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Akua Allrich

Jazz vocalist and DC-native Akua Allrich has proven herself to be a musician of extraordinary talent and crowd-moving passion. With finesse and charisma, this vocalist, composer and teacher, has successfully etched out a place for her unique musical expression, electrifying audiences in and around the nation’s capital with sold-out performances.

With the launch of her independently produced album, A Peace of Mine, in 2010, the young artist’s music and concerts are creating a significant buzz with critics and music-lovers alike. Said Franz Matzner of All About Jazz, “Akua Allrich’s music flows with a free, natural energy as engaging as her equally ingenuous personality.”

Allrich’s style is fluid and ever evolving. Her musical roots run deeply into blues, soul and rhythm and blues, with a clear grounding in jazz and pan-African music. She sings in many languages including Portuguese, French, Spanish, English, Xhosa, and Twi. Given her ability to capture the essence of a broad range of musical genres, Allrich is often likened to legendary artists such as Oscar Brown, Jr., Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone. She has developed popular tribute programs involving the latter two women and other great African American women of jazz.

Akua Allrich was educated at Howard University, where she obtained her BM in jazz vocals and a master’s degree in social work. She was taught, coached and mentored by talented musicians such as world-renowned singer Kehembe V. Eichelberger, singer/drummer Grady Tate, and pianist Charles Covington.

She is the child of a musical family (her father, Agyei Akoto, was a founding member of the jazz group, Nation, and recorded two albums during Allrich’s youth). Her home held a wealth of cherished recordings that she and her siblings were invited to explore. In fact, she did not buy any albums until her second year in college because her parents had such an amazing collection of jazz records. One of the first jazz albums she bought was John Coltrane’s Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes.

Allrich has already proven her abilities as a performer and bandleader by producing and performing many successful solo and group programs. In addition to focusing on her own engaging compositions, she keeps an ear to the rest of the world and to other eras and artists. She has inspired music lovers from all walks who enjoy her exceptional artistry and eagerly await her next offering.

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6
Live Review

Akua Allrich at the Howard Theater

Read "Akua Allrich at the Howard Theater" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner


Local star Akua Allrich continued her rapid rise this month performing music from her latest album Uniquely Standard (Self Produced, 2012) at the historic Howard Theater on Washington, DC's U Street.An accomplished vocalist whose vibrant performances and inviting stage presence have built a loyal following and propelled her to the forefront of Washington, DC's main jazz venues, Allrich's rise in many ways parallels the resurgence of Washington, DC as a major jazz city, making her debut at the ...

4
Album Review

Akua Allrich: Live! Uniquely Standard

Read " Live! Uniquely Standard" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


The jazz vocals standard repertoire has a quantum mechanics of its own. Artists seem attracted to certain dense loci within the repertoire and orbit there. Then there are some artists that do this while accumulating other pieces outside of this loci to make their own. This is what Washington, DC native Akua Allrich does and displays on Live!: Uniquely Standard. Allrich's set list, from two performances in DC between February and April 2012, reveals a special reverence for incomparable singers ...

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Interview

Akua Allrich: Washington Rising

Read "Akua Allrich: Washington Rising" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner


A native Washingtonian, vocalist Akua Allrich's music flows with a free, natural energy as engaging as her equally ingenuous personality. Although she graduated from Howard University's music department roughly a decade ago, Allrich has only recently thrown herself into forging a musical career. She originally opted not to pursue a singing career and turned instead to the challenges of raising a family and teaching in a private school. In the past few years, however, Allrich has returned to the stage ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five With Akua Allrich

Read "Take Five With Akua Allrich" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Meet Akua Allrich: Jazz vocalist Akua Allrich is a musician of extraordinary talent and crowd-moving passion. For the past two years she has been electrifying audiences in and around the nation's capital with sold-out performances. With the 2010 launch of her independently produced album, A Peace of Mine, the young artist's music and concerts are creating a significant buzz with critics and music-lovers alike, and the rest of the world will have an opportunity to hear her. Said ...

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73

Interview

Singer Akua Allrich Interviewed at All About Jazz

Singer Akua Allrich Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: All About Jazz

A native Washingtonian, vocalist Akua Allrich's music flows with a free, natural energy as engaging as her equally ingenuous personality. Although she graduated from Howard University's music department roughly a decade ago, Allrich has only recently thrown herself into forging a musical career. She originally opted not to pursue a singing career and turned instead to the challenges of raising a family and teaching in a private school. In the past few years, however, Allrich has returned to the stage ...

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Recording

Freshman CD By Akua Allrich Fuses Jazz And Neo Soul

Freshman CD By Akua Allrich Fuses Jazz And Neo Soul

Source: The Phillips Agency

Even before the completion this summer of her first CD, Washington, DC native Akua (pronounced a KWEE a) Allrich was electrifying audiences in and around the nation's capital. She repeatedly sold out Bohemian Caverns, a U Street jazz spot most often home to legendary jazz artists. Now both her independently produced CD, A Peace of Mine, and live concerts are hotly in demand. Akua Allrich and her music is the riveting product of “The Great Migration." Southern gospel, spirituals and ...

"In 2010, Allrich released her debut album, A Peace of Mine, to positive reviews. Her fluid and graceful voice glides over rhythms that draw upon jazz, reggae, African and R&B influences. The buzz from that recording led to her signing with a Japanese record label and a collaboration with the historic Bohemian Caverns …" —Sriram Gopal, DCist.com

"Akua Allrich’s music flows with a free, natural energy as engaging as her equally ingenuous personality… She has developed a compelling musical style fusing jazz, R&B, and African influences… She has grown a loyal local audience and established herself in the increasingly vibrant Washington scene as a performer capable of not only packing the house, but bringing it to its feet." —Franz A. Matzner, All About Jazz

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