MOBO award winning Aswad graced the stage at the Jazz Cafe with Tony Gad and  Angus ‘Drummie Zeb’ Gaye two of the remaining founding members of the crew.  Giant charismatic hats and dread locks were expected on stage and we weren't disappointed. Gad who started out in the band as a key board player plucked dubby rifts on his low hanging bass guitar whilst Drummie flitted between lead vocals and drums.

The bands performance was strong and energetic with a brass section that had the crowd bopping whilst the deep bassy beats tickled their spine and numbed the senses. They ripped through their back catalogue of songs serving up gems like Back To Africa, Concrete Slaveship, African Children etc. The pace sped up when Zeb's son bounded onto the stage and rapped in a raga stylee to a couple of Aswad classics. It was delightful to see father and son side by side doing what they loved best. 

The departure of Brinsley meant the vocal duties fell to Drummie Zeb who was originally a drummer and sometime singer. Although his performance was energetic and entertaining, they fell short in comparison to original lead singer Brinsley. He didn't have the edge and urgency that the latter brought to the lyrics. Let’s face it, Brinsley's vocals were what gave Aswad their distinctive sound, and no disrespect to Zeb without him Aswad just weren’t the same.

The encore was full of chart hits like Shine, Not Guilty, Pass the Cup, Smokey Blues and the massively popular Warrior Charge. Although the venue was not packed out mixed audience created an amazing buzz that filled the venue.  Speaking of the crowd, one or two reggae legends from back in the day were observed in the shadows quietly paying their respects and reminiscing no doubt about when British reggae was truly a global force. With a blazing horns and tight rhythm section and melodic basslines, many on the night bore witness to one of the true legends of roots rock reggae.

Aswad – 2nd April 2007
Jazz Café