Party night at Jardins do Marquês with Kassav’, The Wailers and Banda B’leza

The Jardins do Marquês Festival is back and it couldn’t have been better to return with three fantastic bands: The Wailers, the legendary band that accompanied Bob Marley, Banda B’leza, who brought the best music from Cape Verde to the Festival, and to top it off, Kassav, the Caribbean band that made sure no one sat still.

Kassav’

Kassav’ (with an apostrophe) is an iconic French-Caribbean band formed in Guadeloupe in 1979. They are recognised as the pioneers and popularisers of the Zouk musical genre, which originated in the French Antilles.

Zouk is a vibrant, rhythmic style of dance music that Kassav’ developed from a fusion of traditional rhythms from Guadeloupe (such as gwoka) and Martinique (tibwa and Mendé), with influences from cadence-lypso, compas, funk and makossa. The band was innovative in incorporating MIDI technology into Caribbean music, creating a more orchestrated, modern and polished sound, perfect for carnival and the dance floor.

The word “kassav’” in Antillean Creole refers to a local dish made from the cassava root.

The band was created by Pierre-Edouard Décimus (former musician of Les Vikings de Guadeloupe) and Paris-based studio musician Jacob Desvarieux. Over the years, they have had prominent members such as:

• Jocelyne Béroard (lead vocals)
• Jean-Philippe Marthély
• Patrick Saint-Eloi
• Jean-Claude Naimro
• Georges Décimus

Kassav quickly won over the Oeiras audience with their energetic performance, danceable songs and friendly manner on stage. They never stopped for a minute, and neither did everyone who attended the first day of the festival.

They are responsible for taking Caribbean music to a global level, especially in the 1980s, with hits such as “Zouk la sé sèl médikaman nou ni” (Zouk is the only medicine we have), which became a pan-Caribbean anthem and popularised zouk and the associated dance throughout the world, including Latin America, Europe and even Asia.

The band has a discography of around 30 albums and has won several gold and platinum records. In 2021, Kassav’ was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters medal.

The Wailers

The Wailers são uma banda jamaicana de reggae com uma história rica e complexa, profundamente ligada à lenda Bob Marley. Originalmente, “The Wailers” era o nome do trio vocal seminal de ska, rocksteady e reggae formado por Bob Marley, Peter Tosh e Bunny Wailer em 1963.

O grupo inicial, que também teve nomes como The Teenagers e The Wailing Wailers, foi fundamental para o desenvolvimento do ska e, posteriormente, do reggae na Jamaica de que fazem partes os sucessos “Simmer Down” e “Trenchtown Rock”.

Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left in 1974 to pursue solo careers, but Bob Marley continued to use the name “The Wailers” for his backing band. This line-up, which included brothers Aston “Familyman” Barrett (bass) and Carlton “Carly” Barrett (drums), as well as the I-Threes (Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt) on backing vocals, became legendary and brought reggae to global recognition with iconic albums such as Exodus, Kaya and Uprising.

AfterBob Marley died in 1981, the remaining members of the backing band, led by “Familyman” Barrett, continued to perform and record under the name “The Wailers Band”. Their goal was to keep Bob Marley’s message and sound alive by continuing to tour worldwide. Leadership passed to Aston Barrett Jr., son of “Familyman” Barrett, in 2016.

The Wailers’ style is reggae, but throughout their evolution, they incorporated elements of Ska and Rocksteady and later Roots Reggae, in the phase best known with Bob Marley, with spiritual and socially conscious lyrics.

During their internationalisation phase with Island Records, to appeal to a wider audience, they incorporated Rock and R&B.

Current Members of The Wailers Band

• Aston Barrett Jr.: Bass guitar and band leader (nephew of the late Carlton “Carly” Barrett and son of Aston “Familyman” Barrett).
• Mitchell Brunings: Lead vocals.
• Wendel ‘Junior Jazz’ Ferraro: Guitar.
• Owen ‘Dreadie’ Reid: Bass guitar.
• Andres ‘Ipez’ Lopez: Keyboards.
• Teena ‘Tamara’ Barnes: Vocals.
• Carl Carlalou1Drop Benjamin: Drums.

Banda B’leza

Banda B.Leza is a Portuguese musical group with strong ties to Cape Verdean and Lusophone music. A “descendant” of the band formed in 1996, with the same name as the iconic Lisbon club that saw its birth, the band has become a pillar of live music in Lisbon, accompanying and promoting talents from the Lusophone world.

Banda B.Leza is essentially the resident band of B.Leza Clube, one of the most important spaces for African and Lusophone culture in Lisbon. Their repertoire is strongly based on traditional Cape Verdean music, including Funaná, Coladeira and Morna.

Their fusion of tradition and joy, promoting music from Cape Verde and PALOP (African Countries) of the Portuguese Official Language, made up of talented musicians and performers, wins over audiences wherever they go with their music and joy.

Also performed on Sunday and Monday at the Jardins do Marquês

You can still see at the Jardins do Marquês Festival

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