A digital recital honoring and celebrating unforgettable music that galvanizes social justice,
This collection of works made famous by musical icons like Billie Holiday ("Strange Fruit"), Marvin Gaye ("What's Going On"), Sam Cooke ("A Change is Gonna Come") and Donny Hathaway ("Someday We'll All Be Free")—among many others—has been specially curated by host Russell Thomas, LAO's Artist in Residence.
Five powerful performers—soprano Brandie Sutton, baritone Justin Austin, pianist Damien Sneed, drummer Jonathan Barber and bass player Michael Olatuja—deliver extraordinary renditions of these game-changing musical works.
Available to stream here for free (no ticket required).
View tHE full SONG LIST by clicking "Read More" below.
Songs of Protest
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free – By Billy Taylor & Dick Dallas / Arranged by Damien Sneed
Justin Austin, Brandie Sutton
Poor Wayfaring Stranger – Arranged by Roberto L. Burton
Brandie Sutton
I’m A Poor Li’l Orphan In This Worl’ - By Julia Perry
Justin Austin
Lord, How Come Me Here - Arranged by Brandie Sutton
Brandie Sutton
I Want Jesus To Walk With Me – Arranged by Justin Austin
Justin Austin
Come Sunday – By Duke Ellington / Arranged by Damien Sneed
Brandie Sutton, piano, drums, bass
Coalhouse’s Soliloquy from Ragtime – By Stephen Flaherty
Justin Austin
Four Women – By Nina Simone
Brandie Sutton, drums, bass
Lift Every Voice and Sing - By James Weldon Johnson & John Rosamund Johnson
Oh, Freedom – Arranged by Damien Sneed
Justin Austin
Freedom – By Duke Ellington
Brandie Sutton, drums, bass
I Dream A World – By Damien Sneed
Justin Austin
Strange Fruit – By Abel Meeropol
Brandie Sutton
Battle Hymn of the Republic - By Julia Ward Howe / Arranged By Damien Sneed
Justin Austin, drums, bass
Hold On – Arranged By Ramon Bryant Braxton
Brandie Sutton
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free – By Billy Taylor & Dick Dallas / Arranged by Damien Sneed
Justin Austin, Brandie Sutton, drums, bass
Listen to "Oh Freedom: Protest and Liberty Through Music
The Singers
- Soprano
- Brandie Sutton
- Baritone
- Justin Austin
Brandie Sutton
Soprano

From: Huntsville, Alabama. LA Opera: soloist in After Hours recital Songs of Protest (2021).
Versatile, dynamic, and mesmerizing, soprano Brandie Sutton has garnered accolades and devoted fans around the globe, thanks to an impressive array of recitals, operatic roles, and concert performances with acclaimed orchestras. Hailed by Opera News for her “sumptuous, mid-weight soprano,” and by The New York Times for her “warm, ample voice,” “ravishing performance” and “distinctive earthy coloring,” Ms. Sutton’s is one of the classical world’s most impressive new stars.
Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Sutton did not begin formal training as a vocalist until she was in college. While pursuing a pre-med program at Huntsville’s Oakwood University, an instructor happened to hear her perform with the college choir. “I started taking voice lessons because the choir director was also a voice teacher who eventually convinced me to pursue music because she heard ‘the gift,’” Sutton recalls. “So, I dropped biology and studied music.” Sutton then completed a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. During this time, Sutton sang in internationally renowned competitions and was also engaged for stage productions in the U.S. and abroad. She made her solo recital debut at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; appeared at Merkin Concert Hall in Lincoln Center; and made her concert debut at Carnegie Hall.
After graduation, the young soprano headed to the arts center of New York City to pursue her career. She was soon accepted into the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s six-week intensive program for young artists, called Prelude to Performance. The program proved to be an important training ground for the fledgling performer, fine-tuning not only vocal but acting skills. Sutton then made her operatic debut as the lead in the New York City Opera’s 2017 production of Respighi’s La Campana Sommersa, portraying the elf princess Rautendelein. It was the first production of the magical work since 1929 and earned positive reviews. “It was a difficult role, so a lot of people were impressed,” Sutton explains. “That’s how I got my agent and my manager. And my first Metropolitan Opera contract came shortly thereafter.”
