Tunji Sowande
Encyclopedia
Tunji Sowande was a Nigeria
-born United Kingdom
lawyer
and musician
.
in 1912 to a fairly wealthy local family by standards –his father being the Anglican Priest
- Emmanuel Sowande, a pioneer of church
music in Lagos and contemporary of the distinguished classical
composer
and organist
- Dr Ekundayo Phillips.
His was a musical family, with his older brother being none other than the renowned Classical composer Fela Sowande
, described by Wikipedia
as “the father of modern Nigerian art music, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works in the Europe
an "classical" idiom.”
Tunji Sowande had his early education at the CMS Anglican Grammar School
in Lagos and proceeded to the Yaba Higher College, where he obtained a Diploma in Pharmacy on or about 1940. As was the practice, he worked with the Public Health department in Lagos as a Dispensing Pharmacist for a number of years. His contemporary being the late Adeyinka Oyekan
, his good friend, who was later to become the Oba (King) of Lagos. He is also said to have subsequently set up a private Pharmacy business alongside the said Oyekan
In the family tradition, Tunji was an excellent Baritone
Singer, Organist
, and later a Jazz
Drummer
and Saxaphon
ist. Largely plying his musical skills in the conservative surroundings of the Anglican Cathedral in Lagos in his spare-time.
He got married in 1938 and had 2 children, Ayo and Tunde who later joined him in the UK, where they were educated, before returning to Nigeria in their adult years.
to pursue a career in Law, though his personal account was more to the effect that he wanted a change of scene to pursue his musical skills, with legal studies
being a respectable adjunct to his genuine quest.
He studied Law at King's College
and took and passed the Bar Finals at Lincoln's Inn
, having said that he occupied himself primarily playing around the UK, supporting several acts both Jazz, Classical and Choral. He collaborated on live sets with several contemporary heavy-weights like Johnny Dankworth
, Ronnie Scott
, Paul Robeson
to name a few as well as popular Afro-Caribbean icons like Ambrose Campbell and Edmundo Ros
. He is on record as having formed a long standing partnership with the hugely popular pioneering Black Singer and Pianist Rita Cann and was indeed part of the circle of Black Intellectuals and musicians who met regularly at the Regents Park flat of the African-American musician John Payne. Rita Cann had actually been mentored by Fela Sowande.
He also recorded at least one single on the Afro-Caribbean
Melodisc label, the track being “Ihin Rere” and Igi T’Olorun”. Contemporary acts on this label being Lord Kitchener
and Ambrose Campbell. He is also reputed to have dedicated a substantial part of his musical career to playing for Charity entertaining an Elderly audience- as a duo with Rita Cann, travelling around the UK for this purpose. His other compositions including the song Ara Eyo. He was also reputed to have written several short plays.
Sowande went on to pursue a distinguished career at the Bar, specialising in Criminal Law, he was recognised as an exceptionally competent, unassuming and scrupulously honest Lawyer. His only other Black contemporary at the Bar at the time being the Caribbean Barrister Learie Constantine
, who was a professional Cricket
er but rather wonderfully practised Law as a hobby and who had sued and won compensation from the Imperial Hotel in London in 1944 for barring him “on the grounds of colour”. Constantine later became Trinidadian High Commission to London and indeed the UK’s first Black Peer.
Well respected by colleagues and Benchers, he handled a large number of complex Criminal matters in the course of his career. He was often at the Central Criminal Court
, Quarter Sessions
, Chelmsford, St Albans, Hereford, Middlesex and others and was on the county prosecutors list in Essex.
He rose to the rank of Head of Chambers at 3 Kings Bench Walk after several years in 1968, making him the first Black Head of a major Barrister's Chambers set. In addition In April 1978, he became the first Black Deputy Circuit Judge (assistant Recorder) sitting initially at Snaresbrook and thereafter at 24 of the crown courts including Croydon, Inner London
and Knightsbridge. He was appointed a Recorder (Judge) of the Crown Court, from where he retired on or about 1989. This certainly is the authoritativ view thus contradicting the Black Lawyers Directory claim that Dr John Roberts was the first Black Judge, since his appointment was only in 1985, whereas Sowande became a Deputy Recorder seven years prior to this. Roberts was most certainly the first Black Queen's Counsel, a rank which Sowande had striven for but did not attain before his death.
