Lagos Jazz Series 2015: Seun Kuti and Yaciin Bey

who's wearing the hat?

Lagos Jazz Series is back in Lagos, an interesting mix of jazz directions produced in a couple of venues in the course of a week.
Well, this year the line-up was disrupted by the killings of Radisson Blue in Bamako, Mali which caused American artists to cancel their trip until further notice. An unfortunate confusion between Bamako in Mali and Lagos in Nigeria. While both are in western Africa, they are worlds apart. Lagos has not seen any terrorist acts or at least not in recent years. Occasional armed robberies may happen but these remain rare and police is now doing a much better job to prevent them.

chinese vibe from the Collective

Fortunately, not all artists were coming from the US and two big artists made the day on November 27th over a collaboration. First Seun Kuti and Egypt 80. Seun is the younger son of Fela. He is keeping alive the flame of his father Fela Kuti by perpetuating Afrobeat, pretty much in the way his father left it as he died in 1997, thanks to Egypt 80 the band of the father. Second was Yaciin Bey, a Hiphop artist previously known as MosDef before he decided to give up his american citizenship and re-orient himself towards pan-africanism and Islam.

Yaciin Bey and the covered girl

The collaboration showed Yaciin Bey jamming with Seun and his band on Afrobeat songs of Seun and some of his father. He was using his pet red microphone which transformed his voice. The reunion was probably meant to celebrate Africa and highlight what Fela had long campaigned for, anti-corruption and black rights among other things.

Seun Kuti and Yaciin Bey: it took the two to tango

The concert took place in a park of Victoria Island where listeners could sit on mats while sipping drinks and eating local food. It had a feel of the festivals in other parts of the world where music can be celebrated outdoor in a friendly and relaxed way.
A very nice party indeed masterminded by Oti Bazunu, the father of the Lagos Jazz Series.

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The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the

no hawkers allowed on kingsway

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Nigeria, the land of plenty

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