SABU ADEYOLA - BMHOF CLASS OF 2023

This Buffalo-born titan of jazz bass studied under Charles Mingus and went on to record and tour with the Ahmad Jamal Trio, one of the most-celebrated small combos in jazz history. 

Haj Dawoud Sabu Adeyola was born in Buffalo, the second child of decorated Army First Sergeant James Arthur Lewis, and library professional and community leader Mary Louise Lewis. His mother founded Martin Luther King Day at the King Library in Buffalo, years before it was a national holiday. 

Adeyola’s formal music education began at age eight as a piano student at the Wurlitzer School of Music in Buffalo. He also took up trumpet in fifth grade after seeing Louis Armstrong on television. Sabu was further educated at East High School, and the University at Buffalo, (where he is currently an Adjunct Instructor in Bass Performance and performs in the UB Faculty Jazz Quartet). He began playing upright bass at age 18.

He has toured, performed, and recorded with the legends: including Charley Byrd, Dexter Gordon, “Big” Joe Turner, Grover Washington Jr., Pat Metheny, and Gary Burton. As part of the Ahmad Jamal Trio, Sabu and drummer Payton Crossley added “a spiritual swing” to Jamal’s jazz style. His recorded works include several albums with the Jamal Trio, and with Gary Burton, as well as Boyd’s Blues by Boyd Lee Dunlop.

In the early 1970s, he was a member of the first edition of the Buffalo Jazz Ensemble, led by Phil DiRe, and featuring prominent Buffalo performers such AS Joe Ford, Lou Marino, Jimmy Calire, and Tommy Walsh. The Ensemble appeared at important regional venues including Artpark, Studio Arena, and the Bona Vista Lounge on Hertel Avenue. His deep Buffalo connections have also included collaborations with Buffalo Music Hall of Fame Inducted Members Al Tinney, George Caldwell, and Juini Booth, with whom he performed in the duo Two Bass Hit. 

Adeyola has appeared in some of the world's greatest jazz venues including the Village Vanguard in New York City, Washington DC’s Blues Alley, Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase, Jazz Alley, the Finger Lakes JazzFestival, Fat Tuesdays, Lenox Lounge in Harlem, Sweet Basil's, Toronto’s Massey Hall, Keystone Korner in Baltimore, and Great American Music Hall. 

His 21st century resume includes appearances with the Buffalo Jazz Collective Repertory Orchestra, an18-piece big band featuring top young professional musicians from the Western New York area. Sabu has been married for more than 50 years and is the proud father of his seven, and grandfather of 18.