Tunji Sowande assisted the careers of several Lawyers of minority persuasion, always a source of subtle and useful fatherly advice, he however did not view himself purely in the context of an ethnic professional but recognised the difficulties faced by ethnic Lawyers. One such Lawyer being Kim Hollis QC, one of the UK's most popular Asian female Lawyers, who was given her opportunity of Tenancy by Tunji Sowande and indeed mentored her in the early stages of her career.
Socially, he was an active a member of the Hurlingham Club
, Justice, Concert Artiste’s Association, several Theatrical Societies, lifelong member of Marylebone Cricket Club
and Crystal Palace Football Club
.
Sowande’s life was a study in simplicity, modesty, integrity and conviction. He lived his life in accordance with his own unique standards, applying himself excellently in all he chose to endeavour. He died in 1996 at the age of 84.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
-born United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Early life
Tunji Sowande was born in Lagos, NigeriaLagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
in 1912 to a fairly wealthy local family by standards –his father being the Anglican Priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
- Emmanuel Sowande, a pioneer of church
Church music
Church music may be defined as music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclestiacal liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. This article covers music in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. For sacred music outside this...
music in Lagos and contemporary of the distinguished classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
- Dr Ekundayo Phillips.
His was a musical family, with his older brother being none other than the renowned Classical composer Fela Sowande
Fela Sowande
Olufela Obafunmilayo Sowande was a Nigerian musician and composer....
, described by Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
as “the father of modern Nigerian art music, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works in the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an "classical" idiom.”
Tunji Sowande had his early education at the CMS Anglican Grammar School
CMS Grammar School, Lagos
The CMS Grammar School in the Bariga district of Lagos is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded on 6 June 1859 by the Church Missionary Society...
in Lagos and proceeded to the Yaba Higher College, where he obtained a Diploma in Pharmacy on or about 1940. As was the practice, he worked with the Public Health department in Lagos as a Dispensing Pharmacist for a number of years. His contemporary being the late Adeyinka Oyekan
Adeyinka Oyekan
Adeyinka Oyekan was a member of the Lagos royal family whose history dates back to the early seventeenth century. He was the Oba of Lagos from 1965-2003. He attended the Methodist Boys High School and King's College, Lagos before studying Pharmacy at Yaba College of Higher Education...
, his good friend, who was later to become the Oba (King) of Lagos. He is also said to have subsequently set up a private Pharmacy business alongside the said Oyekan
In the family tradition, Tunji was an excellent Baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Singer, Organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
, and later a Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
Drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and Saxaphon
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
ist. Largely plying his musical skills in the conservative surroundings of the Anglican Cathedral in Lagos in his spare-time.
He got married in 1938 and had 2 children, Ayo and Tunde who later joined him in the UK, where they were educated, before returning to Nigeria in their adult years.
Education in the UK
In 1945, he decided to travel to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to pursue a career in Law, though his personal account was more to the effect that he wanted a change of scene to pursue his musical skills, with legal studies
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
being a respectable adjunct to his genuine quest.
He studied Law at King's College
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and took and passed the Bar Finals at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, having said that he occupied himself primarily playing around the UK, supporting several acts both Jazz, Classical and Choral. He collaborated on live sets with several contemporary heavy-weights like Johnny Dankworth
John Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...
, Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
, Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
to name a few as well as popular Afro-Caribbean icons like Ambrose Campbell and Edmundo Ros
Edmundo Ros
Edmundo William Ros OBE was a Trinidadian musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra, had an extensive recording career and owned one of London's leading nightclubs.- Life :Ros was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad...
. He is on record as having formed a long standing partnership with the hugely popular pioneering Black Singer and Pianist Rita Cann and was indeed part of the circle of Black Intellectuals and musicians who met regularly at the Regents Park flat of the African-American musician John Payne. Rita Cann had actually been mentored by Fela Sowande.