Having the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera come calling was a definite coup for the rising vocal star, whose contract was for a vital role in the company as “cover” for some of the world’s best-known sopranos. While a cover at the Met, she was also able to pursue other performance opportunities. She has been blessed to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Orpheus Symphony Orchestra in Moscow and the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared on opera stages such as Semperoper Dresden, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Grand Théâtre de Genève and Alter Oper Frankfurt. Along the way, Sutton has deepened her repertoire and expanded her audiences, also performing folk, jazz, pop, and classical material from established and contemporary composers. Meanwhile, Sutton’s impeccable work landed her a featured role in a Met production scheduled for the 2020/21 season, as Franquita in Bizet’s Carmen; the COVID-19 pandemic later led the Met to cancel the season.
However, early in 2020, Sutton came out from under “cover” when the Met extended its celebrated revival of Porgy and Bess. Sutton was able to get a coveted feature role of Clara in the production’s first show of its extended run, singing the incomparable Gershwin ballad “Summertime.” Says Sutton, “That’s how my debut happened because that was the first time in Metropolitan Opera history that they have ever added shows to a run. I was ecstatic. And right after that, I had to go to Opera Birmingham to perform a dream role, which is the Fairy Godmother in Cendrillon (Massenet's operatic version of Cinderella),” she says. “That got canceled due to COVID.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the performance season of many U.S. theatrical venues, including the Met, Sutton continues to expand her art and share her gifts. She was invited to Vienna, Austria, in mid-2020 to perform Clara in Porgy and Bess at the Theatre an der Wien through October. And as the climate shifts and theaters learn ways to safely stage new production, Sutton will sing her dream role of the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and abridged version of Massenet’s Cendrillon, at the Met during the 2021 holiday season.
Dedicated to social justice, Sutton has participated in several events with the Equal Justice Initiative. During the April 2018 opening weekend for the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (formerly the National Lynching Memorial) in Montgomery, Alabama, Sutton performed in a concert that also featured John Legend, Andra Day, and BeBe Winans. Even more significantly, a hologram of Sutton is a permanent part of the memorial’s Legacy Museum: From Slavery to Mass Incarceration. Portraying an enslaved person, Sutton sings the spiritual “Lord, How Come Me Here” in a museum exhibit. The Equal Justice Initiative also invited Sutton to perform during their 30th-anniversary festivities, held in New York City in 2019.
Citing inspirations that include opera greats Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, Leontyne Price, Montserrat Caballé, Beverly Sills, and Joan Sutherland, as well as elegant jazz-pop singer Nancy Wilson, Sutton says she looks forward to taking on ever more challenging operatic roles, particularly those within the bel canto repertoire.
Fans of the dynamic vocal star can also look forward to her debut solo recording in 2021. “I just want people to hear what I love to do,” says Sutton. “It’s going to be arias, art songs, spirituals, maybe some hymns, some jazz, maybe some musical theater, and some Disney pieces.” The independent release will be the perfect vehicle for her eclectic taste and captivating delivery.
Learn more at BrandieSuttonSoprano.com.
Justin Austin
Baritone

From: Stuttgart, Germany. LA Opera: soloist in the After Hours recital Songs of Protest (2021).
Praised in Opera News as “a gentle actor and elegant musician” and The Wall Street Journal for his "mellifluous baritone," Justin Austin has been performing professionally since the age of four. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, to professional opera singer parents, Austin began his singing career as a boy soprano performing at venues such as Teatro Real, Bregenzer Festspiele, Lincoln Center, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While working with directors such as Götz Friedrich and Tazewell Thompson, Austin was able to realize his love for music and performance early on.
