By Chinonso Ihekire

Samuel Adeola Adetola’s pianist phrasing arrives as one of the instrumentalist’s strongest pillars, as evident in his recent hymnal performance at the RCCG Citadel Parish in Leeds, United Kingdom.

The performance, which was a special rendition of the English Hymn ‘Now We Thank All Our God’, comes alive under Adetola’s pianist virtuoso, as he injects tight pacing, clear transitions and distinct tonal arrangement into the piece.

As a solo instrumentalist in a monophonic arrangement, Adetola’s performance in the hymnal rendition usually experiences either of two fates: elevate the tune or distort it totally. A personal favourite pianist of this critic who excels in this terrain is Jason Tolioli, whose mastery of tension and relief is quite similar to Adetola’s stint in this performance.

Kicking off his performance with soft chords Adetola eases the listener into the melodies with warm fermatas, while regulating the pace for the vocalists. Despite the vocal sections struggling with tonal clarity, Adetola’s performance injects harmonic resonance into the melodies, especially with the clever soft pauses and ostinatos that add texture to his performance. Holding notes in a linear musical performance, especially one with such a moody overlay like ‘Now We Thank All Our God’ is usually a tricky situation. However, Adetola pulls off a sleight of hand with his deft rubatos that actually shift the pacing from drab to dramatic, adding that extra layer of intrigue, shock value and catharsis that crowns the record.

Another highlight of Adetola’s display in the ‘Now We Thank All Our God’ rendition is his ‘golden moment’ transition, just around midway into the performance, where he phrases the song in a sort of pitch cue or melodic setup that revives the pulse of the song. He continues in a colla parte, altogether maintaining the mood and tempo of the rest of the performance. While his finger independence during his performance is worthy of note, Adetola’s mastery truly comes alive in his phrasing techniques. The song closes with the same warm or airy fermatas that pace the tune, while accelerating the tempo to a cinematic climax.

Overall, Adetola’s pianist groove finds rhythm in unison, navigating gritty vocal terrains with smoother, supportive and solemn chords that display his expertise with the piano. As a solo instrumentalist, he shows strong presence in the record, regulating the flow to purge catharsis in the listener, while still accompanying the vocals to connect deeply with textured sonical emphasis. It’s a soothing listen, and an enjoyable performance that speaks volumes of Adetola’s growing maestro within the African Christian gospel scene both at home and in the diaspora. As an avid lover of live performances, Adetola’s display is a rousing attempt, and it sits at 7/10.

Samuel Adetola is a Nigerian-born musician whose pianist odyssey began at the tender age of 10. Despite studying Engineering at university, he also attended music lessons where he learned both the art and discipline of the craft. A multi-instrumentalist, Adetola also wields his maestro in playing the saxophone and guitar.

After honing his craft performing across university campuses in Nigeria, Adetola continues to pursue his live performance artistry in the United Kingdom. Presently, he is a music coordinator, with his experience spanning over five years. He remains one of the most interesting contemporary instrumentalists in the African gospel music scene.