IJenNeh

IJenNeh IJenNeh pronounced “eye gin nay” means Heaven. IJenNeh is a tasty mix of African, Reggae, Gospel and Funk music created exclusively by our music director, Lasana Kanneh and our music producer, Jeremy Sauer. IJenNeh evolved from the earlier groups Echoes of the Blind, Liberian A cappella and African Gospel A cappella. Echoes of the Blind, the first group organized by Lasana Kanneh originated in Monrovia, Liberia, eight blind men who sang for food on the war ravaged streets of Liberia. Lasana remembers singing in the midst of rebel fighting with bullets flying over their heads. At different points, he was forced to sing for infamous war lords. Liberian A cappella, a group of ten Liberian men led by Lasana, who by fate left Africa. They sang in 46 states in four years, raising funds for the African orphans back in their homeland. A highlight came at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, singing for a crowd of over 20,000 people. African Gospel A cappella consisted of 6 blind men from the original two groups, who toured the Pacific Northwest for four years. You can still hear Lasana’s distinctive lead vocals on the official website and on their cds. While the former groups sang a cappella, IJenNeh’s sound is now enhanced by the instrumental element of Jeremy Sauer, the group instrumentalist. Jeremy joined with Lasana to create this totally unique, original style that cannot be contained in one genre. A union which created IJenNeh’s current signature sound with soaring vocals, lively beats from Lasana’s African drums and Jeremy’s fine instrumental arrangements and killer bass lines. Jeremy Sauer played piano/keyboard, lead guitar and bass in groups from high school with Blue Plate Special, thru college with Jazzology, also at home and on tour with Mt. Hood CC’s famous vocal Jazz group Genesis. Plus Jeremy played in his church worship team at New Song Church and IJenNeh in Portland, OR. He now seeks his Bachelor’s Degree with the prestigious Musicians Institute, Leading Music School in Los Angeles for Contemporary Music Education. The music director of the IJenNeh groups, Lasana Kanneh suffered much in his native homeland Liberia. He was born blind and ostracized by his community for his disability. He escaped war, persecution, poverty and personal failure to bring you these beautiful songs of hope, faith, and restoration. ijenneh@yahoo.com http://www.youtube.com/ijenneh http://www.facebook.com/ijenneh http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/ijenneh http://www.myspace.com/ijenneh Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.