IN MEMORIAM The Great Dr Oloh Gumbay And Milo Jazz King Of Sierra Leone....Gone But Not Forgotten Posted by Akie Deen on Oct 18, 2007, 05:33

Due to the limited financial resources of his parents, he was forced to leave school at an early age to earn a living. He traipsed all over Freetown in search of those houses where musicians used to practice. It was clear that Oloh was looking for the opportunity to get into the music business. He was always fascinated by the maestro and guitarist, Dr. Dynamite (Masokoloko). His influence on Oloh was profound. At that point in his life, he was toying with the idea of becoming a priest. But his weak educational background hampered him and he quickly abandoned his ambition of becoming a priest.  Oloh then switched to music and discovered a niche in the market.  As they say, the rest is history.

Dr Oloh discovered that he could still preach to people through his music. He organised his first group, comprising percussion instruments. He composed and performed songs, which were relevant to the community. Oloh rapidly became a household name.

At the early age of 10, he started making music with empty milk cans and bottles. His musical ingenuity and his unending desire to develop Sierra Leone’s rich cultural heritage, forced him into the full-blown music scene. Oloh‘s ambition was to blend the native Sierra Leonean music Caribbean and Latin American musical influences. That was the birth of his internationally famous ‘Milo Beat’. Although ‘Gumbay Beat’ had existed, Oloh saw the need to blend both sounds in his repertoire. Oloh began gaining dominance after he was invited to perform with the Creole music exponent and legend, Ebenezer Calendar.

Oloh was “awarded” a Doctorate Degree by a grateful Sierra Leonean community, which was greatly impressed with his dedication and contribution to local folk and popular music. Oloh continued to develop his musical genre, which ultimately became known as ‘Milo Jazz’. Getting people out of their seats on to the dance floor was an easy task for Oloh. His music was exciting and electrifying. There were no steps or moves to learn. It was simply a matter of responding to the beat.

That was the new circuit of ravers that Oloh animated and musically helped to de-colonise in the late Sixties and Seventies. Prior to that period, the Creoles of Freetown remained in contact with their Africana roots through ‘Gumbay Music’. That music evolved during sojourns of their ancestors in the West Indies, and they brought it back with them after surviving the long period of enslavement.

Sierra Leoneans did not only dance to the infectious beat of Milo Jazz, they also accompanied him in the singing as well. It was no longer just the music of a group of people afraid of losing their culture; it became the music of the entire nation seeking to be reunited by its culture. Oloh had many student musicians in his college and had the ability to supply an ensemble for several engagements at the same time.  

In 1989, Oloh was awarded the OR (Order of Rokel) by the Government of Sierra Leone, during the Presidency of H.E. Joseph Saidu Momoh, for his musical excellence and contribution to the national development of music and culture.

Dr. Oloh had a large repertoire. Dr. Oloh and his Milo Jazz Band performed for the first time outside Sierra Leone in 1991, when he was invited by international music impresario Akie Deen to perform at the Sierra Showcase Event at the prestigious Empire Ballrooms in Leicester Square, London. In 1992 he travelled again to the United Kingdom on tour. In 1994 he performed with other Sierra Leonean musicians at a benefit concert for the late musical legend, S.E. Rogie. His last performance in London was in 1996 when he performed at the Centenary Celebration of one of Sierra Leone’s heroes, Bai Bureh.

Dr. Oloh continued his musical career until his death after a short illness in Freetown on the 13th of October 2007.