Award-winning ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, linguist, documentarian, sound artist and ecologist, musician, and UNM professor Steven Feld encountered Por Por (pronounced paaw paaw), Ghana’s honk horn music, 20-some years ago and has continued to work with the musicians, documenting this unique genre. The exclusive players of this squeeze-bulb klaxon horn music are the drivers in the La branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (La is a district of Accra). In his most recent effort on their behalf, Feld combines them with the Texas Horns, a preeminent U.S. soul, blues, and roots trio. The result is an astonishingly strange and familiar hybrid.

The La Drivers Union Por Por Group & the Texas Horns
Horn to Horn (Voxlox Records)
A review
Horn to Horn opens with the high-energy “Mibi Anue,” a song that rebukes a child for lack of respect for his elders and that, at first hearing, may sound like an agitated barnyard, but one with very rhythmic and musical critters. It will take a minute or two for ears unfamiliar with these sounds—interlocking honk horns, percussion, drums, bells—to sort out what is going on, but once oriented, the ears will communicate with the feet, and dancing will occur. This song and five others were recorded in Accra by the Por Por Group. Overdub arrangements by Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff of the Texas Horns were added in Austin, with the trio and friends with trombones, guitars, percussion, Hammond B3 organ, and more playing the parts.

The remaining six songs reversed the process, with the Texas Horns recomposing and recording songs from the Por Por Group’s album Por Por: Honk Horn Music of Ghana, with the Por Por Group adding their overdubs, with antelope horn, talking drum, africorder pipe, and more.

When everybody was happy with the results of this cross-Atlantic collaboration, the Texas Horns and Feld traveled to Ghana to put the finishing touches on the project, where Por Por arranger Nii Tetteh “Mas T” Boye La composed a brand-new song that got the Por Por/Texas Horns treatment.

The songs shift between continents, with Africa in the ascendant here and North America in the ascendant there, and the album makes clear the connection between the two—no more so than in “Driver, Take Me.” This woman trader’s plea, originally in the adowa rhythm, is recast by Kazanoff in a Memphis groove, and the musical line from Accra to Memphis could not be clearer.

At times, the Por Por Group creates an almost hypnotic effect, with repeated rhythmic/melodic figures under the “primary ” instruments, as they do under the scorching bari statement in “Shidaa,” and what had sounded on first hearing as a near-cacophony of honks coalesces into an ecstatic near-drone. Other highlights include the sunny “Sunshine in Africa;” the relentlessly hot “Kpanlogo Medley,” with the honk horns/electric guitar opening and the tenor sax solo from Alex Coke; and the beautiful flute from “Mas T” on “Suomo.” The extensive liner notes from Feld, Kazanoff, and photographer, archivist, and oral historian Nii Yemo Nunu about the process and the songs themselves provide a welcome introduction to the album.

The Por Por Group and the Texas Horns have married their musics in a lively combination that honors both continents and your instinct for joy.

The La Drivers Union Por Por Group is Nii Ashai “Vice” Ollennu (group leader and  por por engine), Nii Tetteh “Mas T” Boye La (vocals, atenteben flute, apentema congas), Adjetey Sowah (gome drum, por por long horn), Oko Sai (por por long horn), Nii Amarh Amartey (vocals, por por horn), Victoria Mensah (vocals), Nii Otoo Annan (gangokui bells), Adwoa Kyere and Mabel Odoi (backup vocals). 

The Texas Horns are Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff (tenor sax, harmonica, vocals), Al Gomez (trumpet, vocals), and John Mills (bari sax, Fender Rhodes piano, vocals).

P.S. The digital download and CD are available at www.horn2horn.com (where there are 30-second audio previews of each track, as well as videos, and more) and at www.thetexashorns.com. Those of you in New Mexico can attend a VoxLox-hosted listening/release/honk horn video night at the Outpost on November 3. Check the Outpost website for details this fall.

Check out the limited-edition T-shirts and 
fridge magnets at the Musically Speaking store.
Your support is much appreciated.

© 2023 Mel Minter