divine Drummer Ghanaba’s works, other collections will also be housed in the venue in future. Scholars and enthusiasts of African music and Ghanaba’s contribution to Jazz, High-Life, and the Blues, will enjoy the viewing of videos and listening to well indexed facilities in a climate-controlled building ensconced in the woods of Medie near Nsawam in the outskirts of Accra.

Kofi Ghanaba is one of the most prominent and earliest African drummers to play with jazz and bebop musicians in the United States of America. After playing a major role in Ghanaian highlife music scene in the 1940's and early 50's, he took residence in the US between 1952 and the 1960s playing with leading musicians in New York and Chicago during which he recorded several albums that sold millions of copies. Ghanaba met and collaborated with such jazz luminaries as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Lester Young and Sarah Vaughan. He returned to Ghana in the late 60's. This exciting facility is available to researchers and students and currently used as one of NYU in Ghana internship projects for students.