Lagos Pepper Soupformat: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Michael Olatuja
label: Whirlwind Recordings - nationality: Nigeria
Track highlights: 2. "Lagos Pepper Soup" (feat. Angélique Kidjo) - 4. "Soki" (feat. Dianne Reeves & Lionel Loueke) - 5. "Ma Foya" (feat. Brandee Younger) - 6. "Brighter Day" (feat. Laura Mvula) - 7. "Shadows Fade" (feat. Onaje Jefferson) - 9. "Home True" (feat. Becca Stevens & Robert Mitchell)
2nd album by London-born, Lagos, Nigeria-raised, New York-based electric and acoustic bassist / composer / bandleader Michael Olatuja.
Musically, this is one big blend of genres and styles, although, the overall sensation is one of jazz. It contains instrumental parts that are primarily jazz-founded, it contains vocal jazz and soul pop compositions and it's full of afrobeats (popular African rhythms), but also reveals a strong bond to traditional jazz composers of a you could call a New York tradition.
Aside from well-known studio musicians the album feature a bunch of starring musicians, which include Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Laura Mvula, Onaje Jefferson, Becca Stevens, Lionel Loueke, Robert Mitchell, Grégoire Maret, Brandee Younger, Joe Lovano, and Regina Carter.
Production-wise it's a warm and solid collection of beautiful compositions that also showcase the instrumental virtuosity of Olatuja.
The cover illustration seem a bit out of sync with the content as you might expect more traditional African folk music. I guess, Olatuja only hints at his roots, because it might as well have been entirely displaying Autumn leaves in his hometown of New York.
Anyway, I really enjoy this, it's gooood.
