1938-1997. Pianist, saxophonist,
pot-smoking statesman. The
James Brown,
Bob Marley, and
Bob Dylan of
Nigeria. A classically-trained
musician, he became politicised by both West African
funk and the US Black Power movement of the 60s. His
Africa 70 and
Egypt 80 Afrobeat orchestras inspired
Brian Eno and
David Byrne, and was a thorn in the side of despots.
"If you want to be a musician, you have to listen to jazz" - to his son Femi, who now carries on the family business.