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The University of
Lagos campus came alive on August 11 when the Creative Arts Department
of the institution embarked on the fourth edition of its Afri-Caribbean
Festival. The Festival, a practical requirement for the 300 Level
course, ‘African and Caribbean Theatre Laboratory’, included a carnival
parade and several musical and theatre performances.

The festival began
with a procession around the university campus, which took off from the
main Auditorium at 11am. And just like popular Caribbean festivals, or
the Notting Hill of London, it had several African and Caribbean
cultures represented. Randomly selected into groups, each group
presented the cultures of countries like: Nigeria (Efik and Oyo),
Ghana, Jamaica, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and South Africa.

The students were
adorned in colourful national costumes such as the Ghanaian Kente, Aso
Oke of south western Nigeria, The damask of the Efik, and ruffled satin
costumes embellished with plumage, masks, and garlands for the
Caribbean nations, each group bearing the colours of the country it was
representing.

The parade
proceeded down the campus road to the university campus gates, amidst
music and dance, bearing flags of their countries and employing other
carnival accoutrements such as horses (to bear the kings and queens),
tricycles, staffs, shields and umbrellas (which came in handy, as the
rains came just as the procession began).

Undaunted by the
weather though, the 300 Level students, ably supported by their course
mates in other years, formed a large procession that marched through
the campus; infecting students, lecturers and passersby alike with
their excitement and exuberance. Still the cynosure of eyes, causing
traffic on the roads as people stopped to stare, the carnival returned
to a park beside the Mariere Hostel to begin the performances.

History, music and more

If their dance and
acrobatics during the pageant had been wonderful to view, the students
really got into the carnival spirit at the performance ground. The
event anchor, Alex Oso, a 500 Level student of the department,
conducted the countries through national anthems, which was marred only
by Brazil’s inability to sing its anthem, due, they said, to the fact
that it was very long and in Portuguese (the Brazilian lingua franca).

The first
performance of the event was from Nigeria, a dance drama set in rural
Oyo of a town, which went to war, and conquered its enemies. If the
mime of the dancers was to be understood, news of war reached the king,
who consulted the town’s female priestess attended by four maidens clad
in white and bearing sacrificial calabashes; the priestess, apparently
having consulted the oracles, communicated its assent for the town to
proceed to a victorious war led by a fiery warlord reminiscent of Ola
Rotimi’s Odewale in ‘The Gods Are Not To Blame’.

Efik Nigeria was next on stage to depict its traditional marriage procedure, also in mime and dance.

Ghanaians,
resplendent in Kente and in the national colours thrilled the swelling
crowd to Ghanaian cultural dance routines, followed by choreography to
contemporary Ghanaian tune ‘I And My Shorty Are One’ by music group,
Praye. The dance routine, by four female dancers, was however not
effectively coordinated, as one dancer was notably faster in her
execution of dances. The dance steps were also rather mediocre.

During an interlude
to acknowledge the presence of faculty members, co-anchor Seyi Ajayi, a
400 Level student of Creative Arts, hailed his department as the
“heartbeat of University of Lagos”, and described the event as a
celebration of “unity in its diversity.” And truly, unified diversity
was evident in the performances that followed.

The Islands

Jamaica came on
first, with a narrative mime of its history, “On 1st August 1834,” it
was narrated, “the British government lifted abolition on slave trade.”
And the students mimed slaves as they were broken -body and spirit –
with the masters’ whips. The economic hardship that followed, it was
narrated resulted in socio political crises (mimed fights), until 5th
August 1952 when independence came, heralded by Bob Marley’s ‘One love’
and ‘Give Me Hope, Joanna’ by Eddie Grant, the victory and celebration
of the autonomy of Jamaica from its mother country, Britain, was
re-enacted.

South Africa’s
performance was ushered by a brief history of the country and its
achievements followed by acrobatics and paired dances to Mariam
Makeba’s soulful music, which had given South Africans hope when the
country was gripped by apartheid. A beautiful choreography to Shakira’s
‘Waka Waka’ was also performed, and in the spirit of the football theme
of the song, the female students, with abdomens tattooed with the
national flag, executed cheerleading dances with pompoms while a lone
vuvuzela blared in the background.

Brazil’s princess,
Ife, a younger sister of a student of the department thrilled audience
with her narrative of “the land of samba, rumba and salsa; of carnival,
food, sports and women.” The spectators were subsequently treated to a
Samba dance performance, which through brief was elegantly executed,
with pirouettes and dips, waltzes and ordered footworks, an admirable
departure from the shoddy performance recorded recently at a more
highbrow event.

Finally came the
twin Spanish and British colonised island-nation – Trinidad and Tobago
– with its beautiful women, exotic costumes and calypso. Female dancers
in orange satin tops, ruffled skirts, crowns and red and purple laced
shoes; with their equally grandly attired men folk, who wore orange
belled trousers with ruffled legs, face masks and body glitter,
performed an acrobatic dance display.

It was not all
dance and music though, as all the countries prepared national
delicacies – such as the Brazilian feiojioj and the South African’s
pito and peppered chicken drumstick – that were served to the lecturers
and participants.

