JUSTIN ADAMS & MAURO DURANTE: “Still Moving Tour” Het Bolwerk, Vilvoorde (BEL) 2023.04.19

 

 

It is with a certain excitement that we hit the road at the end of the afternoon with the aim of storming this fortress (Bolwerk in Flemish language) which hosted a duo of exceptional musicians.

On the one hand Justin Adams, English musician born in 1961 (like me) in Westminster (not like me).

First oriented towards Rock, Justin will gradually turn to African sounds.

This is how we find him with artists such as "The Impossible Dreamers" in 1985, then later, alongside the whimsical "Jah Wobble".

Justin released "Desert Road" his first solo album in 2001. This is the album that will reveal him to the public.

In 2005, he participated in the writing of what remains, in my humble opinion, the best post-zeppelin album by Robert Plant: "Mighty Rearranger" to which Justin will breathe all his sound and his musical colors which make his particularity and his richness.

It therefore rightly incorporates the “Strange Sensation” of the angel of the Black Country.

Between 2007 and 2011, we find him alongside Juldeh Camara, a Gambian musician, with whom he recorded four albums.

And, finally, he finds Mauro Durante, the man from Lecce, Puglia region, his friend for 11 years.

Together they composed "Still Moving" which was released on October 29, 2021.

Durante,  is not only a violinist and percussionist, he's also a singer. A very famous musician in Italy, particularly for the way he revisits the traditional repertoire of Salento with the group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino.

Together they create new songs in Griko Salentino, a language used in a Hellenophone enclave in southern Italy. The association of the two musicians gives an album both full of mystery and charm, something rare: the perfect marriage between three cultures with different roots, Italian folklore, Arabic percussions and electric blues.

Shortly past 7 p.m., I begin to be impatient, I feel that I have to move and I decide to go and see what's happening near the Fortress where tonight's concert will take place. The place is deserted except for someone walking up and down the lobby, ear glued to a cell phone. No need to look any further, I recognize Justin Adams. Marc and I politely wait for the end of the Communication (Breakdown) to ask Justin who comes to us and remembers having already met me, which I confirm by mentioning the Palais des sports in Paris, the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Blues Passion Festival in Cognac. We discuss about music of course and Justin is very surprised at how much we know and appreciate his music. Photo session and autographs and we promised to meet again after the concert.

There are too few people to welcome such a duo tonight and we regret it, but on the other hand those who came to attend the concert are connoisseurs. It's amazing to see how poor quality musicians manage to sell out in large venues while very high level musicians struggle to be recognized. In any case, for us the brave ones who made the trip, we are going to be delighted because for 78 minutes, we are going to travel. A musical journey that will plunge us into dreams but also inner research, an invitation to discover these incantatory melodies where the magic notes and vocal ranges of Justin and Mauro intersect again and again.Music is a path that they reveal to us little by little, in a very subtle way, without ever falling into the trap of self-satisfaction, without ever being pompous or demonstrative. Everything is based on emotions and it is the variations produced by the two musicians that guide our experience. It is absolutely sublime. Justin is no longer a musician but a painter who brings his canvas to life thanks to the incredible range of subtle hues he lays down with his old Gibson from another age, from another galaxy. It is up to Mauro to create thunder and lightning thanks to his tambourines with incredible bursts of power but which can also be soft like a purring cat.

Apart from "Little Moses" which closes the album, the 10 other titles that compose it will come to life before our amazed eyes and delighted ears. A thousand thanks to these two true artists for their availability and their kindness. Once again, Justin Adams and Mauro Durante have proven that music has no borders, no religious constraints, no political colors. Music is an eternal journey where everything is "Still Moving"...

Mitch “ZoSo” Duterck

RUN Radio 88.1FM