BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Jazz Center welcomes vocalist Alicia Olatuja and her quartet on Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m. Olatuja is best known for her soaring solo with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Obama's second inauguration. But even though she grew up in the church, loves the music, and draws inspiration from it, her voice and persona are expansive. She uses her gospel roots as a springboard to investigate jazz, African music, classical, and even well-crafted pop.
In a recent interview, Olatuja said, “I blur the lines that some draw between genres. Along with the great jazz singers, I'm heavily influenced by Take Six, CeCe Winans [progressive gospel singer], Whitney Houston, and vocalists from the classical world - not just their voices but also their history.”
To achieve her goals of attaining versatility while maintaining “healthy technique that I can apply to any genre,” she trained at Manhattan School of Music and earned a Master's degree in classical voice.
She has sung opera and performed recitals at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. But these presentations have been mixed with her interpreting jazz, gospel, and African music at such legendary venues as Minton's, the Jazz Standard, the Blue Note, BAM, The Julliard School, the Kennedy Center, and of course, our nation's capitol. Olatuja is currently touring with Becca Stevens and piano legend, Billy Childs as part of his “Reimagining Laura Nyro” project.
Listeners at the Vermont Jazz Center can expect to hear a varied program that emphasizes Olatuja's breadth of knowledge, mastery of styles, and fusion of genres. The quartet will be performing mostly material from her new album Timeless.
Alicia Olatuja and her husband Michael Olatuja (the group's bassist) have formed a group called the Olatuja Project that has more of an emphasis on African music. Alicia Olatuja, a native of St. Louis, is drawn to Michael Olatuja's Nigerian roots and to learning the meaning and pronunciation of words from this rich tradition.
Along with Michael Olatuja, Alicia Olatuja will be performing with Jahaan Sweet on piano, and Otis Brown III on drums. Both Michael Olatuja and Otis Brown have performed with her for years. Alicia Olatuja is using this opportunity to introduce a relatively new pianist (and celebrated producer of urban dance music) to the scene.
Bassist Michael Olatuja is now emerging as one of the top bassists among the upper echelon in New York's demanding jazz scene. He appeared once at the Vermont Jazz Center with Lionel Loueke. He and drummer, Otis Brown III are currently touring with Joe Lovano's Village Rhythms Band.
Drummer Brown is another young titan quickly emerging to the top. Since his arrival in New York, Brown has performed and toured with many jazz performers.