Reactions

Giving closing
remarks and appreciations, the founder/organiser of the carnival and
course lecturer, Cornel-Best Onyekaba, who incidentally had also been a
student of the department, expressed his satisfaction about the event,
which had taken about three months to plan. “The challenges were there
but apart from the 2008 edition, which was very magical, this is a
supreme concert. But I know that the best is yet to come.”

He also expressed
appreciation for the efforts of his colleagues and students who shared
in the dreams of the carnival and expended no small effort to endure
that the festival was a success. In his words, “the individual efforts
of all cannot be described in monetary terms.”

He, however,
expressed his disappointment concerning the unwillingness of the
embassies of the countries represented in the festival to provide
support for the carnival despite several attempts to get them on board.

“The embassies did
not co-operate. Some insisted that the students had to sign
undertakings to return flags, which they should have been willing to
provide for free. We are not asking for money, just for costumes to
portray their countries better. What we are doing here counts; it is
their countries we are promoting, for crying out loud.”

Speaking with
theatre lecturer, Otun Rashid, it was revealed that the carnival and
performances will be graded on the basis of aesthetics usage, float
organisation, colour combination, and costumes and performance, for
which he indicated that Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil respectively
would gain top marks. He remarked though that the course is based on a
series of performances.

NEXT ran into Mo’Cheddah, female Nigerian musician, and 300 Level
student of the department, at the festival. Representing Brazil, she
remarked on the immense input the carnival had required, “I did
basically everything. I coordinated, and that is a problem because
nobody listens. I was in charge of costumes. I also danced the samba.
And this is the first time we are including Brazil in the festival, so
it was a bit difficult as we had no precedence to go on.” To which this
reporter teased, “Which was why you were unable to sing your national
anthem.” The artist behind the debut album ‘Franchise Celebrity’,
responded, slightly embarrassed, the “The anthem was long and in
Portuguese, we thought we should just stand like this (she demonstrates
anthem posture) while it played.”

I am in awe of the
power of the written word; and my first exposure to the written word
was in books. My father and the Catholic priests of my boarding school
taught me to love books. The school library was a sanctuary. I
travelled the world in books. In places like India and London, I found
boys that behaved like me. I immersed myself in cultures that would
have been alien without the powerful pull of books. I will never forget
my first visit to London. I kept seeing places that had appeared to me
before in books. As a precocious boy, the only way to keep me still was
to hand me a book.

The world has
changed from my childhood days. These days when I am reading a book, I
resist the urge to click on a word; I see the Internet anywhere.
Technology has radically redefined how I access ideas. I am not a fan
of electronic readers like the spindle. I view them as inchoate and
primitive. However, I believe that the iPad and its subsequent
reincarnations are going to spell the end of the book. In the West, the
library as we know it is preparing to go on life support; actually it
is already dead and now they call the reincarnation a media centre. My
daughter does not understand why we built a library in our community.
She says the books should all fit in a laptop. Think about how children
now live and it will give you digital pause. It is true that the book
is not going away anytime soon but it is dying. There are opportunities
for writers and thinkers to sell their ideas on the new formats
especially in the ubiquitous smartphones of Africa. People might just
read us if we put our thoughts on a Nokia. Now, that’s a brilliant
thought.

Newspapers and
magazines like The Washington Post and Newsweek are literally on their
last legs. The other day, someone bought Newsweek for one dollar. I
would have bought it, but I was broke. I subscribe to the Washington
Post but I find myself more and more these days picking the paper off
my driveway and dumping it in the recycling bin. This new technology is
the mother of all tornadoes, forcing her way into our lives and
changing things in mystifying and counter-intuitive ways. The new
technology is inquisitive and invasive. There are no boundaries that it
will not breach. It is relentless even as we proclaim the sanctity of
our present values and assumptions about the way things should be.
There are legitimate concerns about the implications for addressing the
economic divide between the haves and the have-nots in and between
countries

In Nigeria, the
divide is being perpetrated by her thieving leaders, aided and abetted
by their partners-in-crime, us intellectuals. If you ask my mother,
technology has actually freed her from the tyranny of Nigerian leaders’
greed, corruption, ineptitude and general foolishness. My mother now
has her own cell phone. I can reach her at the first ring, no drama.
You don’t want to know what it used to take to reach her before the
coming of the cell phones. On most nights, in her house, there is no
power; she is resourceful enough to use her Nokia cell as a flashlight
if she has to find the bathroom. Our black leaders should be shot. What
they are doing is black-on-black crime. My mother is sure that the
white man will soon discover a widget that you will wave around her
hut, and, there is light. She has spent a lifetime trying to trust the
rubbish ensuing from the mouths of Nigeria’s thieving leaders. Now, she
does not want to see them. They have lost credibility. My mother says
that soon, astral travel will be a reality and we won’t have to use
Nigeria’s “roads” and be ambushed by policemen and armed robbers. My
mother is a genius.

