Adam Solomon
Encyclopedia
Adam "The Professor" Solomon (born January 1, 1963 in Mombasa
, Kenya
) is a Juno Award
-winning composer, guitar maestro, and singer. Solomon began performing at an early age, playing the kivoti (flute
) and the kayamba (shaker) at village celebrations and festivals. He established his career playing lead guitar and singing on recordings and videos with some of Kenya's most popular bands and musicians, including Joseph Kamaru
, Bana Citoyen, Super Kalles, Super Mazembe
, Les Wanyika
, Popo Lipo of Lessa Lessan, Professor Mb. Naaman with the Nine Stars Band, Kanda Bongo Man
, Fadhili Williams, Juma Toto, and the Mombasa Roots Band. Adam's touring credits include workshops and performances with Congolese superstar Papa Wemba
and Ismael Lo
from Senegal.
, with whom he toured western Canada in 1993. He collaborated with them for two CD releases, "Tour To Africa" (1994) and "The Great Africans" (1995). "Afronubians Live" was released posthumously in 2005. Solomon collaborated on Show Do Man's release "Trouble Trouble" (1994), also on "Tae Kwarro" album in the year 2000 by Achilla Orru
. Based in Toronto
, Canada, Solomon then formed his own band, Tikisa, in 1995, and has continued to perform and tour with them. He has released the following albums: " Safari"(1996), "Rocket Express II: African Renaissance Blues"(2003), and "Mti wa Maisha (Tree of Life)"(2006) In 2007, Solomon released "Roots Rhythms (Magoma Asili)", an homage to the traditional rhythms and the Griot
s of the Mijikenda (Nine Tribes) people of coastal Kenya. The "Safari" album led to a double win at the TAMA (Toronto African Music Awards) for Best Release and Best New Performers in 1997.
), Pa Joe, Theo yaw Boakye and Kofi Ackah(Ghana
), Alpha Yaya Diallo
and Naby Camara(Guinea
) and Mighty Popo (Burundi
/Rwanda
). This collaboration culminated in the release of the "African Guitar Summit" CD in 2004. This led to a Juno award for World Music Album of the Year
in 2005. The same year, Solomon and his African Guitar Summit colleagues performed at the Live 8 Concert at Park Place in Barrie as part of the ONE Campaign
spearheaded by Bob Geldof
. The "African Guitar Summit II" CD was released and subsequently resulted in a 2007 Juno nomination in the same category http://www.junoawards.ca/PDF/2007_nominees.pdf.
, Montreal Jazz Festival, Salmon Arms Roots & Blues Festival, the University of Toronto's Music of All Latitudes series, and the Blues Summit for the Toronto Blues Society. Recently, Solomon and his group, Tikisa, performed at the Detroit Institute of Arts for their 44th annual Bal Africain, in the presence of Nene Sakite II (King of Manya Krobe, Ghana)http://www.tellusdetroit.com/bal-final07.html.
Solomon has done work for the Toronto International Film Festival
, and participated in documentaries including "The Immigrants" (produced by Jack Orlando), and the award-winning "Jambo Kenya" and "Move Your World" (produced by Lalita Krishna & InSync Video).
Solomon sings in six languages, including Swahili
, English, and Arabic. "The Professor", as he is known in musical circles, is highly respected as a lead guitarist and vocalist. He has become a valuable contributor to cultural education through music and storytelling in schools, libraries and workshops. In addition, he is experienced as a bass and rhythm guitar player, and is facile on the keyboard as well as percussion instruments.
Solomon is a current member of the Toronto Musician's Association, OCFF, CARAS and SOCAN.
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
) is a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
-winning composer, guitar maestro, and singer. Solomon began performing at an early age, playing the kivoti (flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
) and the kayamba (shaker) at village celebrations and festivals. He established his career playing lead guitar and singing on recordings and videos with some of Kenya's most popular bands and musicians, including Joseph Kamaru
Joseph Kamaru
Joseph Kamaru is a benga musician from central Kenya. He is a leading Kikuyu musician, who has sold about half million records.Kamaru is from Kangema, Muranga District. In 1957 he went to Nairobi where he got a househelp job...
, Bana Citoyen, Super Kalles, Super Mazembe
Super Mazembe
Orchestra Super Mazembe was a popular band based in Kenya playing Lingala music. The band had roots in Super Vox, a band formed in 1967 in Zaire and led by Mutonkole Longwa Didos. The band moved to Nairobi in 1974 and changed its name to Orchestra Super Mazembe.Their biggest hit was "Shauri...
, Les Wanyika
Les Wanyika
Les Wanyika was a prominent band with Kenyan and Tanzanian members and was based in Kenya. It was formed in 1978 when guitarist Omar Shabani, bassist Tom Malanga and two other members left Simba Wanyika. They were joined by John Ngereza and Issa Juma. Les Wanyika made many popular recordings, but...
, Popo Lipo of Lessa Lessan, Professor Mb. Naaman with the Nine Stars Band, Kanda Bongo Man
Kanda Bongo Man
Kanda Bongo Man, born 1955 in Inongo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a prominent soukous musician.Kanda Bongo Man become the singer for Orchestra Belle Mambo in 1973, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley...
