The Oakland, California-based singer, guitarist, and songwriter Nia Cephas lets her creativity flow and her talent shine in her debut album Cosmicpolitan, which will be released in November by the Little Village Foundation. The skillful arrangements include bossa nova, samba, Middle Eastern folk, pop, blues, reggae, and jazz. Cephas and the musicians accompanying her followed their instincts, metaphorically tracing the steps of the multicultural musical journey that Cephas made from her birthplace in Orange, California, to her current home in Oakland.
Cephas was discovered by award-winning blues singer and songwriter Alabama Mike. He was jamming with some people in front of his cousin’s house when Nia passed by. When Mike’s cousin mentioned that she plays guitar and sings, Mike invited her to join them. She went home, came back with her guitar, and started playing “400 Years,” one of the songs from her debut.
Mike invited her to perform with his band at a Little Village Artist Appreciation show in Berkeley. Jim Pugh, head of the Little Village label, was impressed with her stage presence and asked her to record demos of some songs. When he heard the results, Pugh signed her to a contract.
Cosmicpolitan was recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studios in San Jose over the course of a year. There were full band sessions, sessions with Andersen and Cephas playing acoustically, and sessions to refine the tracks, with the help of an impressive collection of musicians.
Rick Andersen (Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Tommy Castro, Charlie Musselwhite) played guitar, keyboards, and various string instruments. Jim Pugh (B.B. King, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray) played keyboards. Grammy winner Jerry Jemmott (Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Herbie Mann, Eddie Palmieri) played bass; Derrick D’Mar Martin (Little Richard, Dorothy Moore) and Gary Novak (Alanis Morissette, George Benson, Chick Corea) played drums; Endre Tarczy (Marcel Smith, Wee Willie Walker) played bass and piano; Jon Otis, son of Johnny Otis (Jon Otis & Blubeatz), played percussion and Lisa Andersen (Foreverland, American Idol) sang background vocals. Rosane Duarte, Nia’s mother and first music teacher, played piano and sang background vocals. The album was produced by Kid Andersen, Alabama Mike, and Jim Pugh.
Highlights include the funky bossa nova of “Frequencia,” a homage to the singer’s Afro-Brazilian background, with her scat interjections adding to the rhythmic complexity of the track; “Autumn Nights,” a ballad with a rockin’ reggae backbeat, and “400 Years,” a folk rock song that describes how the effects of slavery resonate to this day. There are touches of blues and gospel in the howling melismas that Cephas adds to her vocal lines.
The performances on Cosmicpolitan are a homage to the resilience and determination that Cephas has demonstrated in her life off stage. She grew up in a musical home and studied music at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, but a car accident in 2019 shattered her right arm, leaving her unable to play guitar. Through practicing fingerpicking and physical therapy, she regained the ability to play and compose music.
“I hope my audience can be encouraged and share with me the feeling that, no matter what is going on, everything will be alright in the end.”
Source: www.gaiaversemusic.com
Instagram: @niacephas