Keziah Jones, Olufemi Sanyaolu in civil status, is a unique sound and guitar playing. Inventor of the ” bluff », the brilliant singer and guitarist looks back on his career and his activism for RFI.
It was at the age of 11 that he received the ” six cordes “for the first time” It was at a friend’s house! He had an electric, a Fender, Stratocaster model, Keziah Jones remembers four decades later. I immediately liked the sound. What I love is the idea that the guitar is like a percussion instrument. »
Some people discover music and singing in church. Not Keziah Jones, whose father refused to attend on Sunday mornings. So the son stayed home with his music-loving patriarch and then: “My father used to play some really good music, his favorite music, on the stereo. And THE music of the time was by a guy called Yusufu Olatunji, a master of traditional music, apala. I love that sound.”confides the guitarist.
Keziah Jones then immersed himself in music, especially voices, great voices, to complement his guitar playing. I fell in love with the great vocalists, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, he quotes. And then also Ray Charles, who really influenced me. And I immediately wanted to copy it. ».
Accept Manage my choices
« The solution is probably revolution. »
Pan-Africanistan activist, the 56-year-old musician remains anchored in his African continent, between Lagos and Dakar, always following in the footsteps of another activist whose last interview he conducted in 1996, Feel Where. « The solution is probably revolution. It will come later, probably in two or three generations, because the world is becoming more and more inequitable. And this cannot continue, he hammersthe rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The poor are the hardest hit, especially on an ecological level. » And to conclude : « This cannot continue…
Accept Manage my choices
