About Me
Layout by:Having started out at the age of 10, Isaiah was code-named, ‘Uganda’s Saxophone Wizard’ by many a fan.
It wasn’t long before the title found its way into the local press, which raised him to the stardom that he enjoys in his home country today.
His skill with the saxophone has not only made him popular in Uganda, but also earned him another placing as arguably East Africa's best Jazz artiste.
Some have attributed his upshot to pure lady luck. But Isaiah’s childhood story had a lot to do with nurturing the strong-willed gentleman seen of him today.
Isaiah grew up in a rather unconventional set up.
For some inevitable reason, his parents were not there to see to his growth throughout his primary childhood.
Fate finally propelled the desperate little boy into the hands of a primary school director, Washington Mugerwa.
His mother, however, was instrumental in establishing this contact.
Washington helped give the young boy an education at his Reverend John Foundation School in Kitintale, a suburb in Kampala, the country’s capital.
But in return, Isaiah, would play instruments in the school band after months of training.
By Primary Six, Isaiah, who had joined the school in Primary Three, had learnt to play the guitar, bugle, trombone, xylophones and tube fiddle, a complex single-stringed instrument.
His adeptness with the instruments had led the school to victory in a number of local music, dance and drama competitions.
About that time, the school director bought a saxophone. It was a complex instrument. Little Isaiah had to endure thorough beatings from the director while trying to perfect in playing the instrument that he got so fond of.
When he joined secondary school at Kyambogo College, he didn’t stop.
It was during this time that other local commercial bands like Waka-Waka, Afrigo and Light Rays spotted him, and started luring him to join them.
Committed to the payer of his school fees, he only did for them short-term freelance gigs.
Soon, his distinguished saxophone codes won him reputation.
By the time he completed Senior Six, he had played jazzy codes to spice up recordings of several local artistes.
During his free time, he teamed up with local veteran instrumentalists like Eddie Ganja and the late Paulo Kafeero to play tunes for fun and compare notes.
He worked with many high-profile Ugandan artistes, including Afrigo Band, Crossroads Band, Diamonds Ensemble, Mesach Semakula, Kato Lubwama, Tim Kizito, Mariam Ndagire, Fred Sebatta and Ndere Troupe.
He took to church in 1999, and cashed in on special-project bands, helped sustain the mother. It’s in this church (Rubaga Miracle Centre) that Isaiah found his wife Sheila, who led praise and worship.
The two got married in 2002, and have a four-year-old son, Mitchell.
It’s also in church that he met Chris Lang in 2001, a member of The Rise Jazz Band, an American band which was on a visit to improve the skills of musicians in the church, under Cross Culture Ministries.
The saxophonist in Lang detected talent when Isaiah played the instrument. He was impressed.
He offered his new saxophone to Isaiah, and continued supporting him thereafter.
Lang also helped Isaiah move to the UK with his wife, and was instrumental in fostering Isaiah’s completion of a Sound Engineering course at City of Westminster, London.
There, Isaiah compared notes with renowned saxophonists like USA’s Michael Pallet, then in the UK, and Mike Aremu from Nigeria among others.
When Isaiah plays the saxophone today, the effect is that typical of Kenny G and Dave Koz.
He has played on high-profile functions and international music festivals, lined up with Africa’s renowned saxophonist, Manu Dibango, The Flecktons and Phil Driscoll among others.
Isaiah was also among the first African artistes to perform at Concertgebouw, the renowned European classical temple in Amsterdam.
Sinza, his recent gospel album is rich in smooth jazz and fine saxophone codes played in typical African style.
Recorded in the UK, where he’s based, the six-track album is one of the most popular works among African church community in the diaspora.
The soft-spoken young man has an unstoppable. And he says the sky is not the limit.
