Music of Saturday, 1 December 2007

Source: ghanamusic.com

Sir Jahmann arrives on the scene

Though unsung, Isaac Amishiarh Ewusie, also known in musical circles as Sir Jahmann, is proving to be a force to reckon with on stage. I find it almost impossible to find a fitting description for this musician.


His debut album ‘Wiadze Abrabo’ which has just rolled out of Top Rank Recording Studios at Tantra Hills in Accra is a pointer to this fact and anybody who listens to this nine-track (hip-life and highlife combination) album will not dispute, I believe.


The 33-year-old grew up at Tarkwa Dompim, in the district of Tarkwa in the Western Region.


He attended the Tarkwa-Dompim Methodist Primary School and completed basic schooling at the Tarkwa-Simpa D.C. Middle School in 1989.


His parents were both staunch Christians who brought him up in the strict Methodist discipline. He started singing in church before he was 12 years old.


His earliest musical influence was therefore, a unique strain of gospel music that was an amalgam of Pentecostal gospels and Methodist hymnals.


Judging from the enthusiasm with which he sang and the leading role he played in the church choir, it soon became clear that music would be the driving passion in his life.


Sir Jahmann is extraordinarily versatile. He started writing and composing his own songs at the age of 20.


To date, he has over 40 compositions to his credit which are yet to come out.


After completing the Takoradi Technical Institute in 1997, his love for music drove him to join the Rastafarian Zion Mission (RZM) Band in Takoradi where he was a lead vocalist.


However, he practically abandoned his profession as an electrical technician and took up business to enable him to support himself financially and to have more time to develop his musical talents.


When he moved down to Accra in 2000, he joined the Majestic Band at North Kaneshie, where he further enhanced his musical prowess.


One notable thing about Sir Jahmann is that he sings his own compositions in a unique style, his music touching mainly on love and relationships.