Product Description
At just 27 years old, Ekep Nkwele is a rising star in jazz vocals who has sung at world-renowned festivals and historic stages, and collaborated with legendary artists such as Cyrus Chestnut, Wynton Marsalis, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. This is his solo debut album from Mac Avenue! Inspired by Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Things," a work that also contributed to the Civil Rights Movement, the album expresses human suffering and the search for a better future through originals and jazz and gospel standards. 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 Ekep Nkwele is a 27-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist born in Washington D.C. While studying classical music at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, she developed an interest in jazz. She then went on to Howard University, where she studied under pianist Cyrus Chestnut and performed in clubs as part of a duo. Simultaneously, she served as lead soloist for the vocal group Afro Blue for four years and also performed with The Soul Sisters. She later moved to New York and earned a Master's degree from the Juilliard School. In 2022, she appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk, won second place in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition, and participated in Dee Dee Bridgewater's Women Jazz Artists Program. In 2023, she was selected for a Juilliard Fellowship at the recommendation of Wynton Marsalis. She has also collaborated with legendary jazz figures such as Kenny Barron, Dianne Reeves, and Russell Malone. She has performed on world-renowned stages such as the Newport Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and SFJAZZ. This rising star of the jazz world is releasing her first solo album on Mac Avenue.
