Christopher Isola Ajilo (26 December 1929Veteran highlife musician, Chris Ajilo dies at 91
''The Guardian Nigeria''. Retrieved 21 March 2021. – 20 February 2021) was a Nigerian musician and record producer whose band Chris Ajilo and His Cubanos released ''Ariwo'' and ''Eko O Gba Gbere''.

Life

Ajilo's father was from Ijebu-Ijesha but Ajilo grew up in

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a p ...

along with four other siblings including Cornie Ajilo, who was also in the music industry, another sibling, a brother was a member of the

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...

. He attended C.M.S. Grammar School but life in Lagos was tough, his father died when he was young and Ajilo had to grow up quickly to find a way to earn a living. He decided to travel abroad, and to begin his journey, he became a stowaway and found his way to England where he studied music at the Eric Gilder School of Music. In England, he took up playing the tenor saxophone and joined a jazz infused

Afro-Cuban music Music of African heritage in Cuba derives from the musical traditions of the many ethnic groups from different parts of West Africa that were brought to Cuba as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries. Members of some of these groups formed thei ...

playing band and played gigs with the bands of Kenny Graham and

Ginger Johnson George Folunsho "Ginger" Johnson (1916 – July 15, 1975) was a Nigerian percussionist and bandleader who was a prominent musician in London from the 1950s to the early 1970s. He led Ginger Johnson and His African Messengers, and recorded and per ...

. Upon completing studies at Central School of Dance Music, Ajilo returned to Nigeria and joined the West End Cool Cats Orchestra before forming his band, Chris Ajilo and the Cubanos. A touring band, the group played in various locations in Nigeria and West Africa. The band released ''Ariwo'' and later ''Eko O Gba Gbere''. In 1960, he was band leader of the national orchestra for Nigeria's independence ball. Ajilo was once the band leader at Premier and Lafia hotels in Ibadan and Federal Palance Hotel, Lagos and the NBC Dance Orchestra, Lagos. Ajilo's career was heavy in music production and instruction. In the 1970s, Ajilo was an in house producer for Polygram and later Premier Records where he worked with artists like Osita Osadebe. He was a music producer in one of

Art Alade Modupe Afolabi Jemi-Alade (December 14, 1937 - June 29, 1993) popularly known as Art Alade was a Nigerian television personality and producer who was the host of ''The Bar Beach Show'' a weekly variety show on NBC-TV that aired during the 1970s. ...

's television shows. He also taught music at the International School, Ibadan.
Ariwo
, Chris Ajilo's first album in over 50 years (comprising 11 tracks) was produced by

Beautiful Nubia Beautiful Nubia is the performing name for Segun Akinlolu (born 11 November 1968), a Nigerian-born songwriter, music composer and band leader. Beautiful Nubia and the Roots Renaissance Band is Nigeria's foremost contemporary folk and roo ...

and released on hi
EniObanke
label in 2012.

Death

He died at a hospital in Ilesa, Osun State, on 20 February 2021.

References

1929 births 2021 deaths Nigerian highlife musicians People from Lagos {{Nigeria-musician-stub