THE MELODY MAN AND HIS PIANO
Simon Ekpe is a pianist and music producer. Outside a couple of showpieces he has unwittingly composed to defy the looming presence of computer software producers, Ekpe specialises in bringing the work of the likes of Praiz and Timi Dakolo to life. This makes him something of an anachronism in Nigerian musical culture. For nearly 15 years he carried on that “authentic voice” in music, as opposed to the illusions of the glamorous showbiz.
Ekpe, a lead pianist at Daystar Christian Centre and consummate artiste, is inseparable from his art, whether you sit down with him at the Grand floor of Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi or in a Marriot bar in Sky Restaurant or at Eko Hotel and Suites, where he performs select days of the week.
With him, I tried this little test. “Mr. Simon, can you name a single Top 40 song in Nigeria?”
Rolled eyes and laughter sufficed for his response. “Are you kidding,” he said, not in the least guilty, apologetic or embarrassed for his ignorance. “I wouldn’t be able to name a tune from the Top 100. But I name jazz standards”
“Well, don’t worry,” I told him, reassuringly. “Neither can anyone else over the age of consent.”
The conversation swirled around compositions and live performances. His responses showed that he had been abreast of popular culture in his country even though the trendy pop titles may elude him.
“Everybody’s doing his own material. The singer-songwriters have pretty much been doing their thing for 30 or 40 years now. Nobody does anybody else’s songs, just their own. If a song can’t travel from one performer to another, it can’t travel from one audience to another, either. So they are confined. It’s hard for a tune to break out.
“I feel so happy that I’m a jazz musician. It’s a 10-cent masquerade these days. You strike a match and everyone thinks they’re on stage. Women walking around half naked in designer dresses. For what? What does that have to do with music?” he asked, rhetorically.
Singer-songwriters and tacky music are not Ekpe’s problem, because he carries an inventory of the real thing between his ears, storing musical data for decades in his mind. His newly recorded album, “Christmas with my Piano’’ says a lot about his game.
“I do a whole gamut of songs, and I never do a set programme, unless it’s with a big orchestra. And even then, I reserve the right to waive that and change directions. You never know how your audience is,” he noted.
He recently published a 22-page book titled, 100 Tips for the 21st century Musician, a collection of more than 100 success and Professional nuggets. With a copy of it handy, the content seemed so familiar to him as a personal diary. He put it aside for a moment and reflected on what he looks for in the music he performs and listens to.
“I like to preach the theory of professionalism, excellence and leadership as a musician.’’ he said. “I tell students this all the time. I can tell them about phrasing and other nuances of performance, but unless they hear it, they can’t know. I can tell them to listen to Jazz icons like George Duke, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock.
“Everyone wants to play like George duke, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, but they can’t play a melody in a convincing way. Corea could play a melody. Herbie knew the whole thing inside out before he got to do what he did. The trouble is, they want to start where George Duke ended. But they don’t realise that these legends came from the melody. The root to artistry is through the melody. Why do you think a composer spends all the time writing a song in a certain way if he didn’t want it played that way?”
This is all very easy for Simon to say, of course, because he grew up in his late father’s Christ Chosen Church of God in Benin with melodies in the air. Melodies are second nature for him, and on no account will the pianist take a career outside the piano.
“I played since I was four or five years old. And that was what amazed my father. Until recently that I got so busy, I practised 18 hours a day scoring Jazz standards and rehearsing tough piano techniques.”
Watching the skilled pianist in performance recently for more than 45 minutes at the Intercontinental Hotel, Ikoyi was a further attestation to the phrase, “I am doing what I am called to do’’. He played the piano with an unusual ease and dexterity. Ekpe further stated that technique has to be matched with one’s self-confidence. In his view, the influence of role models in music too cannot be underestimated.
“George Duke was my favorite. I just loved his touch and his feel. I learned how to play John’s solos note for note. He was the man I most imitated because he was playing at a level that I could reach. It’s not how fast or how many notes you can play. And George Duke had a clear voice. This is how young people learn. You literally copy someone. When you master what someone else can do, then you add to it, subtract from it, and play with it.”
Ekpe works with a quartet of guitar, drums, sax and bass, which adds to his smooth solo work. For him, the bass is the most important instrument in the band.
“You can ask a drummer to lay out. But the bass player—no—you’re nowhere without him playing the right notes. I get all my cues from the bass player. People think a singer gets the changes from the piano player. But I hear through the piano to the bass. I can sing around a piano player, but not the bass.”
Although piano is in his DNA, Ekpe is also hooked on a number of Nigerian vocalists like Gloria Ibru and Yinka Davies.