Yes, print media are dying, hanging themselves out to die on
decaying physical boundaries. Soon there will be children born who will
read about a time when the newspaper made a joyful thud on someone’s
porch. In the West, the newspaper boy is going the way of the milkman.
By the time my newspaper comes I have read most of the news on my
laptop. Traditional publishing is on the ropes. It won’t be for long.
Even as we speak, in the West, publishing houses are remaking
themselves, trying hard with some success to reclaim the space that is
being threatened by the democratisation that has taken place with the
advent of the Internet. They are competing with new tools of self
expression. People are voting with their feet in the millions and going
to the new medium as their primary source of information, education and
entertainment. Traditional publishing houses have a lot to be worried
about. They have historically depended on the book for their survival.
But the book is dying a long slow death.

The Association of
Nigerian Authors (ANA) appears to have reinforced the notion that
writers are bad managers with its poor handling of the colloquium held
to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the writings of poet and
dramatist, John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo on August 13. Not only did the
opening at Afe Babalola Hall, University of Lagos, start behind
schedule, it was also poorly publicised such that less than 100 people
attended. Not a few people were surprised by the development, none more
so than Clark and his wife, Ebun, who taught English and Drama at the
university before they retired. Students could have been mobilised to
attend, observers noted.

However, the shoddy
organisation took nothing away from the stature of the eminent writer,
though almost every speaker referred to it.

Writing without bias

Chair of the
ceremony, Elechi Amadi, expressed his regret at the event’s
organisational failings, before recalling his and Clark’s undergraduate
days at the University College, Ibadan. Amadi disclosed that he was
first published in ‘The Horn’, a campus paper edited by Clark. He said
he has a soft spot for Clark’s poetry “probably because he writes about
the kind of environment I grew up in. Like him, I lived with my mother
in a thatched mud hut and when it rained at night we had to shift our
mats and belongings to avoid the leakages. Not surprisingly, I have
much empathy for his ‘Night Rain’”

The author of ‘The
Concubine’ also noted that Clark was fortunate to have started writing
when there were few literary prizes available to Nigerians because it
allowed him to write without undue influence. “It is my view that
foreign prizes come with a price. They can, and do influence our
writing in a subtle way. The donor of a prize cannot appreciate you
fully unless you wholly or in part share his mindset, worldview,
sensibilities and worse, his prejudices about Africa and Africans,” he
said.

He also made a case
for the protection of indigenous writing and local prizes. “Writing is
our intellectual menu and very much a part of our culture. We should
protect it from foreign interference no matter how subtle and well
meaning. Local prizes are better because we are the best judges of our
own culture.” The retired Army captain, however, explained that he is
not advocating the rejection of foreign prizes, but “In accepting the
dollars, we should be fully aware of the securely veiled intentions of
the donors. The donors are not necessarily evil but like everyone else
they have their interests to maintain and protect.” Amadi also paid
tribute to Clark with a parody of William Blake’s ‘The Tiger’.

Icon of the pen trade

ANA president,
Jerry Agada, apologised for the organisation’s lapses and described
Clark “as a great icon of our pen trade… His contributions to the
development of African oral literature through his dramatic and poetic
writing, nay the literature of the world, speaks for itself. He has put
in many years of also growing people who today represent a very
luminous expression of his genius and outstanding intellection. His
critical writings have shaped and also broadened the scope of global
understanding of Africa and her rich cultural heritage.”

In a goodwill
message he delivered on behalf of Emmanuel Uduaghan, Governor of Delta
State and the major financier of the conference with a N10 million
funding, academic, G. G Darah, said Delta is happy “to be part of the
heritage of JP who’s one of the world’s greatest writers.”

Vice Chancellor of
the University of Lagos, Adetokunbo Shofoluwe, who was represented by
Duro Oni, dean, Faculty of Arts, said it was a pleasure for the
institution to be hosting the event.

The Anti-palanquinist

Poet and Secretary
General, Pan-African Writers’ Association (PAWA), Atukwei Okai, in a
keynote address titled ‘Historical Chameleonisation and
Anti-palanquinity: Human Beings as Casualties of the Womb and Writers
as Murderers of the Gods – the Creational Marathon of J.P.
Clark-Bekederemo’ – dwelt on the non-conformist traits of Clark. He
explained that a palanquin is a covered litter carried by four people
but that Clark exhibited traits of an anti-palanquinist early in his
writing career when as an undergraduate, he challenged the colonial
establishment with his poem, ‘Ivbie: A Song of Wrong’. “From his very
first works, we see that Clark set out to distil into the psyche of his
people the spirit of anti-palanquinity. Witnesss ‘Ivbie: A Song of
Wrong’, ‘America Their America’ and ‘Casualties’,” the keynote speaker
said.

Continuing, he said
the anti-palanquinity generation which Clark belongs to “are of a
mindset that would question the status quo and subvert any order that,
by its precepts and preaching, would seek to continue to deceive and
manipulate, exploit and enslave the people, the citizenry or, in other
words, the masses. The anti-palanquinity generation, as a rule, start
from the viewpoint that whatever is subsumed as a country belongs, by
right, to the people of that country, that land.” He mentioned Festus
Iyayi and Femi Osofisan as examples of writers who have imbibed Clark’s
anti-palanquinity with the way they probe beyond the surface in works
like ‘Heroes’ and ‘Morountodun’.

