The Story of a Saxophonist from Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone’s music scene, singers and rappers get all the glory; instrumentalists are heard but rarely celebrated. And then there’s Reggie. 

Reginald “Bizzup” Thompson, a multi-instrumentalist known for the saxophone, is blowing a new tune, commanding respect from festivals to concerts at home and abroad. 

Becoming a Saxophonist and Early Days

Image: Reginald Moses Thompson with his saxophone / Captured by VR&C Marketing

Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Krio parents, Moses Thompson and Mabel Thompson, who are both deceased, Reginald Moses Thompson, 33, is a Sierra Leonean Afro-jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of the Freetown Uncut Band. 

He is widely recognised for performing with bands across Sierra Leone and for recording with various artists in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Thompson fell in love with music at the age of 15 through his best friend, who shares his surname.

“I was always around musicians,” he said. “My best friend, Marvin Thompson, at the time was deeply involved in music, and I just fell in love with what he was doing.”

As he became fond of the music, Reggie Thompson started becoming curious about it and started following his friends to church, who were choristers, and started playing the keyboard. 

“My first instrument was the keyboard, which is the base instrument for most musicians,” said Thompson. 

“That was my first instrument I started playing. I started playing it in church and it was a pastor, Alim Sesay that started teaching me the keyboard,” he alluded. 

In 2010, Thompson would later join Sierra Leone’s leading music school, the Ballanta Academy of Music in Freetown, where he honed his saxophone skills.

Choosing Passion Over Expectation

Image: Reginald Moses Thompson performing alongside the Freetown Uncut Band

Thompson’s curiosity in the saxophone soon became a conviction that music would be what he would want to pursue as a career, and that conviction would put him at odds with his parents.

Like many young Africans, Thompson grew up under the weight of expectation. His parents did not envision him as a musician. “My parents wanted me to become an engineer, a civil engineer,’’ he said. 

Music, to them, was an uncertain, impractical, and not-so-respectable profession. Music as an art is often seen by most parents in Sierra Leone and much of Africa as a hobby instead of a viable career. 

For Thompson, his father made it clear and straightforward at the start of his music career – It’s engineering or engineering. So, music for him was never part of the conversation. 

“My father never supported it,” says Thompson, quietly. “Not even until his death.”

Thompson’s mother was more accommodating and flexible towards his dream of becoming a musician, but hesitant. 

Her fear was familiar to that of her husband: how could music provide stability, income, or a future for their son?

“It wasn’t just about me,” Thompson said. “It was about breaking the stereotype that if you go into music, you’re not serious.”

With little support from his parents, Thompson made a decision that would define his life years later. 

The Saxophone, Music, and Mentors

Image: Reginald Moses Thompson playing the saxophone in Church

Although Thompson’s musical journey began with the keyboard, the saxophone would later become his first choice and favourite. 

“I love the saxophone. It’s very soulful. It speaks to me in a way that none of the other instruments does,’’ he said.

Aside from playing the saxophone, Thompson plays four instruments: the keyboard, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and the saxophone. 

Despite knowing how to play the saxophone, mastery did not come easily.

“Music is very jealous,” he says. “If you want to do it professionally, it takes dedication, discipline, and constant practice.”

After 5 years of learning the saxophone, Thompson continues to learn the saxophone, taking online lessons on YouTube, and studying at Jerry Omole’s saxophone academy in Nigeria for a year. 

“You keep learning every day, especially with music,” he said. “There are a lot of things I’m yet to discover about the saxophone, and I’m still working on them, still learning and taking exams online,’’ he added. 

While most of what Thompson learned came from online tutoring, watching YouTube videos and enrolling at Jerry Omole’s Saxophone School, he had been mentored by a couple of local and international saxophonists in the past. 

“There are couple of Sierra Leoneans and international stars that have mentored me in the past,” he said.

His mentors are Evangelist Ebenezer Venn Bangura, an award-winning tenor saxophonist and gospel music icon in Sierra Leone, Nigerian saxophonist Jerry Omole, and Korean saxophonist Dae Youp Kim, whom he said taught him the saxophone for two years. 

