BUSH ROCK (aka Kepha Yahseph)

BUSH ROCK (aka Kepha Yahseph) – Jazz & Fusion Tuesdays, August 09  2011
Jazz fused with the spoken word…

played on Tuesday, August 09 at La Casa de Ibiza Lounge, Trinidad 
thumbed by Nigel Campbell, the Blackberry Bro and embellished by Israel

Ask Bush Rock to describe his musical philosophy and he would go so far as to say he is “…not a soca or reggae artist.” Fine.

Ask him to categorise his art and his response would deepen:  ”I  delve into the “Ambience of Atmospheres.”  He explains. “[All] instruments used in my music produce a natural sound, a bass line of classic funk accompanied by an electric guitar of delicate rock that alternates.”  Get it?
Ask him if his art is limited to making music with instruments and he would add, “Poetry [is a] major part of my foundation… [It] has enriched my experience over the years and has ushered me unto stages graced by POETRY ICONS such as Mrs. Pearl Eintou-Springer, Dr. Leroy Clarke, Sir Earl Lovelace and Brother Resistance.“
Ask me to break that code and I would surmise that the bamboo flute in the hands of Bush Rock aka Kepha Yaseph is a musical instrument making a musical statement.  This is not the Native American flute of ambient new age phoniness; it is more like Native American sonority giving way to North African symbolism and sound, a “bushrock” original.  Put it this way, Kepha is a World musician who could become accessible to a global audience if he has a well-produced product available to all.  He that good!
On August 09, Kepha was in the good company of Dayo Bejide’s Onilu brothers, Jahmortel…and violinist Harold Beckles at La Casa de Ibiza in Port of Spain.
Beckles stood out with his rather adventurous wandering through the audience with his wireless violin playing to Kepha’s Caribbean neo-folk and energizing the leader’s acoustic musings.  That was not simply brilliant; it proves he is an original.
For his part, Jahmortel’s insightful lyrics of nu-calypso lyricism and rap-so – with Alanis Morrisette and Tracy Chapman heard in nuance – to masterful musicianship before a kiss-me-ass handful of statues as an audience is a travesty!  Nah Trinidad, allyuh missing out big time.  Bush Rock is alive!  We need to hear more of this.
The cover of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” places in my mind the stylistic influences of this singer; Kepha is an original in Trinidad.  And he is a good, good songwriter, a good musician…and a good singer.
Supporting Kepha was the Dayo Bejide Jazz Project (Mark Brewster on keys, Kevon LaFleur on bass, Jesse Ryan on sax and Modupe Onilu on “drumcussion“).  They performed original music from their forthcoming CD, “Music For World Peace”.  These guys are modern, traditional and organic all at once.
“Quartet on The Middle East” and “The Truth” are two compositions of Modupe.  Brewster and Ryan’s improvised jazz conversation juxtapose beautifully with the rhythmic constant of Modupe and LaFleur.  I dare say Modupe is a songwriter who has listened well.
Phrasing à la Alanis comes to the fore in this “quintology” devoted to love once more.  Then there is the Country blues, jazz, folk, bushrock.  Speaking of which, a little rock ‘n’ to get the point of his lyrics on the ups and downs of love is slipped into the set.  Love not easy!  Bushrock rules!
‎As the name implies, “Portal of Birth” is the sound of the womb with the rhythm of the heart – music organically derived and influenced by the global village of sound.  ”Portal” is a musical collage with ostinato guitar, percussion, flute and electric violin.
That spectrum of New World African music is heard all up in the compositions of Kepha Yaseph, a testament to the influence a Trinidad existence has on its musicians who are brave to walk this path with dignity and skill.  Bravura performance.
Man, the sooner Kepha records, the better for all of us as we will be richer in the options of musical choices.