Get organised

Clark, renowned
for his sarcasm, narrated the story of PEC Repertory Theatre he ran
with his wife years ago and the fluctuating attendance at its shows to
stress that he didn’t find the poor attendance strange. “We are used to
this, but what my wife and I particularly miss are our students.
Students of English and Drama are not here because they were not told.”
He disclosed that he and Amadi, his “comrade and friend at Tedder Hall”
had a great time at the University College. Amadi’s reminiscences, he
stated, “reminded me of incidents that I had consigned to a long, long
past.”

Switching back to
the poor organisation, the author of ‘Ozidi’, ‘The Raft’ and ‘The Boat’
amongst other plays, explained that it is not only in Nigeria that
writers organise events like ANA did. The same thing, he said, happened
to Okai when he organised a conference in Ghana.

Referring to his
biography on the programme, Clark told the organisers that he was not
born on April 6, 1935 as they wrote but on December 6, 1933 “which my
friend Wole Soyinka will not accept because it makes me older than him
by a year.” He also disclosed that he became a professor in 1972 and
not 1977. Clark added that though ANA has tried to “kill me off” by
saying that he last wrote in 1988, “I’ve been writing from 1988 to the
moment. I’ve written quite a few things since then.” Indeed, Clark
launched a collection of poems, ‘Of Sleep and Old Age’, as recently as
2004.

“Mr President, past
president, please get organised. Writers also can be good managers. I
appreciate this very much. My wife and I are very touched. Left to me,
I was going to call it off but I was reminded that people came from
Kano, Calabar and as far as from Accra,” Clark reiterated while
thanking the University of Lagos and Delta State government for
supporting the conference.

Poet and
polemicist, Odia Ofeimun who presented three copies of his ‘Lagos of
the Poets’, Femi Osofisan, Sam Ukala and Wale Okediran were among
guests at the conference.

Two papers, ‘Managing Linguistic Taboos in Clark-Bekederemo’s Songs
of a Goat’ and ‘Rethinking JP Clark’s Ozidi in the Light of
Contemporary Nigerian Experience’ by Joe Ushie and Sunny Awhefeada were
taken at the first plenary session after the opening. Writers Musa
Idris Okpanachi and Maria Ajima were among those who delivered papers
on the second day, before the conference ended with a dinner.

Since launching her
first album in 2001, singer Cherish Wade has given breakout musicians
something to aspire to as she fights her way up towards becoming a
chartbuster.

After an earlier
encounter with the music industry left her counting her losses because
she released only a limited number of copies of her first album, she is
hoping to do better with her second. Already, the lessons learnt seem
to be paying off, as she speaks with a glint in her eyes about
strategies she has adopted to move the new album and her career in the
right direction.

“The first album
was difficult because I was not experienced, but I thank God I went
through it. The second album is better because I am more experienced;
the quality has improved, there was money to finance the project, and
there are more producers on this album,” Wade said.

The pastor and bead
maker traces the beginning of her interest in singing to primary
school, where she was part of a cultural group. She evolved over time
to leading children’s choirs in various churches across major Nigerian
cities. Today, she has two CDs to her name, titled ‘My Lifter’ and ‘My
Lifter 2’.

“I have always had
a passion for music, so when I got born again, I became a choir
mistress. That has enabled me to lead many choirs,” she said.

It was while she
was still based in Port Harcourt that she wrote the song that helped
define the kind of things she talks about in the track, ‘My Lifter’.
According to Wade, she loves the song, not only because it was her
first original piece, but also because it is one song she believes the
whole world should hear: “I like the song so much, so I did it on my
second album”.

The first album,
which was launched in Delta State, did not reach many people as few
copies made the circuit. By putting ‘My Lifter’ on the better
distributed second album therefore, she believes it will get to a wider
listening audience. “Not too many people were able to hear the song
when it first came out. Now that this second album has [it], more
people will be able to hear it,” she said excitedly.

More exposure

The gospel singer
is now based in Lagos, where she is hoping for better opportunities in
the entertainment industry. “When a musician is in Lagos, it is easy
for your music to reach every part of Nigeria and even the world,” she
explained. “I am looking at making this album more visible by shooting
videos for the songs on my album. Also, I would be touring churches now
that ‘My Lifter 2’ has been launched.”

On how she balances
her music with life as a pastor’s wife and a bead-making trainer, she
said, “I don’t have a problem with it at all. I assist my husband in
his pastoral work, but when I have to minister in another church, I
go.”

Cherish Wade has
come a long way. She had to acquire more skills as a bead-maker when
she found out that raw talent did not immediately provide the kind of
commercial value and aesthetic she craved for her works. These days,
she combines teaching beadmaking to women, at least three times a week,
with her singing. Asked what kind of music she listens to, Wade
mentioned Don Moen, Donnie McClurkin, Asu Ekiye, Sammy Okposo, and
Panam Percy Paul.

She describes her
own music as eclectic, combining traditional Edo sounds with rhythm and
blues, reggae, and South African influences. Though an experimental
musician, Wade remains resolute in her choice of gospel music.

Some of the world’s
top Jazz music stars will be providing a global mix of sound at The
Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, holding in the Newtown Precinct of
Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 26 to 28.

Now in its tenth
year, the festival will parade a line-up of international artists from
the United States, Japan, Israel, South Africa and the African
Diaspora.

