The bitter-sweet quality was a mark of Kpakpo's talent, something he always brought to the music he chose to play.

 

But Kpakpo also had a slight sense of humor in his personal life, which sometimes fed into his music.

 

For this humor, I draw your attention to his vocal rendition of the Ga fisher folk song, "Aliwuo" on the same "Kaya" album.

 

Aliwuo was recorded sometime in the 60s, with the Uhuru Professional Dance Band. Kpakpo, the lead trumpeter of the band was called upon to sing, since for some reason the band's original vocalist was not present at the session. The result was an instant hit, both in humor and musicality.

Kpakpo, a Ga, opened that song with a prelude in the Akan language.

"Agoooo.. Minua fo nyinaaa, Fante” he started.

Indeed, Kpakpo, as a Ga, was not raised on the Akan language and, therefore, the accent came out raw, as an unintentional bastardization of the Akan language.

 

But the accent supported the humorous overture, as the story of the song changed to the Ga language.  It became a joy to hear “Aliwuo” the Ga song sang that way.

Kpakpo was not mocking any of the languages in that song.  Even Akans who heard the song later didn't feel their language was deliberately broken.  They heard it as natural to Kpakpo the Ga man and readily forgave him because of the virtuosity of the rendition of the entire song.

Kpakpo, at the time of the recording of "Aliwuo," was a young man in his late 20s. But, he had already gained the reputation of a superb instrumentalist  - a trumpeter and a flugelhorn player with Uhuru Band; arguably, the most professional dance band of the era in West Africa.

So much was Kpakpo bonded to his music that it never escaped any part of his life. Even at leisure time in his living room, away from work, you would see his beloved instruments arranged around him, within reach and ready to be played at the slightest impulse.

Kpakpo was born December 25, 1940 and raised mostly at Bhamiye House, Korletsom Odumasi. His mother was from the Odjidja family. We called her "Auntie Dear."

Truth be told, a son wanting to be a professional dance-band musician in a family of educators and pastors, who were raised by missionaries of the Basel Mission (now Presbyterian), was an unpalatable choice of a career path for the elders of the Odjidja clan.

 

But the irony from this side of the family was that it was chuck full of musicans.  But they just openly wanted Kpakpo to be a professional teacher instead.

Regardless, Kpakpo chose professional dance hall music as a calling. He took to the trumpet and even became a band leader before leaving Ghana.

It is gratifying to note that it was his trumpet that brought him to the United States of America.

Kpakpo met and married the late Ms. Janet Addo in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Janet died just weeks before Kpakpo was to achieve his epic ambition to play at the famous Hollywood Bowl.

 

I was at Los Angeles, California for the burial.   And with a double burden of pain in my heart, I drove past the marquee that still listed Kpakpo's HighLife Jazz Fusion Show, which was slated for a date in October 2006. 

The night after Jane's burial. I watched Kpakpo, deep in sorrow, with muted trumpet sketches play alongside Mahalia Jackson's song, "Take my hand, Precious Lord," that was playing on the stereo in the background.

Kpakpo was mourning Jane on his trumpet, the only way he knew best.

I sat mute. Listened helplessly, enchanted but inactive. There was piano in the room. If only I had the skill to accompany him, as I had promised him for all my adult years!

So Kpakpo played on - alone.

Kpakpo on any of his horns could be colorfully reminiscent of some of the Jazz greats. His solo melodies usually bluesy and melancholic. For example, "She mi ni oya,"  another traditional song he arranged and recorded on the album "Kaya."

 
In that song was the appropriate framing of a tinge of sadness; of cadences of muted trumpet sound and the aging voice of Kpakpo.

 

And the theme of separation that was already provided in the title was loud in this song: The parting message from a lover, filial or otherwise.

It was all Kpakpo, using the same forlornness to a proper effect.  

But the  feelings on the "Awusah" song was better. Kpakpo loved it. And so did I.

 

Just after Kpakpo's death was announced, I listened to the album "Kaya" again. And instantly, the idea of "Awusah" being a fitting tribute to him struck me.

 

There was this strong yearning, sang in Ga, for his dear deceased mother, "Auntie Dear."  I paraphrase the vocal lines:

I am an orphan
I wont know the day
Of my own demise
I have no mother
And no father
Pity is my name
The deserver of empathy
From day to day.

And then the trumpet riffs and the forlornness intent followed. I had to conclude that the man had already sang his own obituary.

 

Kpakpo, despite his physically strong presence, was very emotionally vulnerable.  His big eyes would signal when he was sad or happy, or ready to register any experiences of pathos.

 

Nature has a way of packaging people.  And I think the above qualities were what made him the great musician that he was.

Kpakpo had asked to be buried next to his mother, "Auntie Dear."

I pay this tribute to him not only because he was family but also for giving me a window to the lifestyles of professional musicians, some of whom I got to meet in his company.

 

 I pay also tribute to his generational compatriots of the music profession in Ghana for their collective passion for the high-life style, the best dance-hall music form of any era in this country.

Kpakpo had two sons, Allotey and Allotei (deceased). He is survived by one son, Edward Allotey Addo and his son's wife Doris and five grand children (Winfried Kpakpo, William Akwei, Isaac Nii Moi, Agnes Aku-Sika, David Addo).

 

Kpakpo will be buried at Krobo Odumasi on October 07, 2017.

On behalf of the Odjidjas, the Tekpeteys and the rest of the families of Bhamiye House, Korletsom, I wish him a deep and passionate farewell and a peaceful journey upwards to his maker.

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher, www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, September 08, 2017
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