Woodshed

Ìyá ni wúrà

Ìyá ni wúrà iye bí ye
Tí a kòle f’owó rà (×2)
Ó lóyún mi f’ósù mésàán
Ó pòn mí f’ódún méta
Ìyá ni wúrà iye bí ye
Tí a kòle f’owó rà

Kí ni màá jé tí ma gbà gbé ę
Àrò rę sò mí púpò (×2)
Ó lóyún mi f’ósù mésàán
Ó pòn mí f’ódún méta
Ìyá ní wúrà iye bí ye
Tí a kòle f’owó rà

I love my mother.
Song performed with a little twist hope you like it.

(p.s face blurred to save you the horror of seeing my 'guitar face')

Sobolation

Sobo: /sɒbɒ/
-noun
A person who never minds his/her business.
synonyms
Gbéborùn, olofofo, Máfi lò mí n dási, Arítenimòówí e.t.c...

Sobolation /sɒbɒ'leɪʃən/
-noun
the act of being a sobo.

I recently found out that Lágbájá released two(!) albums (Paradise & Sharp Sharp) last year. I was on his site last fall checking for new albums only to return in March to find two. I'm yet to listen to both, but until then IKIRA!

Benny's Tunes

I often search for new Lionel Loueke videos on youtube, and my most recent search led me to a cover of his song ,'Benny's Tune' off his Karibu as well as Virgin Forest album. It was performed by the Garfield high school jazz band, and apparently they have one of the top high school jazz programs (and high school musicians). They handled the song's rather complex form with relative ease. The cover featured notable sax and trumpet solos backed by a solid rhythm section. Almost scary to think these are high school students. Jazz is dead? You'd better think again.

Little background : Lionel Loueke is a jazz guitarist from Benin, and one of the best imo. I discovered him in Jan. '08 through his work with Herbie Hancock River on 'River: Joni letters', and I've been hooked on him since; I've seen him play live, and will see him again in a couple of days!, I have his albums (autographed), his collaborations, and it will explain why I search for his videos on youtube every other day! He gives me a particular sense of pride; I'm sure I'm his biggest fan. Lionel with his natural feel for complex African polyrhythms, falsetto voice, virtuosic technique, and complete mastery of the jazz idiom and tradition, has carved his own niche in jazz. Benny's tune, like most of his compositions, is challenging to play, but an easy listen. The tune was written for his wife, and it features an odd metered time signature that changes every other bridge (11/8 to 6/4 - I think). According to him, the goal is to make complex rhythms feel like traditional and easily recognized rhythms, and in this regard he succeeds remarkably; he plays his composition 'Seven Teens' -a song in 17/4 (!) - just as if it were a song written in 4/4, it's almost unreal. Benny's tune has been recorded by Terrence Blanchard from his '05 release 'FLOW.'
Watch Lionel play Benny's Tune live unaccompanied with absolute and unhindered command of his instrument and art.

Joshua Redman Trio

I saw Joshua Redman perform with his trio on Sunday, and it was such an amazing experience. He kicked off his '10 tour with his pianoless trio featuring Reuben Rogers on bass, Greg Hutchinson on drums, and Redman on tenor and soprano saxes with a concert at my school. His latest album, Compass, actually featured a pianoless double trio with Brian Blades! (drums), and Larry Grenadier (bass), but I'm assuming scheduling conflicts or financial implications is preventing him from touring with his double trio. In any case, it was one of the greatest shows I've ever been to.

Pardon me

Scratch the previous post.I apologize to my faithful readers about my seemingly lack of activity on this blog lately - i'm sorry mum. It seems like this blog will now resign to the tried and tested order created by the blogging gods...randomness. I don't have a dog but I will get one in the future. My attempt at randomness feels good already. This blog will mostly be about random music and maybe photography, but mostly random stuff...

Howdy

Hello there. I finally got the motivation to create a blog...previous attempts died as a result of, well, nothing to blog about. This blog will be about music...mostly NIGERIAN music...old Nigerian music. Music my dad used to play when I was growing up, music I used to hear on the Nigerian radio and t.v. I've been hit with a renewed interest in studying the history of music in Nigeria. As an avid music lover, I've come to realize that you get a fuller satisfaction listening to most genre of music when you have some historical background on its origin and the prominent artists, history invokes a greater sense of appreciation which makes for a more interesting listening experience.
This blog will chronicle my attempts to know more about the history of music in Nigeria. Since this is a blog there will be random post. I expect to be mildly serious with this blog...so updates will be as frequent as once a year or much less :)