For the 2020/21 season, Austin was scheduled to create the leading role of George in the world premiere of the Lincoln Center Theater and the Metropolitan Opera co-commissioned opera Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon, directed by Bartlett Sher. Rescheduled performances are to be announced. Canceled due to COVID- 19 was Austin's return to the Metropolitan Opera making his house debut in the Met's new production of Jake Haggie's Dead Man Walking directed by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Austin was also scheduled to join the Met debuting the role of the Novice's Friend in John Dexter’s classic production of Billy Budd conducted by Simone Young. Austin is featured in concert with Mistral Music, Opera Maine, Moab Music Festival , and New York Festival of Song. Austin stars as Captain Macheath in a film adaptation of The Threepenny Opera produced by City Lyric Opera. Austin makes his Washington National Opera debut starring as Thomas McKeller in the world premiere of American Apollo by Damien Geter and Lila Palmer. Austin makes solo recital debuts with LA Opera, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Opera Saratoga. Austin also joins IDAGIO for online concerts at the Global Concert Hall.
For the 2019/20 season Austin was scheduled to return to the Bayerische Staatsoper for his role debut as Mel in Michael Tippett's The Knot Garden and as Bello in the revival of Andreas Dresen's production of The Girl of the Golden West. Austin made his return to New York Festival of Song at the Kaufmann Music Center. Austin joined the Metropolitan Opera principal roster for their new production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Austin also sang the leading role of Older Jim in Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied at the Penn Square Music Festival .
For the 2018/19 season, Austin made solo debuts with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Copland House, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opera Saratoga, and made his return to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and New York Festival of Song. Mr. Austin spent Summer 2018 as a solo artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis featured in concert, recital, and on the mainstage singing the role of Cal in the award winning production of Marc Blitzstein's Regina directed by James Robinson and conducted by Stephen Lord. Austin was recently featured as a solo artist on the commercial recording of Opera Theatre of St. Louis' Shalimar the Clown as well as Damien Sneed's Classically Harlem and We Shall Overcome.
After receiving a master’s degree in music in 2017, Austin spent the 2017/18 season with Opera Theatre of St. Louis as a Resident Artist and made solo debuts with Carnegie Hall, Kampnagel, Master Voices, the Glimmerglass Festival, and the Strathmore Music Center. Austin also made his return to New York Festival of Song, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Kaufman Music Center.
As a master’s degree candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, Austin made debuts in the 2016/17 season at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as a Schwab Vocal Rising Star, with New York Festival Of Song in their Emerging Artist Series, with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Richard Gaddes Festival Artist and with the Heidelberger Früling International Music Festival. Mr. Austin was honored by the historic National Association of Negro Musicians Inc. and named the national winner of their prestigious Vocal Performance Scholarship. In the summer of 2016, Mr. Austin created the role of Pyarelal Kaul in the critically acclaimed world premiere of the opera Shalimar the Clown by Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
While a bachelor's degree candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, Austin made his professional debut as a baritone with Landestheater Linz as Jake in Porgy and Bess. He reprised that role at Grand Théâtre de Genève during the 2015/16 season as well as created the role of the Chief in the film adaptation of Odeline Martinez’s Imoinda, directed by Hope Clark and produced by the National Opera Center of America. Mr. Austin was featured at the Manhattan School of Music performing the roles of Sabari in Cavalli's La Doriclea, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale and as a soloist in Haydn's The Creation, Monteverdi's Vespers, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. Additionally, Justin has performed the roles of Father in Hansel and Gretel, Doctor Binswanger in Ricky Ian Gordon's Ellen West, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos Elviro in Handel's Xerxes, Etienne in Naughty Marietta, and as the baritone soloist in Schubert’s Mass No. 2, Handel’s Messiah, Theodore Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ, Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Wynton Marsalis' All Rise.
As a multifaceted musician, Mr. Austin performs a wide range of repertoire from Jazz, R&B, and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. Justin has collaborated with multiple groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, the Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blidge, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, the Roots, 30 Seconds to Mars, John Cale, Ricky Ian Gordon, Damien Sneed, Kanye West, and jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela, and Wynton Marsalis.
