WHEN the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) billed veteran highlife musicians Victor Olaiya and Victor Uwaifo to perform on its annual festival on Saturday, October 29, 2011, little did the organisers realise that they were giving the much needed highlife revival initiative a big boost. They thought they were merely doing the bidding of a philanthropist who wanted to promote his Oil and Gas Company, but the meeting of the two 'Victors' turned out to be the biggest highlife show of the year 2011; and the greatest in years.Called the 'evil genius' of highlife, veterans Victor Olaiya was the first to take the stage. He amazed the audience with a dynamic performance that sent an enthusiastic audience to the dance floor. Doubling on trumpet and vocals, Olaiya who is 81 this December sounded as strong and brilliant as ever.With a big band of trumpets, saxophones and a formidable rhythm section, he was able to re-enact most of his old hits such as Lafia we Lewani, Omolanke, Ayi gana among many others to stimulate the memory of the audience ' some of whom were devotees of Olaiya's highlife in the '60s.The audience was particularly thrilled by the showmanship he and his sidemen introduced to performance on stage. Many were particularly impressed with the fact that over the years ' since 1954, he had been able to keep a band that could relive the experience of the past.From the calibre of musicians on parade, most of whom were young, instrumentalists that included his children, it was obvious that despite evidence of changes in personal over the years, Olaiya was still able to capture his easily recognizable sound identity.Olaiya's formative years began with a stint with the Sam Akpabot Sextet and later the second set of Bobby Benson's Jam session which he led. But since he went his separate way to form his All Stars in 1954, he has not relented in his ambition to perpetuate the culture of vintage highlife.In consequence, he is perhaps the only musician in the whole of West Africa today who still maintains a band that relives the highlife experience of the 50s and '60s.Victor Olaiya ruled the highlife scene of the '50s. He took over from Bobby Benson as soon as he (Benson) paved the way for Nigerian highlife to thrive ' with the release of Taxi Driver on 78 rpm ' in 1954. Since then, Olaiya took over with a band that served as a training ground for many musicians, including Rex Lawson and even Victor Uwaifo who was there on the same bill with Olaiya at the Shell Hall of the Musical Society of Nigeria.Olaiya's passion for highlife and tenacity of purpose encouraged subsequent highlife legend, such as Roy Chicago, Charles Iwaegbue, Rex Lawson, Eddy Okonta among others who came with their different and original approaches to the performance of highlife.But perhaps the greatest contribution he made to the evolution of highlife was the ability to create and sustain a Nigerian version which competed favourably with Ghanaian highlife that, in fact, dominated in the beginning to the point that most people tended to look up to Ghana for the best of highlife due to the precedent set by Emmanuel Tetteh Mensah.On account of Olaiya's innovative efforts, he was able to release on Philips West African records, frequent highlife releases that matched contributions from such Ghanaian groups as the Rhythm Aces, E.T. Mensah's Tempos Band, The Stangazers and later the Black Beats of King Bruce and The Ramblers Dance Band led by Jerry Hansen.Olaiya's greatest achievement is the fact that 56 years after the formation of his band in 1954, he is still performing. He is also credited with providing tutelage for the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti who found Olaiya's music a good point to begin his remarkably successful career.Victor Uwaifo, the second 'Victor' on the bill, came with a brilliant showing that was still able to recreate the dynamic stage feat that characterised the early performances of his Melody Maestros.The fact that he is currently a lecturer at the University of Benin and a Professor of Fine and Applied Arts did not in anyway inhibit his performance on stage. Instead, this new disposition helped to refine his melodic explorations and rhythmic concepts. When he sang his popular hits such as Joromi, and Guitar Boy, it was with the same ease that he did them in the '60s, his voice coming across as powerfully as ever in all the registers.He did not parade a big band the way Victor Olaiya did, but his configuration was well equipped to provide the sound identity he desired for himself, with emphasis on rhythm and percussion which were intricate.A lot of colour was given to his performance by dancers who were well groomed, but the real flashes were created by his incredible guitar strokes and the fact that he also played the flute and the saxophone in a showing that saw him as a multi-instrumentalist.A highly talented musician, Uwaifo was able to actualise the feat he demonstrated in his hey days with the Melody Maestros ' after he left E.C. Arinze and his music around 1964.The reason some of us frequented Kakadu Hotel, Alagomeji, Yaba, in 1962, 63, 64 was to keep a date with young Victor Uwaifo even though he was a sideman with E.C. Arinze. Then, he had his own highlife compositions which the band performed ' featuring him on vocals and guitar. These songs were crafted lyrically in Edo with melodic progressions of the best in highlife. These conventional progressions transformed into the call-and-response pattern of African music upon the formation of his own band ' the Melody Maestros ' in 1965.Steeped in Edo musical culture in terms of melodic exploration as well as rhythmic concept, Uwaifo was able to prove to the highlife audience at the Shell Hall of MUSON last October that 46 years after, he was still able sustain and enact the same feat.
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