Keziah Jones

Nigerian blues singer Keziah Jones was born Olefumi Sanyaolu in Lagos in 1968 and is the son of Nigerian tribal chieftain and wealthy industrialist Oshodolamu Sanyaolu. As a child it was expected that the young Sanyaolu would eventually join his father's business and with this in mind he was sent at the age of eight to the UK to attend public school. Sanyaolu soon became disenchanted with the academic life and began learning the piano before eventually switching to guitar. His growing interest in music eventually led to him dropping out of school and he began life as a busker entertaining commuters on London's underground. He would often move between London and Paris, constantly developing his distinctive slapping guitar technique, a style which has become his trademark. Sanyaolu was eventually discovered by composer and keyboard player Phil Pickett of Sailor and Culture Club, who began to nurture the young guitarist's career. Under the name Keziah Jones, Sanyaolu has released six studio albums all of which have charted well in Europe. He now balances his musical career between a number of artistic enterprises which include photography, film directing, painting and poetry.

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