The deaths of music collector Femi Esho, documentary maker Tam Fiofori and painter Zinno Orara additional rob the tradition trade of institutional data and expertise.
IT'S been a scorching few weeks within the tradition sector, with dying putting down a few of the trade's huge gamers. Dying is the tip of all individuals, however the passing of those impactful gamers has additional disadvantaged the sector of the expertise and concepts it wants in these difficult instances.
The primary shock was the passing of the inimitable music collector and promoter of highlife music, Femi Esho, on June 17 on the age of 77.
Some critics have all the time identified that we, as Nigerians, don’t doc our historical past. We don’t have a good time our achievements and document them for the brand new technology to study from. However this was totally different for the avid collector.
By means of his Evergreen Musical Firm Ltd, Baba Esho, as he was extensively recognized, collected and documented music of the previous. He made them accessible and likewise celebrated the artists who produced this music. With out his efforts, nobody would have recognized about Ikale musician Crosdale Juba. In my early years as a cultural journalist, he collected and reproduced all of the songs of the artiste who was launched with a lot fanfare in Ibadan, Oyo State. I knew the late Mrs. Consolation Omoge, one other notable Ikale 'old skool' musician, however had by no means heard of Juba.
Baba Esho has enhanced my musical training as he has numerous others. His affect on the preservation of our musical heritage is immeasurable.
The corporate of the person whose efforts to protect music prolonged to Ghana, owns the copyright to the entire works of musicians equivalent to Fela, Dr Victor Olaiya, Rex Lawson, Roy Chicago, Adeolu Akisanya, Tunde Nightingale, Ayinde Bakare, JO Araba, IK Dairo, Eddy Okonta, King Kenny Tone, Agidigbo, Juba, ET Mensah, Ramblers Dance Band, Black Beats, Uhuru Dance Band, Stargazers and CK Man.
His compilation of Sir Victor Olaiya's music is considered one of my treasures. The compilation titled 'The Footprints of a Victor' contained Olaiya's songs from 1954 to 2002. Though he promoted all types of indigenous music genres — Apala, Sakara, Juju, Highlife, Fuji, Waka, Folks, Agidigbo, Afrobeat and Have been — he appeared to be keen on highlife. He was a member of the now quiet Allstars Membership, made up of a few of the nation's most interesting highlife musicians. Earlier than dying decimated the ranks by taking with it the likes of Fatai Rolling Greenback, Alaba Pedro, Orlando Julius and Olaiya, the Membership met often and infrequently jammed collectively. Esho was an everyday at their outings.
At the same time as he grew older, the person described him as “the undisputed biggest music collector of previous with greater than 150,000 vinyl information consisting of 78 rpm breakables, 45 rpm and 33 rpm, tons of of reel-to-reel tapes, 1000’s of cassette tapes of varied music along with archive materials equivalent to His Grasp's Voice (HMV), varied reel-to-reel machines, varied turntables with the oldest 100 years previous, books and newspaper articles on Nigerian music, video recordings of early Nigerian music icons”, was not drained .
His daughter, Bimbo Esho, introduced in Might that the corporate had established the Evergreen Music Heritage Basis in partnership with the music-loving founding father of Mountain of Hearth Ministries, Dr. Daniel Olukoya.
She defined that the mission was the biggest music museum and gallery in Africa, consisting of a music library, a music museum, a music gallery with a big group of artists, an exhibition of over 1000 pictures of Nigerian musicians from 1914, relics of their costumes and previous musical devices, an occasion heart for music live shows, a cinema and a recording studio.
It will likely be accomplished in December, however the avid collector won’t attend the inauguration.
Uncle Tam
I didn't know the late documentary photographer, filmmaker and critic Uncle Tam Fiofori, who died on Tuesday, June 25 on the age of 82, till I moved to the defunct NEXT newspaper in 2008. He was considered one of my editor's prime columnists , Molara Wooden, signed up for our weekly 16-page arts characteristic. We’ve got grown collectively over time. Though he’s easy-going, Uncle Tam might be strict for those who get on his unsuitable facet.
