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Popular Music and Socio-Cultural Integrity: the Contributions of E Onwuegbuna, I. E. (2012). Popular Music and Socio-Cultural Integrity: The Contributions of E. C. Arinze. Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research, Vol. 1, pp. 154-162. Published by the Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Popular music and socio-cultural integrity: The contributions of E. C. Arinze By: Ikenna Emmanuel Onwuegbuna Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State. E-mail: [email protected] Cell: +2348035639139 Abstract A popular opinion held by the pioneer academic musicians is that such virtues as moral uprightness, rectitude, probity, decency, sincerity, and candour are clearly unpopular with the professional popular musician. Dismissing further the socio-cultural integrity of the popular musician, the academia has argued that the popular musical art is the domain of illicit sex, unwanted pregnancies, unhappiness, broken homes and relationships, and inhuman desires. To the contrary, however, this study, combining the empirical and the theoretical research methods, discovered that many Nigerian popular musicians have, at one time or the other, been invested with prestigious international and national honours, in recognition of their contributions to the society as cultural ambassadors of the nation. The contributions of E. C. Arinze, a pioneering exponent of the highlife popular genre, is hereby discussed as a star feature in portraying the socio-cultural integrity of the Nigerian popular music. Prelude Integrity is about the possession of esteemed moral principles that are valued, protected, defended, and steadfastly preserved. The man of integrity is the one with honour; he is easily credited with uprightness, honesty, righteousness, decency, sincerity, probity, and candour. Socio-cultural integrity, therefore, concerns itself with the esteemed moral principles that are implied in, related to, defined and upheld by the social and cultural institutions and expressions of the human civilization. Music, as a human activity and a socio-cultural artifact of the human civilization, cannot help but fall in line with the socio-cultural integrity of same human environment; same applies, even more so, to the musician. However, a disturbing dichotomy has existed between the academic/art musician and the commercial/popular musician in matters of socio-cultural integrity. Onwuegbuna, I. E. (2012). Popular Music and Socio-Cultural Integrity: The Contributions of E. C. Arinze. Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research, Vol. 1, pp. 154-162. Published by the Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. While Ekwueme (2004) dismisses the possibility of the cultural relevance of the Nigerian popular music, accusing the musician of having no professional musical and little general education; he also contends that Nigerian pop musicians lack the discipline to play or sing in tune, harmonize imaginatively, articulate distinctively, vocalize artistically, vary their basic structures, or even move in properly choreographed, spectacular, pleasing and artistic dance forms. Similarly, Onyeji (2002) reports that the pop musician’s image is blighted by such aspersions as illicit sex, unwanted pregnancies, unhappiness, broken homes and relationships, and inhuman desires. To the contrary, however, this study discovered that many Nigerian popular musicians have, at one time or the other, been invested with prestigious international and national honours, in recognition of their contributions to the society as cultural ambassadors of the nation. Extant records (Waterman, 2010) show that the Nigerian juju pop music exponent, I. K. Dairo, was invested with the prestigious MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 1963, by the Queen of England, in recognition of his musical ingenuity and cultural relevance. Other Nigerian pop musicians who have been similarly honoured include Dr. Oliver De Coque (honoris causa, Michigan State University, USA), Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe (MON), Nelly Uchendu (MON), Commander Ebenezer Obey (MON), and Sir Victor Uwaifo, PhD (MON). However, the life, works, and contributions of the octogenarian ace trumpeter, singer, bandleader, and pioneering highlife exponent, E. C. Arinze, argue strongly for the socio- cultural integrity of the Nigerian popular musician. Birth and family background Eleazar Chukwuweta Arinze was born to Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Arinze of Obosi, in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, in June, 1930. Being the first of five children in a Christian family, Eleazar was readily groomed into the role of a pseudo- father to his siblings. Early childhood experiences and influences Eleazar’s primary education started at Obosi, from where he later transferred to St. Peter’s School, Ogbete, Enugu. While in school, he joined the school Marching band, and also remained a chorister in the school choir—a tradition in the family laid by his mother, who was also a good singer. During this period in his life, Eleazar was exposed to two divergent musical cultures—the African and the Western. African influences came from the traditional songs and dances of the Igbo tribe, while the Western was in two shades. The choral Christian songs and hymns introduced by the European colonialist, and the popular songs coming mostly from Southern America combine to form the foreign Onwuegbuna, I. E. (2012). Popular Music and Socio-Cultural Integrity: The Contributions of E. C. Arinze. Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research, Vol. 1, pp. 154-162. Published by the Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. musical influences on the young E. C. The popular dance forms include meringue, mambo, twist, tango, waltz, and foxtrot. Education, apprenticeship and training At age 19, as Eleazar finished his post-primary education in Enugu, he already knew how to play the fluegal horn and read music written in tonic-solfa notation. These he learnt as a member of the school band. Returning to his home town, Obosi, he enrolled in the Teachers’ Training College, and upon graduation was posted to Central School, Onitsha, to teach. The presence of a well-established school band at Central School was a bonus for E. C. who was immediately appointed to the position of the Band Master. One of his major successes was leading the pupils to the last colonial Empire Day in 1959, before the Independence Day of 1960. His other contributions as the band master include the introduction of the study of tonic-solfa notation in the school and the graduation of instrumentalists in the areas of trumpets, euphonium, accordion, and drums. Fired by the flames of his achievements, E. C. decided to pursue music as a career—the oppositions of his family notwithstanding. He relied on the support and encouragement of friends and well-wishers, especially the late Justice Nkemena. His father’s approval was eventually granted when it became clearly convincing that E. C. was quite focused on his musical mission. Professional career, growth and development E. C. moved from Ontisha to Lagos, on the 2nd of September, 1963, at a time he was already versed in the art of composing and arranging for dance band. At this time, he had also developed the skill of band management. According to Idonije (2000), Arinze demonstrated this versatility with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation’s Dance Band in the late fifties as a trumpet major. He was not only able to read scores with ease, he was able to interpret them in such a way that he gave his trumpet the full tone, dominating the horn section with influences of Eddie Calvert and Louis Armstrong (p. 54). Now a fully mature professional, he struck a deal with Umuahia born Abel Kanu, the proprietor of Empire Hotel, Idioro, to provide live music for the hotel. Having arrived Lagos with groups of his band boys from Onitsha, E. C. quickly formed two groups of musicians. One group joined him in Empire Hotel, while the other he passed on to Victor Olaiya who had a need for disciplined musicians at the time. Onwuegbuna, I. E. (2012). Popular Music and Socio-Cultural Integrity: The Contributions of E. C. Arinze. Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research, Vol. 1, pp. 154-162. Published by the Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. As the band business thrived, E. C. trained out two more groups of talented musicians to populate the bands of Stephen Amechi and Lawrence Agu. As he gained in popularity, the demand for his music spread throughout Lagos and beyond. His musical coverage extended to Ikeja Arms Hotel (now Ikeja Airport Hotel), Lebanese-owned Eudo Bar, opposite Empire Hotel, and also the University College, Ibadan. He also took his music to Abeokuta, Ijebuode, and Ijebuigbo. E. C. later left Empire Hotel and moved to Kakadu Club where he consolidated his success as a bandleader until the war broke off in 1967. The civil war forced E. C. to flee from Lagos, and move down east with his family. On returning to Onitsha, E. C. bought a new set of equipment and musical instruments (having abandoned the old set in Lagos) to set up his band at Savoy Hotel. From Onitsha he moved to Port Harcourt to fill the position of the resident band at Kakadu Hotel, Mile II, Diobu. As the war raged, he left Port Harcourt for his hometown, Obosi, where he opened another Kakadu Club and ran a scanty band. As the political instability in the country became more devastating, the quest for survival drove E. C. into other means of exploring his creativity. He veered into organizing small bands of flutes, fife, and harmonica that entertained homes during the war. At the end of the war in 1970, E. C. returned to Lagos only to find out that the equipment and instruments he left at Kakadu had all vanished. A truly detribalized Nigerian, E. C. was assisted by Benue-born Edwin Ugu to acquire a new set of equipment and instruments; but then, Lagos was no longer the home of highlife that it used to be. Juju, apala, Afrobeat, and the then fledgling fuji were already consolidating the grounds cleared by highlife music.
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