From Freetown to the World

Image: Reginald Moses Thompson with the Freetown Uncut Band and Drizilik Performing

What once seemed like a quixotic dream has taken Thompson far beyond the shores of Sierra Leone, and what his father thought was not a good choice has now become his flight to travel the world and perform.

In 2019, Thompson, alongside Drizilik, toured the United Kingdom with the Freetown Uncut Band, performing at the Freedom Festival in Hull, and performed on the BBC – his first time performing outside Africa.

He was also invited to the British Parliament – a dream that felt vivid and surreal.

“I grew up listening to the BBC,” he says. “Standing there, performing, it was a proud moment.” “It was music that took me there,” he reflects.

On July 6, 2024, Thompson and the Freetown Uncut Band performed alongside Drizilik at a concert at the Howard Theatre, making history together as the first Sierra Leonean artist to perform there with a live all-Sierra Leonean band.

He has also performed at Zarlux Lounge, Madeng Festival, Amazon HQ2 for their Summer Concert Series, Drizilik and Special Guests at the Fourah Bay College amphitheatre, Sierra Leone Diaspora Investment Conference, and more. 

Thompson has also worked with and shared the stage with a host of Sierra Leonean artists like Rozzy Sokota, Emerson Bockarie, Danny, Block Jones, Drizilik and many more.

In West and East Africa, he has collaborated with artists from The Gambia, Senegal, and Mali. 

He has also shared stages with some of Africa’s biggest names, including Ugandan star and Grammy nominee Eddy Kenzo.

As someone who loves being mentored and tutored by those he admires and calls a mentor, Thompson has also shared his skills with young Sierra Leoneans who want to learn music. 

He was a senior instructor of strings and horns at De Champ, a music academy in Freetown owned by a renowned Sierra Leonean music composer and multi-instrumentalist, Collins Pratt.

Becoming a Saxophonist In Sierra Leone and the Challenges

Despite his international exposure, Thompson acknowledges that working as a musician in Sierra Leone comes with a lot of challenges.

From poor sound systems, he said, to a lack of professionalism and structure in event management, especially after experiencing more organised concerts abroad. 

But Thompson remains patient amidst the challenges.

“When you come back, you try to implement what you’ve learned,” he said. “But it’s not always easy.” “It’s a process, not an event,” he added. “You take it one step at a time.”

For Thompson, music is more than performance; it is identity, culture, and national pride.

“The soul of any country is its food, its language, and its music,” he said.

“My mission goes beyond personal success. I want to change how Sierra Leoneans view the arts to see music not as a distraction, but as a legitimate and impactful career.”

Despite his father not being supportive of his music career until his death and his mother being a little doubtful of the career he chose, Thompson wished they were alive to witness his growth and see the music they despised has taken him to places they would never have believed he would reach.

“I would have loved for them to be here, not to prove a point, but to see that it’s possible.”

A Message to Parents and Dreamers

Thompson’s story is one of belief in talent, in persistence, in possibility, and that one could become what they want to if they don’t follow the conventional path to attain success.

He believes parents should give their children the chance to choose their path.

“If you see a special ability in your child as a parent, nurture it. Support them. They can still go to school, but don’t ignore what makes them unique,” he said with a grin.

Getting this far, for Thompson, did not come easily. He spent hours practising, implementing and staying consistent. 

“Work hard. Ask questions. Practice the right things. If you want it to take you places, you have to be committed,” said Thompson, who encourages young people to work hard towards their dream and passion.

What’s Next for Thompson

After years of performing and collaborating with many local and international artists, Thompson wants to put out something for his fans to listen to.

He said he is working on releasing his first EP and an album after. 

“I’m planning this year to release an album, first an EP, then later on an album,” he said. 

Thompson said he wants his EP to come out professionally, and that he is “working for Sierra Leone to be on the map” with his saxophone. 

“I just don’t want to release an album. I also want to spend time and resources promoting it,” he concluded.

In the meantime, Thompson has a Jazz event coming up on April 30th, 2026. If you want to enjoy some of his great music, make sure to grab a ticket for only Le 500.

See you there!