Ekep Nkwelle - New Album "Caged Bird" Preview
Rising vocalist Ekep Nkwelle is set to release her long-awaited debut album, Caged Bird, on September 25 via Mack Avenue Records. Inspired by Maya Angelou’s seminal work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the album explores themes of suffering, resilience and hope, tracing a deeply personal path from sorrow towards inspiration and the possibility of a better future.
Ahead of its release, Nkwelle has unveiled the singles “Early One Mornin’” and “Good Morning, Heartache,” offering an intimate introduction to the emotional world of Caged Bird.
A powerful meditation on surviving heartbreak, “Early One Mornin’” has quickly become a fan favourite, captivating audiences at Nkwelle’s sold-out performances around the world. Reflecting on the track, Nkwelle says: “I love how liberating this song feels. Breakups are often painful and disempowering, but this one is healing because it affirms strength and reminds us that one foolproof way to survive a bad relationship is simply to jump ship!”
On “Good Morning, Heartache,” Nkwelle explores the familiar tension between wanting to leave heartache behind and waking to find it still waiting for you. “‘Good Morning, Heartache’ is an opportunity for lamentation,” she explains. “The goal is not to remain in mourning but to acknowledge that, yes, we have suffered, yet we have survived.”
The balance between confronting pain and finding a way beyond it is central to Caged Bird. Across the album, Nkwelle explores the many forms that grief, longing, displacement, and resilience can take, ultimately arriving at a sense of possibility. “Good Morning, Heartache” occupies an important place in that arc, giving voice to the moments when moving forward does not mean leaving everything behind.
Nkwelle has quietly become one of the most compelling new voices in jazz today, having performed at the world's most storied stages—such as Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and North Sea Jazz Festival—and collaborated with legends including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Russell Malone, and Cyrus Chestnut.
The 27-year-old singer, composer and bandleader has been captivating audiences since she first led worship at age 12, even then honing her ability to transport and inspire. Now with her long-awaited debut album, Caged Bird, Nkwelle is showing the world the sound she's been refining on the road with her dynamic band for years: traditional and vibrant, studied and spontaneous, familiar yet surprising. The resulting nine songs show an artist transcending genre with veteran polish and a totally original perspective.
The singer's love of jazz developed while attending D.C.'s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she received classical vocal training. A performance by her peers of "Sophisticated Lady," though, proved transformative. "Oh man, I think that I really belong in this space," she remembers thinking, dazzled by the big band swing — and less than a decade later, she was fronting the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
At the time, she dove into the music, coming up with reverence for Sarah Vaughan and Natalie Cole as she began taking jazz courses and gigging around the Capitol at bars like Jojo's and Mr. Henry's. Mentored by local jazz legend Davey Yarborough, Nkwelle entrenched herself in the jazz tradition as she was finding her place within the music's next generation. She continued her jazz studies at Howard, allowing her to continue building her live chops locally while studying with pianist Cyrus Chestnut — her mentor to this day. Nkwelle then moved to New York to pursue a master's degree at Juilliard — a shift that put her talent under an entirely new spotlight, opening doors first around the country and, not long after, around the world. With her voice, shaped by years of enchanting audiences across genres, front and center, Nkwelle's opening statement as a recording artist gives that enduring message a vital, new sound.
Caged Bird Tracklist
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
Tour Dates
- Sun, Nov. 1 - Lausanne, Switzerland - JazzOnze Plus Festival
- Sat, Nov. 7 - Cartagena, Spain - Cartagena Jazz Festival
- Sun, Nov. 8 - Málaga, Spain - Malaga International Jazz Festival
- Tue, Nov. 10 - Madrid, Spain - Madrid International Jazz Festival
- Wed, Nov. 11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Bimhuis
- Thu, Nov. 12 - Rijkevorsel, Belgium - Concertzaal De Singer
- Fri, Nov. 13 - Sat, Nov. 14 Paris, France - Le Duc des Lombards
- Sun, Nov. 15 - London, United Kingdom - Ronnie Scott's
- Wed, Nov. 18 - Athens, Greece - Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall
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