Singer, composer and arranger Alicia Olatuja first entered the national spotlight in 2013 as featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. John Floridis caught up with Olatuja to talk about her second recording, Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women.
Olatuja's new album interprets songs written by Brenda Russell, Sade, Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush, Angela Bofill and Linda Creed with what Downbeat Magazine describes as her "full-bodied tone, precise pitch and personal engagement at the lowest whisper or highest wail."
“When we hear the word ‘intuition’ we think of a woman's intuition, that inner, gut-instinct thing that goes beyond mere information,” says Olatuja of the album’s title concept. “There is something powerful and beautiful and something to be celebrated in that. The subtitle "From the Minds of Women" reminds people that we're not just intuitive, emotional beings. We are intellectual as well. We do know how to connect the emotional and the rational. And when we do that, especially through our work, beautiful and unimaginably creative things are made.”
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Olatuja grew up immersed in a wide range of musical styles, including gospel, soul, jazz and classical. She graduated with a master’s degree in classical voice/opera from the Manhattan School of Music. After appearing in numerous operatic and musical theater productions, Olatuja started to perform regularly in gospel and jazz concerts with Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Christian McBride. In 2014, she came to the attention of composer/arranger/pianist Billy Childs, and was brought on to be part of the touring incarnation of “Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro” alongside vocalist Becca Stevens. Olatuja is one of three featured vocalists on the Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned project, “Songs of Freedom,” joining Theo Bleckmann and Dee Dee Bridgewater in exploring the works of Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, and Abbey Lincoln.
(Broadcast: Musician's Spotlight, 11/5/19. Listen on the radio Tuesdays, 7 p.m., or via podcast.)
