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Onilu: Estuary Stew

By Carl Medsker
April 4, 2025
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The trio Onilu (which means drummers in the Yoruba language) utilizes a dizzying array of percussion instruments. Shekere, mbira, congas, batá drums, cajóns, alfaia, clave, clay drums, tympani, various idiophones, guagua, tongue drum, vibraphone, marimba and both electro-acoustic and standard drum kits are employed. Although used sparingly, a piano is also embraced as a valid member.

Joe Chambers, Kevin Diehl and Chad Taylor blend their considerable talents and expert knowledge of Afro-Cuban and West African cultures and traditions to create breezy, minimalist, flowing music of vibrant colors with a jazz sensibility at its heart. The trio's self-titled album (Eremite Records, 2025) is predominantly gentle and subtle, perhaps surprising for an ensemble of drummers.

Most music that evolved in the post-Columbian Americas has strong threads directly back to West Africa. Several million ethnic Yorubans were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean Islands and South America where, unlike enslaved people in the United States, they were permitted to keep a modicum of their drums and culture. That culture, combined with European music, resulted in samba, salsa, rhumba, calypso, soca and more. For decades, jazz musicians have looked to the Caribbean and West Africa for inspiration. Onilu continues that tradition by weaving together a fresh, cross-cultural and modern tapestry.

Contact Carl Medsker on All About Jazz.
Half my career in healthcare, half in IT, passionate jazz fan throughout.

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