UDEiGWE: Four Lemmas

Jazz is a beautifully broad church. Whoever you are, whatever you have to say, you are welcome to say it as long as you bring an open heart and an open mind. 

So when a math professor chooses to express his thoughts on identity through "an eight track concept suite structured as four lemmas [in math, supporting propositions that prepare the ground for larger ideas], each anchored in a mathematical idea used as a conceptual framework," well, why not?  UDEiGWE, let us listen to what you have to say.

Lawrence Udeigwe (aka UDEiGWE) is a bonafide Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University. He is also a composer, singer and pianist. If a mathematical treatise on self realisation sounds heavy to you, resist the urge to turn away. You would be missing out.

This is a delightful record that mixes Nigerian jazz inflections, funk, singing, and spoken word with a light, deft touch. The instrumentation is assured and understated throughout. The grooves brought to life by Josh Green on drums and Rade Bema on bass are bouncy and irresistible; the trumpets of Steph Clement and Wayne Tucker are played with enough confidence to let the silence speak as loudly as the notes. UDEiGWE's subtle piano speaks of someone more interested in connecting than impressing, and this record is all about connecting.

The first track is slow and difficult to sing; UDEiGWE's voice always manages to navigate the tricky intervals he has written, but not always with absolute conviction. That is never enough to spoil the effect. Rather, it is an intriguing opening and any reservations are soon put aside as the sheer charm of this record takes over. 

It is confident and vulnerable; thoughtful and irrepressibly cheerful. When on "Corollary I: I Don't Care" he sings "I know my worth," Professor Udeigwe makes his point with a gentle firmness that is entirely in keeping with the whole vibe of the record; one of growing to love and accept ourselves. This is a guy completely comfortable in his own skin and having a wonderful time talking about it.

Mathematics is all about patterns and relationships, some expected, some surprising. UDEiGWE uses his academic skills to great effect here, creating a record full of snappy rhythm and hooky melodies; toe tappers and earworms from beginning to end. It is philosophically appealing and emotionally reassuring. If he is anything like this in the classroom, his students must be the most chilled mathematicians on the planet. 

Beautifully written and recorded, and coming in completely out of left field, this is a gem. In "Lemma III: Local Maximum" he defines the term local maximum as "the danger of thinking you have arrived." UDEiGWE has undoubtedly arrived, and just as certainly will soon be moving on. That will be a journey to follow.