The Nigerian musician Orlando Julius, considered the creator of Afropop bases, with a mix of jazz and African rhythms, will perform with the collective The Heliocentrics at the Sesc Jazz festival in São Paulo.
Singer and saxophonist, Orlando Julius Ekemode began his relationship with music by playing drums and studying flute at school. At 14, he left home to try life in a larger city in Nigeria, Ibadan. In imported record stores, he listened to classics like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, which influenced his saxophonist background.
By blending American jazz with traditional African rhythms, he formed a new style that would later be recognized as the basis of Afropop and became a reference in his country and in the world. Their first studio album, the classic “Super Afro Soul“, was released in 1966, and tracks such as “Ijo Soul” and “Alo Mi Alo” continue to this day in their repertoire of shows.
Partnership with The Heliocentrics
In 2014, Julius released “Jaiyede Afro”, an album in partnership with the English music collective The Heliocentrics, which re-reads old compositions with progressive and psychedelic touches. The collective, which performs with Julius at Sesc Jazz, defines himself as “psychedelicallybrokenjazzsoulfunk”, something like a mix of psychedelically broken jazz, soul and funk. In addition, Julius has played with renowned musicians such as Ethiopian Mulatu Astatke and American DJ Shadow.
The group consists of Orlando Julius Ekemode (vocals, saxophone, keyboard), Latoya Ekemode (percussion), Jake Benjamin Ferguson (bass), Ekow Alabi Savage (drums), Jack Yglesias (congas), Adrian Maurice Owusu (guitar), Julien Guillauem André Matrot (trumpet), Jason Christopher Yarde (baritone saxophone).
The Sesc Jazz Festival takes place from October 18th to 20th.
Tickets and information: https://sescjazz.sescsp.org.br/