, Fadhili Williams, Juma Toto, and the Mombasa Roots Band. Adam's touring credits include workshops and performances with Congolese superstar Papa Wemba
Papa Wemba
Papa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in 1949 in Lubefu . He is a Congolese rumba musician, one of Africa's most popular musicians, and prominent in World music.-Zaiko Langa Langa:...
and Ismael Lo
Ismaël Lô
Ismaël Lô is a Senegalese musician. He was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother. Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal where they settled in the town of Rufisque, near the capital Dakar. He also plays the guitar and the...
from Senegal.
Discography
Solomon was a co-founder (with Tarig Abubakar) of Canada's great pan-African band, the AfronubiansAfroNubians
The AfroNubians were a world music band based in Toronto. Its founders included Sudanese emigrant Tarig Abubakar and Adam Solomon who would participate in the Juno Award winning album African Guitar Summit, a recent band from whom lead guitarist, Pa Joe from Ghana would figure very prominently...
, with whom he toured western Canada in 1993. He collaborated with them for two CD releases, "Tour To Africa" (1994) and "The Great Africans" (1995). "Afronubians Live" was released posthumously in 2005. Solomon collaborated on Show Do Man's release "Trouble Trouble" (1994), also on "Tae Kwarro" album in the year 2000 by Achilla Orru
Achilla Orru
King Achilla Orru Apaa-idomo is a Uganda-born blind musician who has been based in Toronto, Canada since 1989.Orru's primary instrument is the lukembé. His ethnic background is Karamojong. The group he performs with is called Baana Afrique.- References :...
. Based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada, Solomon then formed his own band, Tikisa, in 1995, and has continued to perform and tour with them. He has released the following albums: " Safari"(1996), "Rocket Express II: African Renaissance Blues"(2003), and "Mti wa Maisha (Tree of Life)"(2006) In 2007, Solomon released "Roots Rhythms (Magoma Asili)", an homage to the traditional rhythms and the Griot
Griot
A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
s of the Mijikenda (Nine Tribes) people of coastal Kenya. The "Safari" album led to a double win at the TAMA (Toronto African Music Awards) for Best Release and Best New Performers in 1997.
Collaboration with African Guitar Summit
In conjunction with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), Solomon continues to perform with a diverse group of pan-African musicians, including Madagascar Slim and Donne Roberts (MadagascarMadagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
), Pa Joe, Theo yaw Boakye and Kofi Ackah(Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
), Alpha Yaya Diallo
Alpha Yaya Diallo
Alpha Yaya Diallo is a guitarist and composer who is based in Vancouver, Canada. Alpha hails from Guinea and incorporates its rich musical tradition into his original compositions.-Discography:* 1993 Néné - nominated for a Juno Award...
and Naby Camara(Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
) and Mighty Popo (Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
/Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
). This collaboration culminated in the release of the "African Guitar Summit" CD in 2004. This led to a Juno award for World Music Album of the Year
Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "World Music Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1992, as recognition each year for the best world music album in Canada...
in 2005. The same year, Solomon and his African Guitar Summit colleagues performed at the Live 8 Concert at Park Place in Barrie as part of the ONE Campaign
ONE Campaign
The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
spearheaded by Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
. The "African Guitar Summit II" CD was released and subsequently resulted in a 2007 Juno nomination in the same category http://www.junoawards.ca/PDF/2007_nominees.pdf.
Performances
Solomon has also done several live recordings with the CBC, and has toured extensively across Canada, performing at music festivals as varied as Afrofest and the Toronto Street Festival, Whistler Festival, Winnipeg Folk FestivalWinnipeg Folk Festival
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It features a variety of folk artists from all around the world, as well as a number of local folk performers....
, Montreal Jazz Festival, Salmon Arms Roots & Blues Festival, the University of Toronto's Music of All Latitudes series, and the Blues Summit for the Toronto Blues Society. Recently, Solomon and his group, Tikisa, performed at the Detroit Institute of Arts for their 44th annual Bal Africain, in the presence of Nene Sakite II (King of Manya Krobe, Ghana)http://www.tellusdetroit.com/bal-final07.html.
Solomon has done work for the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, and participated in documentaries including "The Immigrants" (produced by Jack Orlando), and the award-winning "Jambo Kenya" and "Move Your World" (produced by Lalita Krishna & InSync Video).
Contributions
Contributing to fundraisers and benefits, specifically related to the plight of HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa, the building of schools and the provision of clean water, is a priority of Solomon's. A short list of those performances includes: "For the Children of Africa" (Rotary Club of Toronto), "Music for AIDS in Africa" for Africville, "Hearts for Smarts" for the Canada Mathare Education Trust, and the United Kenyans of Chicago's "Give Hope to the Children" benefit.Solomon sings in six languages, including Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, English, and Arabic. "The Professor", as he is known in musical circles, is highly respected as a lead guitarist and vocalist. He has become a valuable contributor to cultural education through music and storytelling in schools, libraries and workshops. In addition, he is experienced as a bass and rhythm guitar player, and is facile on the keyboard as well as percussion instruments.
Solomon is a current member of the Toronto Musician's Association, OCFF, CARAS and SOCAN.