Koo Nimo

Koo Nimo (born Kwabena Boa-Amponsem on 3 October 1934, baptized Daniel Amponsah) is a leading folk musician of Palm wine music or Highlife music from Ghana.

Born in the village of Foase, in the Atwima District of the Ashanti Region in Ghana, West Africa, he worked in various jobs in science and medical-related fields while maintaining his interest in music. In 1957, when the former British colony of the Gold Coast became the independent country of Ghana, Koo Nimo first received national acclaim through the formation of the Addadam Agofomma ensemble. Many of his songs tell traditional stories and are sung in the language Twi. Along with one or two guitars and vocals, the traditional Ashanti palmwine ensemble consists of traditional instruments of West Africa, including the apentemma and the donno, the frikyiwa (metal castanet), the prempensua (rhumba box), the ntorwa (hollow gourd rattle with beads or seeds woven around it on a net), and the nnawuta (consisting of two iron bells that provide the key rhythmic pattern) or dawuro (banana-shaped bell).

In 1990, eight of Koo's songs were released as a compact disk entitled Osabarima. This was the first work by a Ghanaian artist to be put on CD. In January 1992, at Columbia University, New York, USA, Andrew L. Kaye presented his dissertation entitled "Koo Nimo and his circle: A Ghanaian Musician in Ethnomusicological Perspective" and was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree for his work.

In 1998, he was employed as a Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, for two years, before taking a similar position at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In 2006, Koo Nimo moved back to Ghana, to the city of Kumasi. He appeared in a January 2007 episode of the American travel show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, where he is shown playing music, discussing his music, and enjoying a lunch of stewed greater cane rat with host Anthony Bourdain.

...
Wikipedia