He was a documentary filmmaker par excellence, capturing historic occasions such because the coronation of the thirty eighth Oba of Benin in 1979 and the presidential elections of that yr, attended by the founding fathers, together with the sensible Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His documentaries not solely recorded these occasions for posterity but in addition supplied helpful insights into the political and cultural panorama of the time.
His ebook 'A Benin Coronation: Oba Erediauwa' accommodates 150 authentic pictures and 72 pages of textual content from the coronation of the late king from March 23 to 30, 1979.
'1979', about that yr's presidential marketing campaign, options the enduring picture of Chief Awolowo taken on stage on the ultimate day of campaigning.
“The picture I’ve of Chief Awolowo, taken in July 1979, on the final day of the presidential election marketing campaign, reveals him on stage, with the slogan 'A person with a imaginative and prescient, blessed with a mission'. Chief Awolowo reads from a twelve-page manifesto. I even have images of the group responding to him with the well-known Unity Celebration of Nigeria V signal each time he made some extent,” he advised me in a 2019 interview.
Baba Tam traveled extensively and had a Catholic data of the humanities. His articles about his good friend, Solar-Ra, whom he invited to Nigeria for FESTAC '77, have been illuminating. Uncle Tam finally revealed a ebook about him, 'Solar Ra: Area, Music, Delusion', that very same yr. He defined why: “Solar Ra is, I imagine, probably the most influential musicians of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. His philosophy was that the world was approaching the Area Age. Irrespective of who you’re or the place you come from, you has to organize you for the area age. He was intentionally making an attempt to organize the black individuals within the ghettos in Chicago for the area age. The wonderful thing about Solar-Ra was that he was a precursor of what you could possibly name world music.
“He integrated devices from Africa, China and others to create textural music, based mostly on the philosophy that each period ought to have music that represents its area. We're getting into the area age, so music has to have that digital facet. I used to be his supervisor for seven years; I took him round Europe and launched him to Robert Moog, professor of physics at Cornell College and inventor of the Moog synthesizer. At the moment, Solar Ra's concepts about area and Africa have been integrated into a brand new philosophy referred to as Afro-futurism.”
The Rivers State artist's documentary movie credit embrace 'JD Okhai Ojeikere: Grasp Photographer', 'Olu Amoda: A Metallic Journey' and 'Igbu Oja' about Gerald Eze taking part in Oja, the standard Igbo flute. He additionally made one concerning the artists Juliet Ezenwa-Pearce and Peter King.
Filmmaker and competition organizer Femi Odugbemi wrote about Uncle Tam on behalf of the Directorate and Board of the iREPRESENT Worldwide Documentary Movie Competition in Lagos: “His contributions to documentary filmmaking and pictures weren’t solely inventive expressions, but in addition highly effective commentaries on society, tradition and historical past.
Tam Fiofori’s legacy is considered one of genius, innovation and an indomitable spirit. He captured historical past and impressed a brand new technology of filmmakers and photographers to pursue fact and authenticity of their work. His absence will likely be deeply felt, however his affect will proceed to information and encourage us.”
Zinno Orara
Sadly, Uncle Tam was not the one artist who handed away on Tuesday. Additionally passing away was visible artist Zinno Orara. His daughter Majiri broke the information and revealed that Orara handed away on Tuesday from unknown causes. Orara was born on November 17, 1965 in Benin Metropolis and attended Authorities School, Ughelli and Auchi Polytechnic. He graduated on the age of 23 in 1988, specializing in portray and illustration. Orara had his final efficiency, ‘Refreshing Dialogue’, in Lagos final month.
The trio have been paid countless tributes by household, workers and others as their funeral plans are awaited.
READ ALSO: Content material Creators in Nigeria Now Eligible for Fb Monetization
