Guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada has included a dazzling cover of Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo’s 1968 song “The Divided City” on his latest solo album, Trio Asesino (2026). Although Quesada has produced and fronted a number of eclectic albums of his own, he is best known for being a member of the Grammy Award-winning Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma from 2000-2016, and, since 2019, the psych-soul phenom Black Pumas, which he co-founded and co-leads with the genuinely gifted Eric Burton.
In addition, Quesada’s impressive résumé also includes the 2025 Academy Award nomination for his song with Abraham Alexander, “Like a Bird,” from the Colman Domingo film Sing Sing (2024).
This is a guitarist with a flair for distinction, and one that can adapt to many styles and grooves, yet still stand out in a crowd. In a 2022 podcast, the Texas native – originally from Laredo, but who settled in Austin – claimed to be heavily influenced by Hip-Hop (“How can you not?,” he asked). But if you read in between the lines a bit there, Quesada probably responded more to Hip-Hop’s use of samples, particularly rock and jazz samples from years before.
Despite Quesada’s bold signature, he seems more comfortable as a rhythm player than a soloist. But when he solos, he crafts perfectly-crafted miniatures that suit the setting perfectly. To this listener, Quesada’s solos recall the passion, fire and songcraft of Carlos Santana. Indeed, when paired with the ethereal organ swaths of Black Pumas, it’s easy to recall those heady days of Woodstock-era Santana.
Here, Quesado’s “Killer Trio” isn’t necessarily a group of three specific musicians. Furthermore, the guitarist is unwilling to be bound by the trio format, turning the group into a quartet or even, in one case (“MF AF”), a quintet, when the need suits him.
Quesado’s fellow asesinos include such friends and musical associates as Peter Stopchinski, Joshy Soul or Black Pumas’ JaRon Marshall on keyboards; Black Pumas’ Terin Ector on bass for two tracks and percussion for “The Divided City”; and John Speice, Jay Mumford or, on one track (“Asleep in the Desert”), Eric Hagstrom on drums and percussion. “MF AF” adds trumpet star Keyon Harrold and Minta Spencer, who solos beautifully on harp. The leader – whose name does not appear on the LP’s cover – handles guitar on nine of the disc’s 11 tracks, bass on two (“JCC,” “MF AF”), and overdubs keyboard parts on three others, “Contra el Sol/Hasta la Luna,” “Italy” and “The Divided City.”
Trio Asesino is an all-instrumental record, but there is really not that much “jazz” present here. I don’t think that’s the point, either. Although Quesada, especially as evidenced on such Black Pumas nuggets as “Colors,” “Confines,” and their electrifying cover of “Eleanor Rigby,” is an exceptional, though rock-oriented, improvisor, he largely eschews such freewheeling or spotlighting here.
This album is a hypnotic blend of originals and covers that boasts an intriguing Southwest-twist on sixties-era surf-rock. It could well serve as a soundtrack to a specific kind of movie, particularly one directed by, say, David Lynch. But I don’t think Quesada is going for a soundtrack vibe here as much here as a mood thing. Think of it as easy-listening rock, if there’s such a thing.
When Quesada reaches for the covers, he goes far and wide to come up with a truly unique program. (Black Pumas often dig in to the classic soul and pop bags for their covers.)
Here, Quesada features such obscure covers as Venezuelan composer and bandleader Hugo Blanco’s (1940-2015) deliriously entrancing “Infinito” from 1962, Link Wray’s 1990 “Don’t Leave Me,” the Houston-based ZZ Top’s “Asleep in the Desert” (originally from the band’s 1977 album Tejas), and “Venus,” a little-known track from 1975 by the Peruvian band Los Pakines.
Among these obscurities is Gabor Szabo’s “The Divided City,” a.k.a. “Divided City.” The song first appeared on the Hungarian guitarist’s 1968 record Bacchanal, a psychedelic mix of jazzy pop and trippy exotica. With such credentials, Szabo’s original fits perfectly on Quesada’s moody and evocative program.
While Szabo’s “Gypsy Queen” (1966) and “Breezin'” (1971) were made famous by other artists – Santana, in 1970, and George Benson, in 1976, respectively – “The Divided City” has never previously merited a cover version (or sample) that I’m aware of. Even more surprising is that Szabo’s nearly cinematic ode has never even graced a film or TV soundtrack.
The Hungarian guitarist had a knack for coming up with songs in the studio right before the “record” button was pushed, as was the case with both “Gypsy Queen” and “Breezin’,” a song that is credited to Bobby Womack. Like “Mizrab,” another of Szabo’s better-known tunes, though, “The Divided City” is decidedly more considered and, if you like, “composed.”
Szabo scored his original for a quintet, featuring his own amplified acoustic guitar, a second acoustic guitar, bass, drums and percussion, overdubbing his own feedback drone – which serves to suggest a foreboding menace. Quesada delivers his version as a quartet, with his guitar, Joshy Soul’s “keys” (probably electric piano), Jay Mumford’s drums and Terin Ector’s percussion, with Quesada overdubbing “keys” (probably organ, which provides the menace on this particular version).
Both versions begin by repeating the main melody line twice, for about a minute each. At this point in Szabo’s version, the guitarist solos (for about 1:17 of playing time), whereas Quesada’s take finds that particular guitarist helming a repeated Szabo-like lick.
Quesado’s ostinato pattern here allows the ominous swaths of the keyboards and the aggressive percussion to suggest the oncoming storm. The main melody is reprised once more in both versions, and both provide their own unique endings, bringing one heck of a short story to a dramatically ambiguous close.
Elsewhere, I’ve surmised that Szabo’s title “The Divided City” carried a double meaning: One, for the two divides between his native Hungarian cities of “Buda” and “Pest,” and the other, a more metaphorical one, suggesting the country’s more politically-oriented divides at the time (Hungary was still under Communist rule and would remain so until 1989).
There may well be no philosophical reason at all for Quesada’s masterful choice in presenting a new “Divided City,” and I certainly don’t want to assume one. But the times we are living in now seem so fraught, that it’s worth considering several possible reasons for his choice. I can think of at least two.
In Hungary, there is the prolonged authoritarian rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose 16-year hold on power effectively ended when he was ousted in April 2026.1 And in the United States, there are the lawless ICE raids, abuses, arrests, detentions and murders in major American cities with significant – and even insignificant – immigrant populations.
Kudos to artists like Adrian Quesada, who can say something without words. Dark times require the artistry of hope. Trio Asesino is brimming with hope, but teeming with the fear of loss.
Endnote:
- That ouster happened one month after Trio Asesino was released in March 2026. At the time of recording, Orbán was still in charge. ↩︎