Max Reinier Nijman (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2016) was a Surinamese singer. Born in Suriname, he moved to the Netherlands in 1968. His song "Adjosi" ("Adieu"), which sings of the homesickness of Surinamese expatriates, became his signature song, and he one of Suriname's icons.

Biography

Nijman was born in

Moengo Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...

, as the eighth of sixteen children. Gifted with a natural talent, he started singing in English, with cover versions of American soul and R&B artists, and had a breakthrough performance at age 16, singing a Brook Benton song at a football game. He then moved on to singing in Sranan. In 1968, Nijman gave a well-attended farewell performance in Paramaribo (transmitted live on television) and moved to the Netherlands, where he signed to

Dureco Dureco is a Dutch independent record label based in the Netherlands. Over the years many artists and groups such as the Amboina Serenaders, Judy Cheeks, Jules de Corte, De Dijk, Jef Elbers, Gotcha!, Samantha Jones, Ming Luhulima, the Mena Moeri ...

and released his debut solo-album ''Katibo'' in 1975. Besides the title track and "Ai Sranang", the song "Adjosi" became his best known song. He then released the albums ''Wan Dei Lobi'' with The Stan Lokhin Band in 1977 and ''Ini Wan De'' in 1978. In 2014, the label

TopNotch TopNotch is a Dutch record label specializing in hip-hop. The label was founded in 1995, and is run by Vincent Patty. After some commercial success (with rap acts such as De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, The Opposites, Def Rhymz, Postmen, and Extince) ...

released a compilation album of Nijman within a series named ''Sranan Gowtu'' (''Surinamese Gold'') devoted to Surinamese artists from the 1970s. Nijman died in Leiderdorp, Netherlands at the age of 74 on January 19, 2016. A grand farewell ceremony was held at the Paradiso. On January 30, 2016, he was buried in Paramaribo.Uitvaartplechtigheid Max Nijman te volgen in Nederland
Waterkant.net. Retrieved 11 February 2016.

Discography

;Albums *1975 ''Katibo'' *1977 ''Wan Dei Lobi'' *1978 ''Ini Wan Dé''

References

External links

Max Nijman on Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nijman, Max 1941 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Surinamese male singers