AFRO4 Thrills in an Intimate Album Listening Session
Iyke Bede
On that Sunday evening, preceded by persistent light showers, the founding members of AFRO4 Band, a quartet of jazz musicians with origins in West and South Africa, gathered at The New G Bar and Lounge ensconced in Victoria Island, Lagos for a listening session of their upcoming studio effort. Mother nature delayed them an extra two hours.
Gradually but steadily, guests began to trickle in to form a small crowd of close-knit audience that comprised media personalities, music critics, friends and acquaintances to experience an evening of what Geoffrey Kwale, the group’s executive director and producer, describes as ‘African Jazz.’
In hushed anticipation, the audience, who sat in small groups at different spots in the lounge, carried with them a shared sense of appreciation for the art form, with many aficionados in the genre dissecting the work and artistry of artists like Miles Davies while sharing their experiences from various jazz festival. Of course, the crowd also had its fair share of neophytes who listened with rapt attention.
The first note dropped and the audience beamed with a sense of shared familiarity. Bright Gain(Bass), Victor Ademofe (Brass and percussion), Luyanda Madope (Piano and keyboards), and Adewale Adeyemi (Drums), all teamed up to give their rendition of ‘Sweet Mother,’ a classic highlife number originally performed by Prince Nico Mbarga and his band Rocafil Jazz.
AFRO4’s approach was a brisk one that infused the track with bold trumpets and bass, maintaining mostly the original portion of the song. They also owned the song with their introduction of spoken words. The opener had a nostalgic effect on most, who commended their technique.
The opener was quickly followed by ‘Oderire,’ an original song that set the bar that evening. The track is characterized by fiery trumpet notes that dominate the instrumentation and are complemented by sparkly keyboard notes. The overall feel was a groovy one that had the audience clapping in a call-and-response manner.
‘Eni Ei Nkan He,’ a popular track by the legendary Ebenezer Obey, also got the jazz treatment. However, it was their reinvention of Mariam Makeba’s ‘Maliaka’ that received rave reviews. The sample retains the melancholy of the original, but that’s until fast-paced drums and trumpets are introduced and maintained until a key change reveals a more feisty arrangement. It was a sheer burst of sound and soul. Other samples from the 11-track listening session include Orlando Julius’ ‘Jagua Nana,’ a vibrant rendition that reflects the spirit of the artiste, as well as the female figure he sings about.
The final track, ‘Thesbian Legion’ was the apt track to close the evening with. Composed by Gain, it bears folk music influences and was described by a few members of the audience as being relatable to their musical palate.
Shuffling between original slow-tempo tracks bearing intricate sonic arrangements to mid-tempo ones that see the quartet shine equally, the atmosphere was marked by camaraderie, but one that leaves room for arguments, and in-depth analysis. Another aspect of the session was the free flow of delicacies and drinks to help unwind. To the guests, it was an evening of jazz magic, one they hoped to relive upon the release of the project.