One of the
headliners is Mali’s first lady of song, the acclaimed Oumou Sangare.
Famous for albums including ‘Moussoulou’ (Women) and the self-titled
‘Oumou’, Sangare, who sings in her native Bambara language, will bring
her Wassoulou music to South Africa during the festival. Musical acts
from the host country will also be on the bill, including: Sipho
“Hotstix” Mabuse, Wanda Baloyi, Kyle Shepherd, Putuma, Nhlanhla Nciza
and Melanie Scholtz.

From further
afield, America’s Ravi Coltrane (son of Jazz legend, John Coltrane),
Kim Waters and Stacey Kent will also feature. Still on the line-up,
percussionist Poncho Sanchez and jazz quartet Fourplay (comprising Bob
James, Nathan East, Harvey Mason and Chuck Loeb) will be joined by
Japan’s Sadao Watanabe and Israel’s award-winning clarinettist, Anat
Cohen.

Day one of the
festival will offer an eclectic mix of musicians on the programme.
Among those announced to feature are critically acclaimed soul singer,
Rahsaan Patterson, London based guitarist and vocalist Brian Temba; and
the Cape Town jazz singer Auriol Hays – all of whom share the bill on
opening night. Headlining day two, on the Dinaledi stage, are trumpeter
Chris Botti and celebrated jazz singer, Lalah Hathaway.

Speaking about the
preparations thus far for this year’s show, festival producer, Mantwa
Odutayo of T-Musicman said, “We have gone to great lengths to secure
the finest artists and we believe we have a heavyweight line-up
befitting 2010’s stature.”

A little history

The Standard Bank
Joy of Jazz first took place in Johannesburg in 2000 and featured among
others, US jazz saxophonist Marion Meadows and pianist Bob Baldwin, who
is being brought back by the organisers this year.

The debut edition’s audience of 2000 music lovers has since grown over the years to an average of over 20000 festival goers.

Joy of Jazz has a
good record of attracting heavyweight performers onto the programme.
Jazz greats who have performed at the event over the years include:
Keiko Matsui, Joe Sample, Earl Klugh, Dave Koz, Jamie Cullum, Hugh
Masekela, Lee Ritenour, Abdullah Ibrahim, Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman,
Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis and The Count Basie
Orchestra.

The African
continent has been well represented, and among those who have appeared
in recent years, are: Nigeria’s Kúnlé Ayo (2005), Lagbaja (2007) and
Asa (2008), Swaziland’s Bholoja; Zimbabwean Sam Mtukudzi with Max Wild;
Kenya’s Valerie Kimani and the DRC’s Afro Fiesta.

The festival is
known for contributing to the cultural exchange between local artists
and international performers, many of whom have subsequently
collaborated on various projects.

The festival is
also recognised as one of the best platforms for showcasing young,
up-and-coming and emerging jazz musicians. The staging of the Standard
Bank Joy of Jazz Festival in the Newtown Precinct has played an
integral part in the regeneration of the inner city, having had
significant benefits in helping to shape the future of Johannesburg,
and contributing to the city’s changing creative and cultural
landscape.

The Standard Joy of Jazz Festival opens in Newton Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 26 and closes on August 28.

Audiences

Who would not normally have an opportunity to experience top
musical events like the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, are in for a treat
this year. Organisers of the jazz-travaganza, which opens in the Newtown
Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 26, have laid on two free
concerts for music lovers.

The initiative is part of plans to contribute to the festival’s
on-going audience development drives. The free shows, devised as community
outreach projects featuring South African acts on the brink of commercial
success, will give wider audiences a taste of the festival.

Community

The programme involves two tailor-made shows taking place at the
Sci-Bono, a venue located in the Old Electric Workshop in Newtown, the cultural
precinct in the heart of the Johannesburg. The People’s Concert which takes
place at noon on Tuesday, August 24, is for adults from various community
organisations; and showcases acts like The Soil, Thulee and Nkulee Dube .

The Magnet Schools Concert, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25,
features Dineo Pule, Zonke and Vuyo Tyolo. This show is specifically for
learners who are part of the Magnet Schools programme, which provides music
training to talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

One of those appearing of August 24, Nkulee Dube, is none other
than the daughter of the late South African musician, Lucky Dube. Nkulee has
overcome the tragedy of her father’s murder and is now making waves on the
music scene in her own right, by fusing ethno-soul and jazz with Ragga. Others
on the line-up, Vuyo Tyolo and Zonke, both recently returned to South Africa
from a successful tour of Holland.

Workshops

In-between concerts and other appearances during the festival,
some of the world’s leading jazz musicians will also make time to run free
workshops, teaching youngsters and aspiring musicians the intricacies of the
craft.

Among those who have volunteered their services are: R’n’B and
jazz musician, Lalah Hathaway; clarinet virtuoso, Anat Cohen; Grammy nominated
saxophonist, Ravi Coltrane; and saxman and composer, Kim Waters. Jazz violinist
Michael Ward and percussionist Poncho Sanchez will also assist with the
workshops, to help inspire a creative spirit in South African youth.

Women

There is also a women’s angle to the festival, in celebration of
Women’s Month and the legacy of women journalists in South Africa’s popular
media. The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will, as in previous years, be offering a
five-day practical workshop for women arts writers. The Lady Porcupine Arts
Journalism Workshop is now an established part of the festival’s educational
programme.

