Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Olatuja: Speak

Michael Olatuja: Speak

By Eugene Holley, Jr.
August 24, 2009
View read count

At its very best, pop music is supposed to be inclusive, and open to a wide variety of styles and genres; that's what makes it pop right? But what is heard on the Internet and the airwaves is at best formulaic, at worst uninspired and superficial. Along with that diagnosis there's the almost Apartheid-like exclusion of any jazz influences, making an already dire sonic situation worse.

Thankfully and miraculously, Speak, the debut recording by the impossibly talented Michael Olatuja—a Nigerian/British bassist, composer and arranger whose sideman gigs included

Stevie Wonder

vocals
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Stevie Wonder,

Terence Blanchard

trumpet
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Terence Blanchard, Chaka Khan and The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir—breaks that outdated mold on a number of levels. Backed by some first-rate London-based musicians—the leader's vocalist/wife Alicia, drummers Troy Miller and Jerry Brown, keyboardist

Jason Rebello

piano
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Rebello (formerly with

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter), saxophonist/ex-Jazz Messenger

Jean Toussaint

saxophone
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Jean Toussaint and a bevy of additional singers—Olatuja delivers ten diverse, delightful and dancing tracks that effortlessly blend African Yoruba language and rhythms, hip hop-friendly beats and African-American religious strains, all anchored by Olatuja's supple, acoustic and electric bass lines that can trace their low-end ancestry to

Ron Carter

bass
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Carter and

Jaco Pastorius

bass, electric
1951 - 1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaco Pastorius.

Buoyed by Olatuja's jazz-fluent bottom, Speak sings and swings with a verve and vigor that is both global and local; secular, and spiritual. The lead-off track, "Ma Foya," is arguably the most Afro-centric cut with its peppery percussion, contrasted by the Jill Scott-ish mid-tempo bounce of "Little Sister," complete with Walker's

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald-licious scat, and the haunting organ fills on the reverent "Altar Call." The mid-tempo, Quiet Storm-friendly "Unconditional" features a succinct and soulful bass solo, and the anthemic "Yi Yipada," sounds almost Brazilian in its rhythmic texture—not surprising, given the leader's Yoruban roots and the influence that ethnic group bequeathed to that South American country via the slave trade.

The title track, featuring rapper T.Y., snaps with the kind of urban, syncopated sizzle that will, no doubt, give birth to some zesty remixes. The 6/8,

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner-timed take on the gospel standard "Walk with Me," and the

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans-esque, waltzy ballad "Mama Ola"—the former, showcased by Alicia Olatuja's stirring contralto and the latter, laced with Rebello's poetic pianism and Toussaint's pity soprano lines—will disabuse those checking for Olatuja's jazz cred.

Speak is a propulsive, profound and pleasing record. But more importantly, it is a record that elegantly embraces all of the myriad musical moods and grooves that abound at the start of the twenty first century.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Ma Foya; Altar Call; Hold On; Little Sister; Le Jardin; Yi Yipada; Unconditional; Speak; Walk With Me; Mama Ola.

Personnel

Michael Olatuja

bass

Michael Olatuji: acoustic and electric bass, Fender Rhodes; Lynden David Hall: lead vocals; Terri Walkwer: lead vocals; Andrew Roachford: additional lead vocals; Onaje Jefferson: lead vocals; Eska Mtungwazi: lead vocals; Alicia Olatuja: lead vocals; Femi Temowo: acoustic and electric guitars; Troy Miller: drums; Jerry Brown: drums; Jason Rebello: piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog; Jean Toussaint: soprano saxophone; Isaac Aryee: Fender Rhodes, organ; Luke Smith: keyboards; Jason Michael Webb: keyboards; Thomas Dyani Akuru: percussion; Anyan Leke: talking drum; Volker Strater: percussion; Richard Temowo: backing vocals; Anna Omakinwa: backing vocals; Sewuese Abwa: backing vocals; Brendon Guyatt: backing vocals; Heidi Vogel: backing vocals; Rasiyah: backing vocals; Sky: backing vocals.

Album information

Title: Speak | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: ObliqSound

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Here and Now
< Previous

Organ Donations Welcome: Larry Goldi...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.