Obo Addy

Ghanaian drummer, ink and watercolor, 1990.

At yesterday's Juneteenth festivities I met Susan, the widow of Obo Addy. She and her children and grandchildren are carrying on his legacy.

I first saw Obo Addy at a live performance of a San Francisco radio show, West Coast Weekend, almost a quarter-century ago. (It was later known as West Coast Live and is still available weekly, with an excellent lineup of guests, on a number of West Coast radio stations—though, sadly, none in Portland—and on podcasts.) I was seated in the front row with my tiny brass box of watercolors and my favorite waterproof rollerball pen, and I made little paintings throughout the show including this one.