Ethnic Heritage Centre gets its groove with Duro Ikujenyo and co

The night of March 18 will go down in the annals as the day the Ethnic Heritage Centre (EHC) got its groove. That night, Duro Ikujenyo and the Age of Aquarius band, Ayinke Martins, Showboy, Aditye Challarams Axionreaxion and a host of others exploded in music and dance at the centre located at Ikoyi, Lagos.
The promise in the announcement for the show was that the performance would take place monthly to bring urban sounds, jazz, Afrobeat, highlife and poetry to add colour and life to the local and international audience living in Victoria Island and Ikoyi.
Those who attended would agree that there was much more than colour that night and will definitely want to experience it again.
Clad in adire top, kente pair of trousers and trademark skull cap, Duro and his Age of Aquarius band took the groove to the EHC like no one has ever done before with many of the tunes taken from Fela’s repertoire.
Beginning with ‘Lagos Sisi’ the small crowd of local and expatriate audience knew something new and different had hit them, as they started singing along long before the night grew old. That the musicians on hand were there to thrill was no secret. And what a thrill they were.
It was reminiscent of Lagos of the old days when going out for the night was the norm, and logicians knew how to unwind.
Soon the tempo changed with ‘Iya mi ose o’ following. And there was no order to the head-shaking beginnings for the night that had Duro himself mounting the stage first unlike the case where younger singers opened for the main act.
He was in his elements, to say the least. The performance had the laidback-ness of a jam session imbued with the energy of an O2 Arena concert. Making it one that will not be forgotten in a hurry, what with the other performers for the night taking over from Duro and taking it to the very next level.
There is definitely no other as skillful with the keyboard like Duro and yet he had full control of the band. Not only did he sing his heart out, Duro did not miss a beat all night even as he sang, danced and played. But for the fact that it is energy-sapping and one could almost hear it in Duro’s raspy voice later in the evening, one would have requested that this show goes on; if not every night, at least once a week.
That no one got on stage to dance was not due to lack of encouragement from the band, perhaps many of the guests just wanted to savour the novelty of it all, the dancing will definitely come in the coming editions. And there will be other shows considering the performers and their performances.
Seun Olota, whom Duro revealed he has known for up to 20 years, was beside him for most of the night belching tunes from his saxophone.
Then came ‘Oni dodo oni moi’, ‘Gbangbala’ drawing the audience further into it. There are those who would argue that Fela never died, but listening to the songs for the night was a resurrection of some sort. The band brought the ‘Abami Eda’ to life in the few hours that it took to musically call attention at the EHC. Even the mosquitoes, the threat of rain that hung heavy in the air and the sound issues that bedevil many a Nigerian concert could not stop the music. But when people look back at this concert, it will be the duets by Duro Ikujenyo and Ayinke Martins that they will long for.
Ayinke, resplendent in simmering red gown, said thanks to friends and the audience that showed up for the show. With Duro, they did an impressive jazz song titled ‘Ayo’, which she said means so much to her since she belongs to one of the Ayo families in Lagos.
Then came ‘Ma fimi sile’ (don’t leave me) a song she wrote, but it was ‘Feel like making love’ that made everyone feel nostalgia and de javu all at the same time. After that, Duro and Ayinke couldn’t stop. They did a song titled ‘Fi fe han mi’ an inspiration of John Coltrane, then ‘Eko’ and a host of others with the other musicians joining in.
The Ethnic Heritage Centre, established primarily to preserve and promote Nigerian languages and culture, will not be the same again with this monthly show by Duro Ikujenyo.