Scheduled to take place from August 23 to 27 in Newtown, the
women’s arts writers’ workshop will be run by Gwen Ansell, a music/jazz writer
and journalism trainer. The workshop title honours Johanna Pahlane, who wrote
for Bantu World under the pen-name ‘Lady Porcupine’ in the 1930s while also
directing the Merry Makers vaudeville troupe.

The course, which has Jazz-writing and critiquing as its content
focus, is targeted at Johannesburg-based women over the age 20 who are journalists
or media students, cadets or interns. Also targeted for the workshop, are
female musicians or music students with interest in the publicity, NGO or
artistic, culture and heritage sectors.

The 2010 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will take place at six venues
in the city’s Newtown Precinct. Other venues include The Market Theatre and The
Bassline, Sophia Town and Nikki’s Oasis. It is held in the 3rd week of August
every year.

The Standard Joy of Jazz Festival opens in Newton Precinct, Johannesburg,
South Africa, on August 26 and closes on August 28.

The third edition
of the International Art Expo will hold at the National Museum, Onikan,
Lagos, from August 21 to 26. Organised jointly since 2008 by the
National Gallery of Art (NGA) and the Art Galleries Association of
Nigeria (AGAN), the exhibition will, as usual, feature artworks from
Nigerian galleries and participants from outside the country.

Activities for this
year’s show were unfolded at a press conference held at the Aina
Onabolu Complex, National Theatre, Lagos, on August 14. Acting Director
General of the NGA, Abdullahi Muku; AGAN president, Frank Okonta; NGA’s
acting director of research education, Simon Ikpakronyi; chair, AGAN
publicity committee, Oliver Enwonwu and curator of the NGA, Ekene
Okorooma, were among art aficionados at the briefing.

Enwonwu, who spoke
first, recalled the history of the expo and the goals of this year’s
show. “The maiden event in 2008 showcased over 400 artworks from 34
galleries. Building on this success, the fair was renamed International
Art Expo Nigeria in 2009, with over 50 galleries from Nigeria and five
galleries from neighbouring African countries, including the Republic
of Benin, Cameroun, Togo and Ghana participating.”

The chair, Lagos
State chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), added that
“this year’s event promises to be even bigger and will feature
seminars, talks and the presentation of papers by renowned art scholars
on issues concerning the visual arts in Nigeria.”

Enwonwu also
touched on the collaboration between the NGA and AGAN, noting that the
partnership arose from the federal government’s Public/Private
partnership (PPP) initiative.

Speaking on
arrangements for the Expo, Ikpakronyi disclosed that this year’s Expo
is tagged ‘Special Edition’ because each of the 30 participating
galleries will be allowed to choose their own theme. He also disclosed
that the number of booths for galleries was reduced to 30 to allow
exhibiting galleries show more works.

The acting director
of research education further noted that the Expo is tagged ‘Special’
to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary. “The emphasis for the art
expo is art promotion and patronage in Nigeria to assess how much has
been achieved in patronage and promotion since independence” he said.
Ikpakronyi also talked about the content of the brochure and mentioned
that the names of contributors to include respected names like Peju
Layiwola and Krydz Ikwuemesi. “We promise to give the best in the third
edition,” he reiterated.

Okonta thanked
members of the organising committee for their commitment and disclosed
that publisher of THISDAY Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, will chair the
Expo’s opening event.

Muku told the
audience what the NGA hopes the Expo will achieve. “Art Expo is
intended to be an art market for visual artists and the art community
in Nigeria. The intention of the NGA is to create a platform for
cultural exchange between Nigeria and the rest of the world,” he said.
The Acting DG also highlighted the relevance of seminars scheduled to
hold during the Expo. He said one will be for the media, including Arts
critics, reporters and writers. There will also be discussions on the
role of the banking sector in the development of the visual arts
sector, Muku added.

The sustainability of the expo, poor publicity, challenges faced by
organizers and their yardstick for progress, were discussed during the
question and answer session that followed. Moving the Expo to another
city was also raised, but Okonta said, “You have Art Expo Berlin, you
have Art Expo NewYork, so this is Art Expo Lagos.”

Audiences

Who would not normally have an opportunity to experience top
musical events like the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, are in for a treat
this year. Organisers of the jazz-travaganza, which opens in the Newtown
Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 26, have laid on two free
concerts for music lovers.

The initiative is part of plans to contribute to the festival’s
on-going audience development drives. The free shows, devised as community
outreach projects featuring South African acts on the brink of commercial
success, will give wider audiences a taste of the festival.

Community

The programme involves two tailor-made shows taking place at the
Sci-Bono, a venue located in the Old Electric Workshop in Newtown, the cultural
precinct in the heart of the Johannesburg. The People’s Concert which takes
place at noon on Tuesday, August 24, is for adults from various community
organisations; and showcases acts like The Soil, Thulee and Nkulee Dube .

