When the fourth edition of the annual Sax Appeal conceived by Mike Aremu takes place in Abuja on November 23, the organisers would have surmounted a lot of obstacles, including the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) scare and how to pick up the bill.
“Most of my worries are usually how to pay the bills,” Aremu told TheNiche in an interview in Lagos as part of promotion for the jazz concert taking place this year at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Aremu, who will be accompanied in headlining the event by international saxophonist of Mexican descent, Jercy J, said that although the original plan was to take the concert to Abuja, Port Harcourt and other parts of the country, part of the reason it is holding in Abuja this year is Ebola.
“I am still going to do Lagos. But when we started the planning, it was more because of the Ebola issue. But in a way, it is a blessing in disguise. We wanted to take it to Port Harcourt and Abuja; it was in the plan, but we didn’t want to do it now.
“Usually, one of the things is the issue of the fees. For instance, it was going to be one artiste earlier; we had to change at the last minute. They spoke about Ebola, the state of the nation, and I said, ‘this is my country; people are coming in’. In fact, one of them had to refund the money. But this is part of the struggle,” he said of his experience getting an international jazz musician.
Others on the bill of the concert that Aremu said has really appealed to the Nigerian crowd are: Kunle Ayo, Yinka Davis and Timi Dakolo.
“People love Sax Appeal and I am grateful to God for that,” he said.
He is, however, concerned that, so far, he cannot say that the concert has the desired sponsorship. But that will not deter him from keeping on.
“People, who have been to Sax Appeal know that we are doing something that makes sense; that is creative. We are not waiting for anybody before we make our own move. So, we have been able to survive. I owe it to the kind of people who have helped me. I think they also encourage and see that it is a very open thing.
“If you came to Sax Appeal 3, without being told, you would know that money had gone into it. There are few individuals who have believed in me. I have the Chima Amobis of this time, I have Ayoola Sadare of Inspiro Productions,” a thankful Aremu said.
So what are those attending to expect?
“I would say Mike Aremu is going to be performing. This year, we are featuring a Mexican female saxophonist from America. Her name is Jercy J, and she is a lovely saxophonist. My friends are performing; Yinka Davies, Timi Dakolo, Kunle Ayo, who is Nigerian but based in South Africa,” Mike Aremu said.