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Musically, Benin
city is usually associated with the ‘Titibiti’ and other sounds of
master guitarist Victor Uwaifo and the Edo-blend Highlife music of
Osayormore Joseph. There is, however, now a new flavour of music on the
entertainment scene in Benin City: the lively jazz music of Coast 2
Coast, led by Newton Sax.

It is a pleasant
surprise to hear young Nigerian musicians play ‘serious’ instrumental
music, it is also heartening to see instrumentalists, especially at a
time when most of what now passes as the norm and apex of popular
Nigerian music are singers backed by rhythm machines and
computer-simulated sounds.

Newton P.A. Okoeri
a.k.a Newton Sax is a Computer Engineer who graduated from the
University of Benin in 2007 and now leads the Coast 2 Coast band,
playing the alto, tenor and soprano saxophones. He started off playing
the bass guitar and three years ago switched to playing saxophones under
the tutelage of Papa Roy; one of the first four musicians sent abroad
by the Nigerian Army to learn how to properly play the saxophone.

Interestingly,
Newton Sax formed the Coast 2 Coast musical outfit eight years ago as an
investment company. He now leads the second edition of the band which
was formed two years ago. Already it has grown into a very tight nucleus
of electric piano, bass and drums which provide the accompaniment for
Newton’s saxophone and their collective jazz sounds.

Why did Newton
choose to play serious music? “It is actually a jazz group,” he
confirms. “I discovered that in this part of Nigeria everybody likes the
idea of singing,” he explains. “I found there are areas that are
lacking. I had cultivated the habit of listening to jazz and liked it
and it became part of my life. Unfortunately people give less value to
instrumentation in this part of Nigeria and because it has not been done
well. We decided to do it well and it is now attracting attention.”

How was he able to
get such young like-minded musicians like himself to form his Coast 2
Coast band? “Based on their personal interest, the key members of the
band learnt how to play their instruments from their own masters. I go
out for shows and performances and I meet musicians and I have been able
to make use of them based on their urge and interest towards jazz; a
music they have heard mostly on CDs and tapes.”

The rarity of young
musicians tuned into and willing to play jazz music is well understood
and appreciated by Newton Sax. “I define jazz as few players and few
listeners” he aptly says. Well aware of the scarcity of jazz fans in
Benin City, he has worked out a strategy to introduce and attract more
people to his music.

“Basically, most
people appreciate the way I mix my instrumentation in music. I mix it up
with generational hits like today’s Nigerian jams. I play these hits as
instrumental music and lure my listeners into the instrumentational
representation of music, which is what jazz music is all about. For now,
we are the only existing jazz group in Benin City.”

Newton Sax has no
qualms about abandoning his Information Technology training in favour of
a full-time career in music. “Music is a special gift from God and it
is what I enjoy doing. I build my vision on it,” he declares. And in his
view, “Jazz music is made for scholars; people who have something up
there. It makes them think and keeps them happy.”

It is no accident
that all the members of the extended Coast 2 Coast musical outfit are
undergraduates and, an appreciable number are graduates. Their
educational level lends itself to their intellectual approach to serious
music

Coast 2 Coast is
also eclectic. When the mood takes them and the atmosphere demands they
go down memory lane and play oldies-but-goodies like Ifeoma by Felix
Liberty. This and other hit songs of old; particularly from the golden
age of Nigerian pop-soul music of the 70s and 80s, provide the
opportunity for the four singers – Tosin King, Blessing Williams, Osahon
Agbonifo and Matthew Kamalu – to strut their stuff.

Newton admits that
his music “started from the church” and is sure in his mind that there
is no ethical or spiritual conflict between the music he plays in church
and the music he plays in nightclubs and concerts. This assurance that
there is no separation of purpose explains why most of his five original
instrumental compositions are Gospel tunes. “We organise jazz concerts
yearly,” he explains “and we are planning for the 2010 Edo Gospel Jazz
Festival in November.”

At their regular
Sunday evening performances at the Hexagon Entertainment Centre in
G.R.A. Benin City, Coast 2 Coast play a non-stop instrumental flow of
cross-over jazz hits and some country-and-western music thrown in.
Innovatively, a talking drummer, Taiye Thomas, has been added to the
rhythm section to give the band a rhythmic cutting edge.

The other
instrumentalists who are featured as extended soloists in addition to
leader Newton’s saxophone solos, are: guitarist Ekhator Nicholas Esosa
and pianist Nmezi S. Ifeanyi. Bass guitarist Olusegun Kehinde Emma and
drummer Nwanjei E. Sylvester provide adequate and driving support.
Highlights in these segments also include sessions of interplay between
Newton on soprano saxophone and guitarist Ekhator who frankly admits
that he is greatly influenced by Earl Klugh.

The audience is
quite receptive to the music of the Coast 2 Coast band, especially when
they play familiar and popular tunes by George Benson, Earl Klugh and
Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke. The band is working on an album which they
hope to release before the end of the year. According to Newton, “our
future is to become one of the best jazz artists in Nigeria.” They are
definitely moving towards that direction and their fans and potential
coverts should expect an album of instrumentals and vocals soon.

However, Newton and the Coast 2 Coast band are far from complacent.
“We are still aspiring to do more,” Newton says, adding that, “Everyday
is a learning process. Somehow some day by the Grace of God we will get
to the peak!” He is as modest as ambitious; well aware of the ups and
downs in the music industry. “I have a vision and I have a lot of
challenges ahead of me. Jazz is not a hopeless kind of music as some
people think. My ambition is to spread jazz round the world!”