Ekep Nkwelle: Caged Bird

At a time when the jazz music community is blessed with no shortage of upstart young vocalists, Ekep Nkwelle has risen above the fray by embracing the diversity of styles within the jazz idiom, moving from time-honored standards to progressive modernity with ease, and working with masters ranging from Kenny Barron to David Murray. The daughter of Cameroonian immigrants, Nkwelle grew up in the rich jazz culture of Washington, DC and trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts as well as Howard University (the latter with pianist Cyrus Chestnut). She ultimately moved to New York and successfully became a mainstay of its jazz scene.

Nkwelle built up an imposing résumé before any major recording release, but has finally recorded her debut album. Titled Caged Bird, on the record Nkwelle mostly explores the African-American musical heritage—gospel, jazz, R&B, blues—but with a fresh, youthful perspective. She frequently shows off her impressive, dynamic vocal range but without overwhelming the material or her accompaniment. For such a young vocalist (27 at the time of the album's release), Caged Bird is remarkably self-assured, blooming with the promise of a long career to come and bursting with present-day immediacy.

Caged Bird begins with Nkwelle's versions of two beloved classics—the traditional gospel hymn "His Eye is on the Sparrow" and Abbey Lincoln's "Caged Bird." Together, the two songs form a mini-suite, creating a seamless connection between a timeless spiritual anthem and a more modern political statement. Nkwelle successfully proves that, despite the passage of time, musicians continue to paint on the same, ever-expanding sonic canvas, drawing on the same themes and customs across generations. On "Caged Bird," Nkwelle takes a minimalist approach, beginning the track simply with soft vocalization over a subtle drumbeat by Brian Richburg Jr. Luther Allison and Russell Hall eventually join in on piano and bass, respectively, but for most of the song Nkwelle eschews Lincoln's emotional, passionate crescendos, which not only highlights Lincoln's brilliant lyrics, but also demonstrates Nkwelle's ability to convey power without resorting to emotional crescendos. When the climax finally comes, it is all the more effective because of its contrast with her singing style during the rest of the song.

Julius Rodriguez assumes the piano accompaniment on the album's version of Djavan's "Amazon Farewell" (that Nkwelle can employ two of the most in-demand young pianists between Rodriguez and Allison is an accomplishment in itself), and Rodriguez's virtuosic keyboards and Richburg's Brazilian-style percussion provide a rhythmic complement to Nkwelle's high-powered vocals that, through all their energy, only emphasize the darkness and dire nature of the subject matter.

"Good Morning, Heartache" is a tour-de-force, an old-fashioned double-hankie ballad, where Nkwelle and her band let it rip. Nkwelle conveys the world-weariness that the song demands, her youth no obstacle in the emotional resonance created by Nkwelle's performance. A relative youngster himself, Rodriguez's piano accompaniment is nevertheless enchanting, and both matches and accentuates Nkwelle's sentiments.

There have been many variations of Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan," an instrumental spiritual jazz classic that has become somewhat of an unlikely standard since its original 1969 release (vocal and otherwise). Nkwelle interprets the song as a spiritual R&B ballad, with the focus, appropriately, being on the voice. The version is gorgeous, the tempo slow and soft, and Rodriguez, Hall and Richburg on accompaniment are pointed, deliberate and direct. This is one of the more accessible versions of the song, and it is quite effective.  

Caged Bird's closer, the classic standard "See See Rider," is a fairly straightforward blues, but in Nkwelle and her group's hands, not only is it not tired, but it sounds fresh and joyful. Rodriguez, in particular, has a blast on piano, and Hall gets a chance to cook on bass. It is an exciting end to a debut album that not only signals the promise of a long career, but also the potential origin of a superstar.