Adriano Adewale’s Quartet blending jazz, African and Brazilian elements amazed the audience at Pizza Express on Wednesday, 17  September launching their debut album Sementes. Produced by Gilad Atzmon, this album is due for release on 22 September.

With Adewale as the percussionist, vocalist and composer, the band included Kadialy Kouyate playing on kora and vocals, Nathan Thomson as the double bass and flute player and Marcelo Andrade on the flute, saxophone and violin and guest performers, Gilad Atzmon and Antonio Forcione. The live performance offered a tantalising glimpse into Sementes.

Atmospheric and restorative, the music evoked natural sounds such as the rattling of snakes and the trickling of rain. As the frontman, Adewale gave an extraordinary performance. Fanatical about music, he sang and handled his instruments with rapture. The melancholy song ‘Family Album’ expresses the yearning for one’s homeland featuring intense singing by Adewale. Beginning calmly, ‘Domingo’ then explodes into a dramatic crescendo. ‘Passa por Mim’ is a Samba-influenced track played on recycled instruments. Throughout the performance, the quartet used the African percussion piano kalimba to intensify the authentic sound.

Following this superb debut gig, Adewale and his band will next perform at the Trestle Arts Base in St Albans on 9 October, the ArtsFest Stowe School in Buckingham on 14 October and the Quay Arts Newport on the Isle of Wight on 18 October.

Report: Katya Kan

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