Justin strongly believes in utilizing his artistry to benefit music programs, new music projects, and community services around the world. To do so, he works with organizations such as MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), Holt International, and St. Mary's Children's Hospital to construct and perform benefit concerts. The proceeds of these projects supply emergent living essentials to those in need. Inspired by the importance of new music and collaboration, Mr. Austin has performed and recorded operatic, song, and oratorio world premiers by Wynton Marsalis, Avner Finberg, M. Roger Holland, Jack Perla, Peter Andreacchi, Damien Sneed, Odeline de la Martinez, and Ricky Ian Gordon.
Austin has won awards from organizations such as the Recording Academy, NAACP, George London Foundation, Opera Ebony, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Manhattan School of Music, NANM, Choir Academy of Harlem, and Laguardia Arts. He is a proud graduate of the Choir Academy of Harlem, Laguardia Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie, and Manhattan School of Music, holding the bachelor of music and master of music degrees. Mr. Austin is under the tutelage and mentorship of Catherine Malfitano.
Learn more at JustinAustin.org.
The Musicians
- Pianist
- Damien Sneed
- Bassist
- Michael Olatuja
- Drummer
- Jonathan Barber
Damien Sneed
Pianist

From: Augusta, Georgia. LA Opera: featured in the After Hours recital Songs of Protest (2021).
As a multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed is a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with jazz, classical, pop and R&B legends, including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, and he is featured on Norman’s final recording, Bound For the Promised Land, on Albany Records. He also worked with Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Brandie Sutton and many others. Sneed has served as music director for Grammy Award-winning gospel artists the Clark Sisters, Richard Smallwood, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Kim Burrell, among others. Sneed is a 2020 Dove Award winner for his work as a featured producer and writer on the Clark Sisters’ new project, The Return, released on March 13, 2020.
In January 2020, he embarked on his 40-city North American tour “We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring Damien Sneed.” The 2020 tour kicked off at Joe’s Pub in New York City and made stops at concert halls and universities in the U.S. and Canada. The tour concluded in March of 2020 at the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Center in Twin Falls, Idaho. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Sneed brought his brand of classical, jazz, and sanctified soul to venues across the country during Dr. King’s holiday, Black History Month, and Women’s Month. “We Shall Overcome” is a joyous celebration reflecting on the triumphant and victorious moments during our history.
In January 2020, Sneed released his debut classical album Classically Harlem as well as We Shall Overcome Deluxe on his boutique label LeChateau Earl Records, which was established in 2009 to reflect his varied musical interests. Previous recordings include Jazz in Manhattan (2019), The Three Sides of Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul (2018), Broken to Minister: The Deluxe Edition (2015), Spiritual Sketches (2013), and Introspections LIVE (2010).
Sneed is the founder and artistic director of Chorale Le Chateau, which has gained a global reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance period pieces to art songs to jazz, spirituals, gospel, and avant-garde contemporary music. He is featured on the recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass as a conductor, performing with Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Chorale Le Chateau.
The composer and pianist recently premiered his new opera We Shall Overcome -- Our Journey: 400 Years from Africa to Jamestown at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage for the Sphinx Organization Performance and Gala, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert F. Smith. Sneed also wrote the libretto, which showcases musical styles from the African American diaspora from African rhythms to spirituals to gospel to jazz, all interwoven in the classical genre. He was joined by fellow Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipients and the Metropolitan Opera’s J’Nai Bridges (mezzo- soprano) and Will Liverman (baritone), along with Sneed’s chorus, Chorale Le Chateau, and the Sphinx Virtuosi Orchestra, who brought to life his ground-breaking opera during the evening’s finale performance.
During the 2018/19 season, Sneed served as music director, composer in residence, and cover conductor for the staff of the Houston Grand Opera. Sneed was also commissioned to compose a new chamber opera titled Marian's Song about the life of Marian Anderson for Houston Grand Opera, which had its world premiere on March 5, 2020, at the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. The Library of Congress commissioned Sneed to compose a brief solo piano work, Sequestered Thoughts, for its Boccaccio Project in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, which premiered online on June 15, 2020.
Sneed is featured in the award-winning PBS documentary Everyone Has a Place, which stars Wynton Marsalis. The film captures Sneed’s journey as the musical conductor of the historic performance of Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass. The film features the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Sneed’s 70-piece Chorale LeChateau. Sneed is also featured in Aaron Dworkin’s book The Entrepreneurial Artist: Lessons from Highly Successful Creatives.