The Magnet Schools Concert, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25,
features Dineo Pule, Zonke and Vuyo Tyolo. This show is specifically for
learners who are part of the Magnet Schools programme, which provides music
training to talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

One of those appearing of August 24, Nkulee Dube, is none other
than the daughter of the late South African musician, Lucky Dube. Nkulee has
overcome the tragedy of her father’s murder and is now making waves on the
music scene in her own right, by fusing ethno-soul and jazz with Ragga. Others
on the line-up, Vuyo Tyolo and Zonke, both recently returned to South Africa
from a successful tour of Holland.

Workshops

In-between concerts and other appearances during the festival,
some of the world’s leading jazz musicians will also make time to run free
workshops, teaching youngsters and aspiring musicians the intricacies of the
craft.

Among those who have volunteered their services are: R’n’B and
jazz musician, Lalah Hathaway; clarinet virtuoso, Anat Cohen; Grammy nominated
saxophonist, Ravi Coltrane; and saxman and composer, Kim Waters. Jazz violinist
Michael Ward and percussionist Poncho Sanchez will also assist with the
workshops, to help inspire a creative spirit in South African youth.

Women

There is also a women’s angle to the festival, in celebration of
Women’s Month and the legacy of women journalists in South Africa’s popular
media. The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will, as in previous years, be offering a
five-day practical workshop for women arts writers. The Lady Porcupine Arts
Journalism Workshop is now an established part of the festival’s educational
programme.

Scheduled to take place from August 23 to 27 in Newtown, the
women’s arts writers’ workshop will be run by Gwen Ansell, a music/jazz writer
and journalism trainer. The workshop title honours Johanna Pahlane, who wrote
for Bantu World under the pen-name ‘Lady Porcupine’ in the 1930s while also
directing the Merry Makers vaudeville troupe.

The course, which has Jazz-writing and critiquing as its content
focus, is targeted at Johannesburg-based women over the age 20 who are journalists
or media students, cadets or interns. Also targeted for the workshop, are
female musicians or music students with interest in the publicity, NGO or
artistic, culture and heritage sectors.

The 2010 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will take place at six venues
in the city’s Newtown Precinct. Other venues include The Market Theatre and The
Bassline, Sophia Town and Nikki’s Oasis. It is held in the 3rd week of August
every year.

The Standard Joy of Jazz Festival opens in Newton Precinct, Johannesburg,
South Africa, on August 26 and closes on August 28.

The Apostolic Faith
church must share sentiments with Franz Alexander von Kleist who was
quoted as saying “Mozart’s music is so beautiful as to entice angels
down to earth.” And the church might have achieved just such a feat,
when on August 7, its 1000 member choir and orchestra raised voices to
the heavens, performing symphonies from Mozart and other famous
composers.

As part of
activities marking its annual convention, which holds till August 22,
the Apostolic Faith Church held its classical music concert tagged
“Behold, He cometh” at its ‘Faith City’ in Igbesa, Ogun State.
Resplendent in navy blue and white, the impressive choir performed 18
musical offertories to God, and the large congregation consisting of
monarchs, foreign visitors and church members.

The church’s
District Superintendent, West and Central Africa Headquarters, Reverend
Emmanuel Adebayo Adeniran, in his opening remark, stated that the
concert was “set aside to remind the world of the great time set aside
by God to create the world.”

And we were
reminded where we were when the choir, with its impressive collection
of orchestral instruments opened the concert with a rendition of
Mozart’s ‘Praise the Lord for He is Gracious’. A choir and orchestra
piece led with cello strings and accompanied by violins and piano tones
to create an uplifting spiritual feel that set the tone for the evening.

A clarinet quartet
by Beethoven complemented by the keyboard notes and produced delicate
notes that evidenced the precision of the instrumentalists. Various
other musical renditions followed in quick succession: Mozart’s ‘Werke
No 3 in G Major’, ‘Carest Thou Not’ by Lance Nathan, and ‘I’ve anchored
my Soul’ by K. Oje, performed by a combination of choir, string
instruments and keyboard.

Songs from the realm of peace

Two songs from
Joseph Haydn’s oratorio ‘The Creation’, a masterpiece which depicts and
celebrates the creation of the world as described in the biblical Book
of Genesis, were performed. In a mélange of voice and sounds from
violins, cellos and keyboards, the triumphant history of God’s creation
of the earth and its creatures, was retold.

The concert was
broken briefly with a sermon from Adeniran, who proclaimed the theme of
the concert thus: “One glorious day, the saints of God are going to
break the law of gravity and meet with the Lord.” He enjoined his
congregation to “desire to leave the storms of this earth for the realm
of peace.” And advised that they not allow money to stand between them
and God; “the greatest mistake of our age”, he said, “is raising
another god (money) before our God.”

The second part of
the concert kicked off with Schubert’s ‘Symphony No 5’; followed
immediately by violinist Dare Ogunsanya’s performance of ‘Czardas’ by
Vittorio Monti. The performance, possibly the most riveting of the
evening, was heralded by almost pin drop silence. Holding the audience
spellbound, Ogunsanya spoke the gospel in different tones, starting
with measured strings, then quickening to a canter and finally slowing
down to be interspersed with keyboard notes before culminating in a
crescendo worthy of a virtuoso. His performance, which included an
offering of the popular hymn, ‘Amazing Grace’, received the loudest
ovations and elicited several shouts of Hallelujah.

