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Ugonna Okegwo

Ugonna Okegwo is one of the most distinctive and sought-after jazz bassists in the world. Critics across the globe have praised him for his rich tone, supple sense of swing, stylistic range and inventiveness. These qualities have not only earned him a place on the bandstand with jazz legends as diverse as Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Pharoah Sanders and Joseph Jarman--they have established him as one of the leading lights of a younger generation redefining jazz for the new century.

"He is very individualistic, both in his soloing and accompanying. I love the way he plays in the ensemble,” says Tom Harrell, with whom Okegwo has worked for several years. “Ugonna does some really creative things that I haven't heard anyone do with his articulation and timing."

Born March 15, 1962 in London to a German mother and Nigerian father, Okegwo was raised in Germany and grew up listening to African-American music--James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and, eventually, the great Charles Mingus.

"What I always heard first in funk and rock 'n roll were the bass lines, the ostinato, and later, in jazz, the walking bass," he recalls. "That's what first got me playing bass.” The fusing of funk and jazz bass conceptions is a foundation of Okegwo’s unique approach, making his sound instantly recognizable.

In 1986, he moved to Berlin to study with the American expatriate bassist Jay Oliver, and with the American pianist Walter Norris. There Okegwo caught the attention of many prominent jazz musicians, most notably the trombonist and Mingus alum, Lou Blackburn, who invited Okegwo to tour Europe with his Afro-Jazz group “Mombasa”. While working with Blackburn, Okegwo met and played with trumpeter Joe Newman, drummer Oliver Jackson, and the bassist Major Holley, who encouraged him to move to New York.

In 1989, Okegwo made the leap to Manhattan and began playing with musicians like saxophone legends Big Nick Nicholas, Junior Cook, and James Spaulding. In 1992, a call from legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks led to steady work as a sideman - on stage and in recording studios. In 1994 Hendricks even took Okegwo to the White House to perform for the President. During this time, Okegwo’s artistry attracted two other gifted young musicians--pianist Jacky Terrason and drummer Leon Parker. The trio joined forces and at famous clubs like the Village Gate and Bradley’s, developing one of the most creative and explosive group sounds of the nineties.

Recently, Okegwo expanded his horizons and became a bandleader.

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Album Review

Wayne Escoffery: Like Minds

Read "Like Minds" reviewed by Dave Linn


Wayne Escoffery was born in London and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11, later studying at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In the late 1990s, Escoffery started gaining recognition on the jazz scene with his tenure in the Eric Reed Septet and later joining the Mingus Big Band. After completing his studies, Escoffery moved to New ...

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Read "Tom Harrell: Number Five" reviewed by John Kelman


"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," they say, and since coming to HighNote in 2007, trumpeter Tom Harrell has lived by that old adage, utilizing the same quintet for its auspicious debut, Light On, and three subsequent recordings, culminating in 2011's outstanding Time of the Sun. Number Five continues Harrell's winning streak with the same line-up, but if each successive recording has reflected the ongoing growth of one of today's most compelling small groups--the chemistry deeper and the interaction ...

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Steve Slagle: Into The Heart Of It

Read "Steve Slagle: Into The Heart Of It" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


In a storied career that's produced more than 20 leader dates, there's little that Steve Slagle hasn't explored and accomplished. Yet here we are with a true first from the veteran alto saxophonist: A stunning bouquet of ballads. Inspired by lodestar outings from legends like John Coltrane, and driven by a desire to find a personalized path through the format, Slagle essentially came to balance history with his own story. “I really ruminated over this," he explains, “and I find ...

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Read "First Move" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Given that it is his debut disc, drummer Aaron Seeber's First Move seems aptly titled. The music it offers is anything but an opening gambit, however; even after a cursory listen, it is quickly apparent that Seeber has been at this game for some time. From the top-shelf caliber of his associates, to his unfailing poise behind the kit, not to mention some great instincts for repertoire, Seeber has more than a few moves up his sleeve, and they always ...

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Steve Slagle: Ballads: Into the Heart of it

Read "Ballads: Into the Heart of it" reviewed by Edward Blanco


New York-based saxophonist, composer and educator Steve Slagle refused to let the pandemic interfere with his recording activities, and in August of 2021 completed a project covering an assortment of wonderful ballads on Ballads: Into the Heart of it. Having carved out a distinguished musical career spanning over four decades and documented on over 20 albums as leader, presenting the ballads in a slightly different way was a new challenge Slagle mastered elegantly. The album features a mix ...

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Album Review

Pete Malinverni: On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein

Read "On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


The presumptive title of this release is On The Town, but in reality it covers more than just the music from that titled 1944 Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical. The ever thoughtful and vivid pianist Pete Malinverni along with his savvy and accomplished companions bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Hamilton have made this release an oeuvre to New York City as exemplified by the music of Leonard Bernstein which was presented in three well known musicals: On The Town, Wonderful ...

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Album Review

Pete Malinverni: On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein

Read "On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein " reviewed by Jack Bowers


Pianist Pete Malinverni's album, On the Town, is subtitled “Plays Leonard Bernstein," and it's an homage he has wanted to put on record for many years—ever since he met Bernstein in person while performing at an opening-night party for a production of the opera Tosca at the Met in NYC. Bernstein, he recalls, spent much of the evening hanging around the piano, not with his more celebrated dinner companions. ("Real musicians want to hang out with the band," Malinverni says). ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Like Minds

Smoke Sessions Records
2023

buy

Electric Miles 2

Summit/Mama
2023

buy

Into the Heart of it

Panorama Records
2022

buy

Riverside

Outside in Music
2022

buy

First Move

Cellar Live
2022

buy

On the Town: Pete...

Planet Arts Records
2021

buy

My Truth feat. Gregory Porter

From: Like Minds
By Ugonna Okegwo

New York, New York

From: On the Town: Pete Malinverni...
By Ugonna Okegwo

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