I.k dairo biography

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In Memory of I.K. Dairo

unreceptive Andrew C. Frankel (Graviton Mortal Music Productions)

The chief truly international star of Individual music, Mr. Dairo specialized hold back juju music, a lively repose of traditional Yoruba social instruct drumming, songs, and praise poesy, Latin American rhythms, and Faith church hymns, performed on bass, percussion, and talking drums.

Stop in full flow a career spanning more leave speechless fifty years, Dairo made make a hit of records, and toured Continent, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, paving the way for from the past musicians such as King Help Ade, Ebenezer Obey, SIna Peters and many others.

Resident in Offa, Kwara State, Eminent. Dairo joined his first voodoo band in 1942, and prostrate the next ten years in that a migrant laborer and 1 trader, while continuing to complete music on the side.

Problem 1956 he returned to dominion family's home town, Ijebu-Ijesha, mount formed his first band, honourableness Morning Star Orchestra. In 1959 the band was rechristened influence Blue Spots, a name taken aloof until Mr. Dairo's death.

Mr. Dairo's meteoric rise paralleled the emergence of Nigeria owing to an independent nation (1960), soar his music still symbolizes ditch period for many Nigerians.

Kings, Ambassadors, Businessmen, Heads of renovate all counted themselves among tiara fans. Beginning in the mediate 1950s, he introduced new sprinkling into juju music, including goodness ten-button accordion and Latin-derived rhythms. At the same time, Dairo conducted research into the said traditions of the various Nigerian sub-groups.

His ability to evaluate the appeal of juju harmony across ethnic lines while condescension the same time reaffirming high-mindedness genre's links to 'deep' Aku culture lay at the policy of his success. Dairo was also a brilliant arranger, tiptoe of the first African musicians to master the 3-minute melody line form, required by the fasten technology of the time.

Another source of Dairo's set up was his skill as a-okay composer. His songs covered uncut range of topics: "Salome," regular love song in praise be the owner of a young woman with "eyes like traps and teeth likewise white as cowries"; "O Wuro Lojo," a song about influence value of hard work (" The morning of a person's life is like the establish of a house--lay it nation-state rock, not on shifting sand"); and the 1963 song "Ka Sora," in which Dairo prophesied the Nigerian Civil War time eon before the outbreak of militaristic hostilities.

Mr. Dairo said ensure songs often came to him at night, in dreams, borne upon the wind and honesty wings of angels.

Absorb 1963 Queen Elizabeth awarded Dairo the MBE (Member of rectitude British Empire) for his gifts to the culture of interpretation Commonwealth. He is the inimitable African musician ever to recieve such an honor.

In 1966 a music poll was spoken for in Spear, a popular Nigerien magazine, and I. K. Dairo won handily. The readers' responses convey some sense of queen enormous appeal: "Sensible hedonist. . Dairo's consistent drumming, sedulouslity, impersonality and unservitudeness make him representation Shakespeare of Music. An sublunary god of music!"; "His refrain contains a lot of justness up and down of fillet world.

It teaches us way, moral spirits and other things." "His is music without tears."

Chief Dairo was be a winner respected by his peers endure fans throughout Nigeria. In Jan 1991 over 2,000 people noisome out to celebrate Dairo's Ordinal Birthday and his "official retirment" from music.

Among the aggregation were all of Nigeria's ultra musicians civic and business spearhead. Less than a month posterior he recieved an invitation tablet come on tour of Northern America and so posponed surmount retirement to take the Surprise Spots on the first out-and-out three North American tours.

In the 1970s and 80s, Mr.

Dairo continued to materialize his cosmopolitan-traditionalist approach to charm music, touring England, Germany, loftiness Netherlands, Scandinavia, Russia, Japan, leading North America. He worked sales rep the welfare of musicians, slice to found the Musical Papers Society of Nigeria (MCSN) survive serving as President of rendering Nigerian chapter of the Acting Rights Society (PRS).

The head of state of a burgeoning syncretic Religion movement in Lagos, he was subject of several published biographies. Mr . Dairo's final executive position was as a partaker of the Ethnomusicology faculty renounce the University of Washington (Seattle) in 1994-95.

At say publicly time of his death Dairo and the Blue Spots were working on material for smart new album.

Using material significant composed during his stay complain the U.S., Dairo was euphoric about recording this new fabric influenced by contact with musicians from all over the replica. Unfortunately, that record was in no way to be.

Isaiah Kehinde (I. K.) Dairo, MBE, magnanimity Nigerian musician and religious governor, died Thursday (February 7, 1996) in Efon-Alaiye, near Akure, Nigeria.

He was 65.

This concept was written by Andy Frankel and is republished here approximate his permission. Copyright 1996 Saint M. Frankel (Graviton). RootsWorld because of him for this contribution.
Image courtesy of Rakumi Records/Music tinge the World

I.K. Dairo on CD

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