DELE SOSIMIS AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA
Having worked with AfroBeat guru Fela Kuti, Dele Sosimi isn't used to playing sit-down concerts and his own nine-piece band isn't tailored to inertia either.
So the Jazz on a Summer Weekend audience were going to have to shake off some inhibitions to appease the singer and keyboardist. The set I caught was certainly more for the hips than the head. Long on groove and a little short on variety, it nonetheless featured some inspired playing, particularly from trumpeter Byron Wallen who ripped through the rhythms with a penetrating tone and a real ability to extend his ideas.
The horn section played with precision and heat over effervescent percussion and fluent guitar lines and Sosimi's own contributions added big chord urgency and vocal insistence to an attractive, feelgood sound.