A recipient of a 2014 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and a graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts School in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, Sneed studied at some of the finest conservatories and universities, including Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music – Piano Performance; the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; New York University, where he earned a Master of Music in Music Technology: Scoring for Film and Multimedia; and the Manhattan School of Music. Sneed will also graduate with his doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from USC in 2020.
Sneed is currently a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches graduate-level courses in conducting, African American Music History, a singer/songwriter ensemble, a gospel music ensemble, and private lessons in piano, voice, and composition. He recently joined the esteemed faculty of Michigan State University as artist-in-residence for the 2020-2021 school year. Sneed will work with Wharton Center and the MSU College of Music, helping to bring social impact programming to both institutions while advancing progress in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. He was a member of the faculty at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Nyack College. His other professional affiliations have included The Juilliard School as a staff accompanist, Jazz at Lincoln Center as an artistic consultant, and the City University of New York (CUNY) as a professor of music. In 2015, Sneed established the Damien Sneed Performing Arts Institute, a division of the Damien Sneed Foundation.
Sneed was recently commissioned by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater to create an original score for Testament, a contemporary response to the 60th anniversary of that company's signature work Revelations for the dance company’s first virtual season premiering in December 2020. He was also recently commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to compose a new 20-minute opera featuring a small ensemble of singers and musicians, premiering in April 2021. Other commissions this season include: the Tuskegee Airmen Symphonic Rhapsody with its world premiere in March 2021 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, a new piece commissioned by the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas, premiering in March 2021, and a choral suite commissioned by the Trenton Children’s Chorus premiering in April 2021.
Learn more at DamienSneed.com.
Michael Olatuja
Bassist

From: born in London, UK; raised in Lagos, Nigeria. LA Opera: performer for the After Hours recital Songs of Protest (2021).
New York-based electric and acoustic bassist/composer/bandleader Michael Olatuja has been one of the most inventive and in-demand bassists since the early part of this century. He’s worked and recorded with one hundred artists, from Terence Blanchard, Kurt Elling and Jose James to Stevie Wonder, Shakira, and Bebe Winans, and recorded two CD’s as a leader, Speak (2009), which the website All About Jazz proclaimed was “a propulsive and pleasing record,” and The Promise by The Olatuja Project - a duo with Alicia Olatuja (2011). Nearly five years in the making, Olatuja’s new, 12-track CD, Lagos Pepper Soup, named after a zesty, West African meal, with lyrics mostly in Yoruba and English, and recorded in London and New York, is his most comprehensive and compelling album to date.
“The themes [on this new record] are hope, inspiration, and new beginnings,” Olatuja says. “This recording started at a very tough time in my life, and it’s cathartic and healing. I had to separate myself into two people: my older self, and my younger self, as if the older me were speaking to the younger me, encouraging me, and thus, encouraging whoever’s listening. That was the motivation for how this album happened. Most of my recordings are like that: Whatever season or journey I’m going through in my life, the music speaks to myself [and] others.”
On his first two recordings, Olatuja was more of a composer and producer than an instrumentalist. On Lagos Pepper Soup, His ebullient and bone-deep bass tones—a combination of Abraham Laboriel’s percussive approach, John Patitucci’s acoustic and electric fluency, and Richard Bona’s Cameroonian-derived inventions—are in the foreground. The leader is supported by an impressive, international and accomplished core band consisting of drummer Terreon Gully, keyboardists Aaron Parks and Etienne Stadwijk from Suriname, saxophonist/vocalist Camille Thurman, and Senegalese percussionist Magatte Sow who worked on the Black Panther soundtrack.
