Glenn Says Bomdigi

Glenn Ghanababa Warren has been a restless, searching soul since childhood and though he has expressed his abundant energies through his explosive drumming style over the years, his new double-CD album, The 3rd Phase: Bomdigi, clearly indicates that his hyperactive muse is still a constant seeker and no settler for simplistic, formulaic music.Bomdigi is a remarkable return to recording by Glenn after a ten-year silence on that front. The songs are mainly re-workings of compositions by him and his famous 85-year-old drummer father, Ghanaba. The pair have played together for over 50 years and understand each other, at least musically, very well. The first CD (referred to as the Club Version), is obviously tailored for dancing in clubs. Despite that, the pool of dedicated musicians on the seven songs bring some distinct inflections to the material. Singer Justice Owen, for instance, adds a very soulful, prayerful touch to Victims of the System. He makes the song, composed by Glenn many years ago, take on a fresh lease of life. His voice manipulation on the track does not make you doubt at all why he was declared winner in the last Stars of the Future contest organised by CharterHouse. Songs like Chiakai, Love of Rhythm and Ghanaba’s classic Happy Feeling all carry their own sense of swing and jerk one to stand up and dance but the outstanding track on this CD is Eyes of a Fawn. Glenn says in the album notes that “Omega Studio in London was burning with sound” as they recorded the song. There is so much beautiful playing on that track, one might think the musicians set out to ‘cut’ each other on that particular song. Paapa Mensah’s steady hands on the congas reminds one of the late Osibisa percussionist and saxist Loughty Lasisi Amao but the real groove are provided by Mac Tontoh on trumpet, Ian Carr on flugelhorn and Brian Smith on saxophone. Their solos interplay and calls and responses on the various horns above the clean kalimba sounds and orchestral strings are of very high class. They do real justice to that challenging Ghanaba composition. Glenn started playing drums in primary school. At Adisadel College in Cape Coast, he and guitarist Ricky Telfer were joined by two other students in 1963 to form The Bachelors, the first student pop group in this country. Nicknamed Little Thunder by his father, Glenn played with the Ghana Police Orchestra, Uhuru and Fela Kuti’s Kola Lobitos during his teens. He lived in the United States for a while where he formed The Umoja Band which released the The Boy Is Doing It album with Hugh Masekela. Glenn also did sessions for first-rate American acts like Cool & the Gang, The OJs and Marvin Gaye. He has kept close to the African roots in drumming throughout his career and that surfaces in the nine songs on the Bomdigi album referred to as the Traditional Version. Ghanaba takes on the lead vocals on some of the songs and the passion with which he renders Daadaa Ke Bee convinces the listener of his belief that quarrels do not solve problems. Glenn and his father are truly in their element on this collection as they weave their way through a variety of infectious traditional drum patterns with accompaniment from excellent hornsmen like Ray Allen and Nii Noi Nortey. Glenn has been around for a long time and knows his way around the drums. Luckily, he understands the recording process too very well and he allows the cumulative experience to reflect on Bomdigi which genuine lovers of all shades of African music must hear.