Ekep Nkwelle to Release Debut Album CAGED BIRD on Mack Avenue Records
The Juilliard-trained singer's nine-track project features the single "Early One Mornin'."
Rising vocalist Ekep Nkwelle has announced her long-awaited debut album Caged Bird, out September 25th via Mack Avenue Records. Inspired by Maya Angelou's 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,' the record details a journey from sorrow to inspiration, representing human suffering and the pursuit of a better future. The announcement comes with the first single 'Early One Mornin'.'
The 27-year-old singer, composer and bandleader has been captivating audiences since she first led worship at age 12, even then honing her ability to transport and inspire. Now with her long-awaited debut album, Caged Bird, Nkwelle is showing the world the sound she's been refining on the road with her dynamic band for years: traditional and vibrant, studied and spontaneous, familiar yet surprising. The resulting nine songs show an artist transcending genre with veteran polish and a totally original perspective.
Speaking about the album announcement and its meaning, Nkwelle stated, ''Caged Bird' archives songs of suffering and survival. I hope to provide expressions of necessary lament while equipping listeners with tools we, as humans, have always used to overcome in our lifelong pursuit of freedom and happiness: faith, art, and community.'
A song about surviving heartache, 'Early One Mornin'' is a track that is a fan favorite and has captivated audiences at sold-out performances around the world. Discussing the track, Nkwelle said, 'I love how liberating this song feels. Breakups are often painful and disempowering, but this one is healing because it affirms strength and reminds us that one foolproof way to survive a bad relationship is simply to jump ship!'
Nkwelle has quietly become one of the most compelling new voices in jazz today, having performed at the world's most storied stages -- such as Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and North Sea Jazz Festival -- and collaborated with legends including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Russell Malone, and Cyrus Chestnut. All before the age of 27 and without an album of recorded music.
The singer's love of jazz developed while attending D.C.'s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she received classical vocal training. A performance by her peers of 'Sophisticated Lady,' though, proved transformative. 'Oh man, I think that I really belong in this space,' she remembers thinking, dazzled by the big band swing -- and less than a decade later, she was fronting the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
At the time, she dove into the music, coming up with reverence for Sarah Vaughan and Natalie Cole as she began taking jazz courses and gigging around the capitol at bars like Jojo's and Mr. Henry's. Mentored by local jazz legend Davey Yarborough, Nkwelle entrenched herself in the jazz tradition as she was finding her place within the music's next generation. She continued her jazz studies at Howard, allowing her to continue building her live chops locally while studying with pianist Cyrus Chestnut -- her mentor to this day. Nkwelle then moved to New York to pursue a master's degree at Juilliard -- a shift that put her talent under an entirely new spotlight, opening doors first around the country and, not long after, around the world. With her voice, shaped by years of enchanting audiences across genres, front and center, Nkwelle's opening statement as a recording artist gives that enduring message a vital, new sound.
Tracklist
1. His Eye Is on the Sparrow
2. Caged Bird
3. Night Song
4. Amazon Farewell
5. Good Morning, Heartache
6. Early One Mornin'
7. The Sad Ones
8. The Creator Has A Master Plan
9. See See Rider
Tour Dates
Fri, Aug. 28 - New York, NY - Charlie Parker Jazz Festival w/ The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Sat, Sep. 5 - Southwest, DC - DC JazzFest
Sun, Sep. 20 - Lake George, NY - Shepard Park
Fri, Oct. 16 - Sun, Oct. 18 - New York, NY - Dizzy's Club
Sun, Nov. 1 - Lausanne, Switzerland - JazzOnze Plus Festival
Sat, Nov. 7 - Cartagena, Spain - Cartagena Jazz Festival
Sun, Nov. 8 - Malaga, Spain - Malaga International Jazz Festival
Tue, Nov. 10 - Madrid, Spain - Madrid International Jazz Festival
Wed, Nov. 11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Bimhuis
Thu, Nov. 12 - Rijkevorsel, Belgium - Concertzaal De Singer
Fri, Nov. 13 - Sat, Nov. 14 Paris, France - Le Duc des Lombards
Sun, Nov. 15 - London, United Kingdom - Ronnie Scott's
Wed, Nov. 18 - Athens, Greece - Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall
Sat, Nov. 21 - Rockport, MA - Shalin Liu Performance Center
Photo Credit: Ashley Marsh
Photo Credit: Ashley Marsh