He also recorded at least one single on the Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean
The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community*Afro-Caribbean music*Caribbean Australian*Caribbean Brazilian*West Indian American...
Melodisc label, the track being “Ihin Rere” and Igi T’Olorun”. Contemporary acts on this label being Lord Kitchener
Lord Kitchener (calypsonian)
Aldwyn Roberts , better known by the stage name Lord Kitchener , was one of the most internationally famous calypsonians. He was the son of a blacksmith, Stephen, and homemaker, Albertha.-Life:...
and Ambrose Campbell. He is also reputed to have dedicated a substantial part of his musical career to playing for Charity entertaining an Elderly audience- as a duo with Rita Cann, travelling around the UK for this purpose. His other compositions including the song Ara Eyo. He was also reputed to have written several short plays.
Legal career
Tunji Sowande was called to the Bar in February 1952 and upon completing his pupillage, was informed by his mentor and Master of Chambers, Jeffrey Howard (later Judge Jeffrey Howard) that he had been offered a full Tenancy at the prestigious 3 Kings Bench Walk Chambers. His reaction was however that of surprise, since his own ambition was to pursue his musical career on completion of his studies. This is to be seen in the context of the fact that Tenancies in prestigious Chambers were not available to Black Barristers - the UK still being subject to the racial and class strictures attendant at the time. He initially refused it but subsequently accepted after pressure from his Pupil Master, who would not countenance a Lawyer of his exceptional intellect and ability doing otherwise than taking the opportunity of a career at the Bar.Sowande went on to pursue a distinguished career at the Bar, specialising in Criminal Law, he was recognised as an exceptionally competent, unassuming and scrupulously honest Lawyer. His only other Black contemporary at the Bar at the time being the Caribbean Barrister Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
, who was a professional Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er but rather wonderfully practised Law as a hobby and who had sued and won compensation from the Imperial Hotel in London in 1944 for barring him “on the grounds of colour”. Constantine later became Trinidadian High Commission to London and indeed the UK’s first Black Peer.
Well respected by colleagues and Benchers, he handled a large number of complex Criminal matters in the course of his career. He was often at the Central Criminal Court
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
, Quarter Sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
, Chelmsford, St Albans, Hereford, Middlesex and others and was on the county prosecutors list in Essex.
He rose to the rank of Head of Chambers at 3 Kings Bench Walk after several years in 1968, making him the first Black Head of a major Barrister's Chambers set. In addition In April 1978, he became the first Black Deputy Circuit Judge (assistant Recorder) sitting initially at Snaresbrook and thereafter at 24 of the crown courts including Croydon, Inner London
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central...
and Knightsbridge. He was appointed a Recorder (Judge) of the Crown Court, from where he retired on or about 1989. This certainly is the authoritativ view thus contradicting the Black Lawyers Directory claim that Dr John Roberts was the first Black Judge, since his appointment was only in 1985, whereas Sowande became a Deputy Recorder seven years prior to this. Roberts was most certainly the first Black Queen's Counsel, a rank which Sowande had striven for but did not attain before his death.
Tunji Sowande assisted the careers of several Lawyers of minority persuasion, always a source of subtle and useful fatherly advice, he however did not view himself purely in the context of an ethnic professional but recognised the difficulties faced by ethnic Lawyers. One such Lawyer being Kim Hollis QC, one of the UK's most popular Asian female Lawyers, who was given her opportunity of Tenancy by Tunji Sowande and indeed mentored her in the early stages of her career.
Socially, he was an active a member of the Hurlingham Club
Hurlingham Club
The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive sports club in Fulham in southwest London, England. The club, founded in 1869, is situated by the River Thames in Fulham, West London, and has a Georgian clubhouse set in of grounds...
, Justice, Concert Artiste’s Association, several Theatrical Societies, lifelong member of Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
and Crystal Palace Football Club
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
.
Sowande’s life was a study in simplicity, modesty, integrity and conviction. He lived his life in accordance with his own unique standards, applying himself excellently in all he chose to endeavour. He died in 1996 at the age of 84.