The special guests on this CD have either employed Olatuja as a sideman, or became friends with him on the scene. “Lionel and Angelique are like my big brother and sister,” Olatuja says. “I toured with him, and we just hit it off. His mum speaks Yoruba. I met Angelique two years ago, and toured with her for two years. She’s always been one of my heroes. She’s Mama Africa: She’s the queen! Dianne Reeves has been an inspiration and supporter for years. She’s been my hero since my teenage years. I was doing a show with Brandee Younger in D.C. at the Kennedy Center. And on the way back, she jokingly said ‘oh, I see you finished your album, but you didn’t ask me to play a song [laughs]. So I asked her to do it, and she said yes. And I know Joe Lovano loves African music, because I’m in one of his bands called The Village Rhythms.”
Lagos Pepper Soup contains an assortment of sonically sumptuous African rhythms with jazz improvisation, albeit in a different sonic setting. “On Speak, which I recorded in London, I was mixing Afrobeats with jazz and gospel, and I took that experiment further on the second album, The Promise,” Olatuja says. “Now, what makes this album Lagos Pepper Soup different, is that I was thinking of it as cinematic Afrobeat! When I worked on this album, I was playing in the orchestra of the Broadway musical Frozen, which is arranged by Dave Metzger, and I toured with trumpeter Chris Botti, and we’d have large orchestras behind us. So those orchestral sounds—the kind you hear in Hollywood movies—started to get into my head. So for this album, the question was: how can I fuse this mix of Afrobeat and jazz as if it was a Hollywood film soundtrack?”
You can hear the answer to Olatuja’s question on the CD’s orchestrated tracks, mostly arranged by Metzger, and conducted by Joseph Joubert. “The Hero’s Journey,” which Olatuja proclaims is the CD’s most “cinematic” track, is a sublimely syncopated selection in 6/4 time, enhanced by Metzger, with violinist Regina Carter’s vivid solo, dedicated to Olatuja’s late mother, Comfort Bola. “Soki,” arranged by Jason Michael Webb, is propelled by a popular Nigerian rhythm genre in 6/8 entitled woro. “A lot of African countries have their own version of it,” Olatuja says. “And what I love about “Soki” is that it [also] features woro styles from Mali, Cameroon, and Senegal. It’s more like a Pan-African 6/8.” Joubert’s arrangement of “Brighter Day,” co-written by Olatuja and Kate Kelsey-Sugg, showcases vocalist Laura Mvula’s stately vocals, while the heartwarming tribute to Olatuja’s mother, “Bola’s Song,” is laced with Gregoire Maret’s luscious harmonica.
The rest of the CD’s selections feature the small ensembles. The opening opus, “Even Now Prayer,” sounds like a collaboration between Jaco Pastorius and Fela Kuti. The title track is another shout-out to the leader’s mother, featuring the Beninese dynamic duo of Kidjo and Loueke, propelled by an anthemic Afrobeat Tony Allen would approve of, while Loueke’s “Mivakpola,” originally released on his album, “In a Trance” in 2005, is recast with an infectious, Weather Report-ish, drum-n-bass arrangement. “Ma Foya” was originally recorded on Speak, and is rendered on this CD, in a hi-life beat with Brandee Younger’s evocative and ethereal harpistry. Vocalist Onaje Jefferson, who was also featured on Speak, returns for an impassioned performance on “Shadows Fade (co-written by Jefferson and Olatuja).”
Joe Lovano’s towering tenor saxophone reigns supreme on “Leye’s Dance,” which is pulsed by a Nigerian musical genre called Fuji. Becca Steven’s pithy vocals navigate the complex rhythmic waters on “Home True,” composed by U.K. pianist Robert Mitchell. “I heard this song when I played in his trio when I was a teenager,” Olatuja says, “and I said to myself if I ever have the opportunity to record it, I would have him on the [track]. It’s got odd meters: Some of it is in 11/4. Some of it is in 17/4. It’s a lot happening, rhythmically.”
The CD’s final track, the plaintive postlude, “Grace,” concludes this momentous recording of depth and complexity. “Thinking as a producer, I wanted different textures,” Olatuja says. “That’s why I had “Ma Foya” stripped down, with me and Brandee Younger on harp, and then another [track] would feature an orchestra. So I was very conscious of dynamics. I really wanted some songs to sound epic, and the small ensembles to sound like a whisper. So I ended with “Grace” because it sounds like a benediction. The word grace means unlimited favor. And I feel that there’s been a lot of favor shown to me on this project … because of the way people came together: their hearts, their attitudes, made me feel that there was something bigger happening.”
