Some of songs on SEED OF THE FRUIT were several years in the making (since the mid-70s in fact) when young Andre and his father, Avelar de Tavernier, first began composing together. What you are about to experience therefore is a work of love, from an art and a craft that are personal and pure! The lyrics to 'Seed of the Fruit' are a personal moment he publicly shares in this jazz samba through the angel-winged delivery of Naila Joseph formerly of the band Fate(she was 19 at the time of recording). 'Call to Prayer,' cast in the calypso genre, commemorates a much fought for International Day for indigenous peoples set by the United Nations. 'Roots Know...' is a nod to the bossa nova works which Andre and his father did in those early days with just voice and guitar. In the order of songs, tenderness is cast against the frenetic earthiness and 'cardiac intelligence' of the drummers of the Laventille United School of the Performing Arts (LUSPA). Most of the drummers ranged in age from 11 to 19 years. The listener should note that the African roots in Trinidad and Tobago, predominant in the hilly, grassroots Laventille area of Trinidad, were blended with French and Amerindian cultural streams to produce indigenous beats such as the Bele (Belair), Carib and Avalo. These roots also gave the world Calypso and its latest progeny Soca. Take a shy at 'Savons-nous?' for a soca-jazz fusion. Check out 'Succulence' for a virgin calypso beat. You can hear some chutney four and a half minutes into 'Just Drum Talk.' 'Do you Hear that Songbird?' is Andre's tribute to his favourite composer Antonio Carlos Jobim who passed away in 1994. This rendition is germinal - its lyrics sublte and clever - and can be snatched up by a big orchestra for a movie, I think! 'Vast Blue Sea' contines in the the bossa tradition and its message operates anagogically! Go figure. Some seeds look the worse for weather, some even seem tiny comapred to the trees they'll eventually become, but in SEED OF THE FRUIT, as in nature, they contain lots of love, promise, vision and sharing. Taste this one ... and enjoy! Alfred Aguiton Music Observer February 2002