Local airs

Though mostly
classical, the concert did not neglect to bring in the Nigerian
flavour, in a section tagged ‘local airs’. Ethnic hymns in Igbo, Efik,
and Yoruba were performed with the audience joining in song. The event
ended with a final performance from Creation, by the thousand member
choir, with every chorister playing an instrument in accompaniment.

Music Director for
the church, Dotun Ewumi, speaking after the concert, attributed the
church’s preference for organising classical concerts to the foundation
laid by its founders. According to him, “Our founding fathers brought
up the church with music from America, and we have continued the
tradition since then.” Should we be looking out for any such concerts
soon? “Yes,” he said, “this is the second classical concert this year.
We usually hold three every year: during Easter, during our camp
convention and at Christmas.”

No doubt due to the
technical difficulties of assembling a choir this large, the
preparations for the concert had taken four months, with rehearsals
beginning in April. And the performances, conducted by Ewumi, and the
church’s director of worship, Kayode Oje, evidently benefitted from
this painstaking effort as the two-and-half-hour concert progressed
without any glitches.

Surgical precision

The sound quality
was wonderful, and the change of choir and instrumental for each song
proceeded with almost surgical precision. Also, the concert had all the
choristers reading sheet music, and boasted an array of instruments:
strings such as violins, violas, cello and double basses; brass such as
trumpets, trombones and French horns; clarinets; a grand piano; and a
giant keyboard.

Speaking on the
success of the event, Reverend Dwight Baltzell, Director of Africa
Works, attributed the hitch-free performance to the Almighty, and to
the efforts of the choir, whom he prayed will be paid with blessings
from God. Reverend Adeniran promised happily that the concert is
“growing from strength to strength. This is bigger than the last
concert; Next time, it will be even better.”

Classical music is perhaps the most tranquil and inspiring music one
can hear, small wonder it spoke the gospel so fluently, as performed by
the Apostolic Faith Church choir. One cannot but be impressed by the
church’s wonderful execution (save for an alto solo in ‘I’ll fly away’
that went awry briefly) of gospel masterpieces. The performance, is
undoubtedly one of the most remarkable one might be privileged to
attend in Nigeria. One expects that The Apostolic Faith Church
continues to, through the expression of classical music, propagate its
message of the love of God.

The Minister for
information, Dora Akunyili, will be a guest speaker at the next edition
of Felabration, scheduled to hold from October 1 to 7. This was
announced at a press conference held on August 4, by the Felabration
committee, ‘Viva Africa’, along with other programmes of events for the
forthcoming celebration of the 72nd birthday of Afrobeat legend, Fela
Anikulapo Kuti. The celebration would also mark the tenth anniversary
of the New Africa Shrine.

Chatting with
Journalists, Fela’s daughter and founder of the yearly festival, Yeni
Kuti, disclosed that for the first time since its inception, some of
the activities will hold outside the New Africa Shrine. In what is seen
as a widening of the event, Yeni said, “For the first time, Felabration
will be leaving its traditional abode, New Africa shrine, for the Lagos
Island. The idea behind the move is to allow Fela’s lovers and
enthusiasts living on that axis to enjoy themselves under a convivial
atmosphere, close to home.”

Chair of the
festival committee, Theo Lawson, promised a two-pronged celebration of
both Fela’s birthday as well as 13 years since his passing. Lawson said
the event, which kicks off on Independence Day, will also commemorate
Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee.

Funding issues

Although the
Felabration committee plans big, funding remains an issue. Though many
international and home-based artists have been invited to participate
in the festival, the economic situation in the country may mean that
not all those who have shown interest in participating can be involved.
“A lot of the artistes want to be a part of Felabration 2010, but we do
not have enough money to buy flight tickets for them to come,’’ said
Lawson.

The festival, which
is to begin at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos on October 1, will
include: a debate on the Fela- documentary film, ‘Music Is A Weapon’,
which will also see the launch of the Viva Africa theme song. Other
guest speakers expected to participate at the debate are: lawyer and
activist, Femi Falana; Yemi Osibajo; and Theophile Obenga.

Some of the highlights

Other items on the
programme, include: quizzes, dances and musical performances by foreign
and Nigerian artists. Among these are masked musician Lagbaja and King
Sunny Ade who appear at the New Africa Shrine October 2 to October 4. A
documentary on the history of Fela will be shown; and a quiz on his
life, tagged, ‘Felamatrix’, which will be thrown out to members of the
audience. October 5 and 6 will be set aside for a celebration of Fela’s
birthday; and a carnival train will cruise through the Ikeja axis.

The grand finale of
the event will hold on October 7, the highlight of which will be a
concert featuring all the invited artists, as a tribute to the late
Afrobeat Legend. According to Yeni, “The grand finale will be at the
New Africa shrine, where fans of Fela can enjoy themselves”.

Responding to media
questions about security and arrangements for the press during this
year’s Felabration, Yeni assured that, “Provisions will be made for
journalists to move freely without any disturbance. Maximum security
will be available throughout the event.”

Finally, Yeni expressed her hope that more sponsors will come on
board to make the forth-coming festival a successful one. She appealed
for support as Viva Africa attempts to make this year’s edition of
“Felabration” the best since the commencement of the project, 10 years
ago.