About Ekep
With Ekep Nkwelle, it always comes back to the voice: rich, warm and equally assured in intimate melodies and spellbinding flights. The vocalist, composer and bandleader brings remarkable tone, sophisticated phrasing and a distinctly personal perspective to standards and original compositions alike.
Her debut album, Caged Bird, on Mack Avenue Records, draws together the musical worlds that shaped her—jazz tradition, gospel reverence, contemporary eclecticism and her Cameroonian heritage—in a powerful exploration of faith, survival and perseverance.
Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Nkwelle began leading worship at age 12 before studying at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University and The Juilliard School. Her artistry has led to performances and recordings with Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Russell Malone and Cyrus Chestnut. Kenny Barron invited her to appear on his 2025 album Songbook, and she has appeared as a featured vocalist with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Nkwelle has appeared at Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ, NPR’s Tiny Desk, the Umbria Jazz Festival, the San Javier Jazz Festival and other celebrated stages around the world.
With Caged Bird, she emerges as a recording artist of striking depth—deeply rooted in tradition, yet unmistakably original.