When CAB gave Abuja a jolly ride

It was a night of fusion of guitar, percussions, tambourine, cymbals, maracas, piano, a bottle, voice, dance and rhyme last Thursday when France-based group, CaraïbesAfriqueBrésil (CAB) thrilled audiences at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.As guests walked in analysing them by their group portrait on the cover of the programme, opinions on […]

It was a night of fusion of guitar, percussions, tambourine, cymbals, maracas, piano, a bottle, voice, dance and rhyme last Thursday when France-based group, CaraïbesAfriqueBrésil (CAB) thrilled audiences at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
As guests walked in analysing them by their group portrait on the cover of the programme, opinions on their expectations varied from calm, blues to pop amongst others. As the trio came on stage none in the audience was prepared for what they were about to encounter.
Smiling as they settled in, the swift mood change and silence that followed from the audience as Blick Bassy opened his mouth singing ‘Winda’ accompanied by the analytical and articulate sounds from Adriano Tenoriodd, described as a Brazilian master of percussions, was so vivid, one could almost hold it.
Adding some dimension to the thrill were Mario Canonge’s skillful fingers, who is said to be one of the most famous Caribbean jazz pianists. These were matched with the movements of his nimble feet as he obviously was enjoying the music as much as the audience was entertained by it.
Further encouraged on by the reception of the audience to their entrée, with obvious swag, they expressed self-satisfaction in their rendition as they set out to thrill some more.
This was as ladies in the audience ‘shamelessly’ distributed the trio amongst themselves with Bassy getting the most prospects.  
The artistes, clearly settled into, the groove took sips of water, took off their jackets and adjusted their sitting positions, as they set out to unleash ‘To bale,’ ‘Oweyo,’ ‘Eseka,’ ‘Natin,’ ‘Yonye,’ ‘Cajuera,’ ‘Manga,’ and ‘Cono um bebe.’
Although their language was incomprehensible to most of the guests, their facial expressions, body movements, emotions as well as the varying pitches and tones of their instruments and voices efficiently passed the messages across.
Rightly so, as Bassy stated that music is about melody and transmitting the message through emotions, expressions and movements.
Adding tonic to the night, even for CAB, was saxophonist Sola who gave them a run for their money as they took their performance a notch higher following Sola’s exit.
Keeping the audience in suspense with their almost one-minute pulse which became a participatory session, the audience echoed choruses in Bassa, the language in which the songs were rendered.
Bassy, who has lived in Paris for the past eight years, said the group came together two years ago.
“I was looking to start a project and needed a pianist and percussionist. I approached Canonge whom I already knew, and sold my idea to him. He accepted and I said to him that Adriano plays the percussion like three guys. That’s how we got him involved and became a group,” he said.
Before this African tour, the group had performed in France and Costa Rica, amongst others and hopes to have more gigs following the release of their first album.
On fusing their different backgrounds and talents to make one music, Bassy said: “Music and the feeling of each of us is what makes us grow. When I first approached Mario, everything simply fell into place.
“I began singing and he started playing in my rhythm and it just flowed. Sometimes when I come with the melodies and Mario has an idea, we have a natural harmony that synchronises all that we do and Adriano enlivens it some more with his percussions.  
“We rehearse daily and try to create about three or four songs. We simply let music talk and arrive at something we all agree with.”
He added that the most difficult part of being a group is having to go on long tours: “This tour, for example, is quite long and has gone on for about two months and a half. After a while of being together, you want a break from each other to do other things and then come back refreshed. All the same, we have absolutely enjoyed it. The audience and reactions have been electric and this is quite gratifying for us.”