E.T. Mensah, Victor Olaiya-last of the highlife maestros: Music’s loss, heaven’s gain

By Apex News Exclusive On Feb 19, 2020

Olaiya (right) and Mensah during their hey days

E.T. Mensah and Victor Olaiya are undoubtedly the best of highlife musicians. While Ghanaian Mensah died in 1996 at 77 years, Olaiya passed on on February 12, 2020 at 89. Apex News pays tribute to the great performers.

By Dave Iyima

The last chapter of the best in highlife music exponent has finally closed with the death February 12, 2020 of ace trumpeter, Victor Abimbola Olaiya in Lagos at aged 89.

His compatriot, Ghana’s Emmanuel Tettey Mensah, died on July 19, 1996 at 77 years. E. T. Mensah as he was popularly known stormed the West African coast alongside Olaiya entertaining teeming crowds in many live shows. They were household names together with late Bobby Benson. Benson has a renowned hotel in Lagos called “Hotel Benson.”

With newer genres of music and the passing on of Olaiya, highlife music might has well gone with the maestros.

E.T. Mensah

He was born in Ghana on May 31, 1919 and regarded as the “King of Highlife” music. He had a band called “The Tempos.”

Mensah attended the Government School, Accra, and later at Accra High School. At age 12, he learned to play flute in the Government School band and in 1932 he began playing piccolo and flute in the Accra Orchestra, a schoolchildren’s band. Mensah continued to play with this orchestra and also learnt to play the alto-saxophone. His musical career was given an opportunity when he was able to finance his own musical ventures by opening a pharmacy.

The original “Tempos” group was formed in 1946, by some European soldiers stationed in Accra. Over time, African musicians replaced the European ones, until finally it became an all-African band. Mensah joined the band in 1947. Shortly after this the band split up, to be reformed again with Mensah as its leader.

The group gained international attention and in 1957 Mensah performed with the great Louis Armstrong.

The highlife style of music started to decline in the 1960s with the influx of pop music but Mensah remained active for years afterwards. He co-starred on a highly successful album with the Nigerian trumpeter Dr. Victor Abimbola Olaiya.

Victor Abimbola Olaiya

Olaiya was born December 31, 1930. Though extremely famous in Nigeria during the 1950s and early 1960s, Olaiya received little recognition outside his native country. He was described by a foremost Nigerian journalist Alhaji Alade Odunewu of the former Daily Times as “The Evil Genius of Highlife.”

Olaiya was actually born in Calabar, present Cross River State and was the 20^th child of a family of 24. His parents, Alfred Omolona Olaiya and Bathsheba Owolabi Motajo, came from Ijesha-Ishu in present Ekiti State. Olaiya came from a very rich family. His father’s house called Ilọijọs Bar stood on 2, Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island, until it was demolished on 11 September 2016. At an early age he learned to play the Bombardon and the French Horn. After leaving school he moved to Lagos, where he passed the school certificate examination in 1951 and was accepted by Howard University, United States to study civil engineering. Olaiya instead pursued a career as a musician, to the disapproval of his parents. He played with the Sammy Akpabot Band, was leader and trumpeter for the Old Lagos City Orchestra and joined the Bobby Benson Jam Session Orchestra.

In 1954 Olaiya formed his own band, the “Cool Cats” playing popular highlife music. His band was chosen to play at the state ball when Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited Nigeria in 1956, and later to play at the state balls when Nigeria became independent in 1960 and when Nigeria became a Republic in 1963. On the latter occasion, Olaiya shared the stage with the American jazz musician Louis Armstrong. During the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–70, Olaiya was given the rank of a honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian army and his band played for the troops at various locations. His band later travelled to the Congo to perform for United Nations troops.

Olaiya renamed his band to the “All Stars Band” when they played the 1963 International Jazz Festival in Czechoslovakia.

Olaiya also ran a business that imported and distributed musical instruments and accessories throughout West Africa, and established the Stadium Hotel in Surulere.

In 1990, Olaiya received a fellowship of the Institute of Administrative Management of Nigeria. For a period, he was also President of the Nigerian Union of Musicians.

Olaiya married many wives. He had children and grandchildren. One of his daughters, Moji Olaiya, was a Nollywood actress. He sang with his son Bayode Olaiya.

His musical style was influenced by James Brown, with horn parts harmonised in Brown’s style, as opposed to the mostly unison lines of Afrobeat.

In July 2013, Victor Olaiya released a music video remix of Baby Jowo (Baby Mi Da) with 2face Idibia and was received with much acclaim. (Additional report-Wikipedia)