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It was a marriage
of two great musical genres that incidentally borrow a lot from each
other at the ‘Afrobeat meets Jazz’ concert on April 24, 2010. At the
Ogunlana Drive, Surulere-based Moods Club, the presence of Louis
Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Fela could be simultaneously
felt. This was combined with the creativity of Funsho Ogundipe, leading
his Ayetoro band in a performance that cut through the old and new
schools. His brand of music which is also called Ayetoro (“World at
Peace” in Yoruba) was the engine that drove the evening’s events.

Ogundipe was born
in Lagos where he created his own Jazz-based style. The composer and
pianist began playing the piano aged 17 and after regular visits to
Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Afrika Shrine. Memorably, Ogundipe performed with
the Afrobeat legend in 1988.

In 1996, he formed
Ayetoro. The band’s music is influenced by the maestro Fela; Jazz
greats Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Sun Ra and Apala
persona Haruna Ishola. Due to constant travel, Ogundipe’s band exists
wherever he is based.

On this occasion,
the band existed in Lagos in a venue that was filled to capacity and
beyond for the evening’s performance. Lovers of Jazz and Afrobeat
trooped into the Club to listen to jazz and Afrobeat music played in a
unique fusion of the two genres.

The band led
listeners on a musical journey that cut across age: from the jiggling
photographer and culture critic Tam Fiofori to the foot tapping Sista
Soul.

The nine-man
Ayetoro band played songs that did not only combine contemporary
musical instruments like the trumpets or guitar, but added a very
African feel with the talking drum. Ogundipe’s use of the structure of
12-bar blues, diminished chords and whole tones to improve the band’s
sound distinguished his style of music. His combination of jazz, Afro
beat and highlife added more colour to the sounds produced by the
ensemble. The tempo of each tune was transmitted in waves that took the
audience from one musical high to the next with a few sober moments in
between.

At the end of the
first session which lasted almost an hour, the musicians took a break,
but the crowd did not disperse for fear of missing the second half of
well-served music. The next session featured other artists in vocal
performances. Veronny “Sista Soul” Odili rendered a poem on the Umaru
Yar’Adua administration’s Seven-Point Agenda, while another young
artist gave his impression of renowned Senegalese singer Youssou
N’Dour. It was indeed a job well done.

Sista Soul also
delivered a love song in the fashion of popular female jazz vocalists
like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

The evening continued with more danceable jazz-inspired Afrobeat that kept the audience busy until it was time to go home.

Some of the popular
faces at the event were Reggae Musician Ras Kimono, photographers Unoma
Giese and Don Barber; and Society for Nigerian Artists (SNA) Chairman
Lagos Chapter, Oliver Enwonwu.

Funsho Ogundipe’s
‘Afrobeat Meets Jazz’ sessions are at Moods, 57 Ogunlana Drive,
Surulere, Lagos – every last Saturday of the month.