Indeed, Lagos Pepper Soup captures something bigger than an all-star CD, led by a twenty-first century virtuoso who the BBC proclaimed, “had a firm handle on the music of the ‘motherland’ and diaspora.” It unveils the extraordinary musical life of Michael Olatuja: from his early days playing percussion in his Lagos Yoruba Christian church, his life with his pioneering mother, to his first lessons on bass as a teenager, and his music studies in the U.K at Sussex University, and at the Manhattan School of Music, to his work as a sideman and leader. This recording aurally illustrates the places and spaces he’s been, and it forecasts the shape of his Afrocentric jazz to come.
Learn more at MichaelOlatujaMusic.com.
Jonathan Barber
Drummer

From: Hartford, Connecticut. LA Opera: featured performer in the After Hours recital Songs of Protest (2021).
New York City-based Jonathan Barber was voted the #1 Up-and-Coming Drummer of 2018 in Modern Drummer. Only 29 years old, he has already recorded and toured worldwide with such artists as Pat Metheny, Nicholas Payton, Buster Williams, Jeremy Pelt, Wallace Roney, Terrace Martin, Jennifer Holliday, Harold Mabern, Steve Davis, Stefon Harris, and many more. Barber has also been called on for such significant performances as Jimmy Greene’s Ana Grace Project (with an all-star band comprised of Greene, Kenny Barron, John Patitucci, and Kurt Elling) and back-to-back sold-out concerts with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Erykah Badu at the BAM Opera House.
In addition to his first-call status as a sideman, Barber has recently stepped forth as a composer and leader with his Vision Ahead band, featuring saxophonist Godwin Louis, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, bassist Matt Dwonszyk, and pianist Taber Gable. Even with Barber’s history of high-profile gigs and recordings taken into consideration, DownBeat magazine calls Vision Ahead’s self-titled debut album his “greatest accomplishment to date.” Released on Rockwood Music Hall’s largest stage in May 2018, Vision Ahead is a powerful declaration of intent for a band that’s been making waves on the modern jazz scene since its debut performance at Smalls Jazz Club. The group’s blend of classic, swinging jazz with elements of gospel, rock, soul, and fusion is a compelling showcase of Barber’s broad stylistic range as a composer and performer. Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead was featured and headline the 2018 Rainy Days Jazz Festival held in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Barber has been playing drums since the age of five, initially falling in love with the instrument through watching his father perform in the family church. Barber’s upbringing in the church instilled within him a deep appreciation of the power, passion, and full sound of the gospel music tradition, and he now brings its infectious energy to the wide range of styles in his musical toolkit. Early influences also includes beginning George Duke, Fred Hammond, Weather Report, Yellowjackets and Commissioned, and classic jazz titans like Miles Davis, Jackie Mclean, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Tony Williams and Thelonious Monk. With soul, impeccable groove, and explosive chops, Barber has synthesized his favorite traditions into a thoroughly modern and endlessly adaptable musical expression that connects with listeners from across generations.
In September 2019, Barber completed his first solo drum tour in Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina). Barber endorses Ludwig Drums, Istanbul Agop Cymbals, Evans Drumheads, Promark Drumsticks, and Sunhouse Percussion.
“I recognize my God given gift. Maximizing this gift to its full potential is the best thing you can do for yourself. Operating in this gift is how you give back to the world.”
Learn more at JonathanBarberMusic.com.
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"After Hours: Songs of Protest" features (left to right) pianist Damien Sneed, baritone Justin Austin, soprano Brandie Sutton, bassist Michael Olatuja and drummer Jonathan Barber.
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"After Hours: Songs of Protest" features (left to right) pianist Damien Sneed, baritone Justin Austin and soprano Brandie Sutton.
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"After Hours: Songs of Protest" features pianist Damien Sneed and soprano Brandie Sutton.
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"After Hours: Songs of Protest" features (left to right) bassist Michael Olatuja, baritone Justin Austin and drummer Jonathan Barber.