All is set for the Smooth 98.1 FM ‘Love Music Love Life’ concert holding this Friday, November 12 at the New Expo Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The show, the first in a series of concerts planned by the radio station which specialises in Jazz, Soul and R’n’B music, will feature renowned world class artists including neo-soul singer, Angie Stone.
Joining Stone for the concert which starts by 7pm is Cameroonian, Richard Bona, described as “one of the best bassists on the planet.” Five time Grammy winner and talented guitarist, Mike Stern, is also performing. Though he wasn’t on the bill originally, Stern, who has a long collaborative relationship with Bona, decided to be part of the show because of his friend and the seriousness of the organisers. He will feature in Bona’s quartet on Friday.
Jazz saxophonist, Gerald Albright, will also entertain the audience. He was one of the 10 saxophonists that performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration as president of the US.
The four foreign artists will be joined by a quartet of Nigerian acts including Bez Idakula and vocalist and songwriter, Tiwa Savage who has sung backing vocals for artists including Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan and Kelly Clarkson. Guitarists, Pure and Simple who featured at the recent MUSON Jazz concert and percussionist, Iroko, are also on the bill. The widely travelled Iroko has had stints with Kola Ogunkoya, Lagbaja and Femi Kuti.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, November 9, head of Smooth FM, Kirk Anthony, disclosed that the show is to give listeners a unique experience.
“People that listen to Smooth 98.1FM, they listen to it for a reason, they listen to it because they enjoy what they hear. What we are doing now is that we are transporting radio to the stage,” Anthony said. He disclosed that organisers spent about three months, “to get our acts together purely for the fact that we want to make sure that when people are coming to the event, they are going to sit down in a nice atmosphere and have a really good show. On a Friday evening, you want to sit, relax and have a good night and I think we can achieve that.”
A new dimension
Getting the artists to commit to the show, Anthony said, wasn’t too hard because of the station’s reputation and its seriousness. “When we first contacted them, they had a sort of grey area in regards to coming to perform in Africa reason being that they didn’t think things were done perfectly - The I’s dotted and the T’s crossed. But when we showed them how we conduct business, they were happy and in actual fact, Richard Bona just brought a new dimension into it.” The new dimension Bona added was bringing in Stern. “It’s an amazing thing he is coming to Nigeria. That’s an added bonus because they saw what we are doing. They saw the organisation and how we put it together, they felt comfortable and they put that together almost like a special gift to us,” added Sadiq Ademola, head of production at the Lagos-based radio station.
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