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Somi

Somi is a vocalist, composer, songwriter, actor, playwright, bandleader, and producer whose work connects jazz with African musical and theatrical forms.

VocalistComposerSongwriterPlaywright5 current shows
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Photo source · Photo: Frolzart, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Somi

Somi’s official biography identifies vocalist, composer, actor, and playwright Somi Kakoma as the Midwestern daughter of Ugandan and Rwandan immigrants. Her catalog moves among jazz, soul, highlife, spoken word, theater, and African cultural sources.[1]

The official biography and Bandcamp distinguish place-centered albums about Lagos and Harlem, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band collaboration, the Miriam Makeba recording and theater project, and the 2026 album What Does It Take to Bloom?. Somi also founded the Salon Africana cultural agency and label.[1][2]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, vocalist, composer, songwriter, and producer

Somi leader ensembles

Somi’s recordings use changing jazz and African instrumental settings for original songs and place-centered programs.[1][2]

Writer, composer, vocalist, and actor

Dreaming Zenzile

The theater work and companion album reimagine the music and life of Miriam Makeba through linked stage and recording projects.[1][2]

Founder, producer, and cultural curator

Salon Africana

Somi’s artist biography identifies the boutique agency and label as a separate part of her creative practice.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2014

The Lagos Music Salon

Leader, vocalist, composer, songwriter, and producer

The album maps Lagos through Somi’s songwriting and a cross-Atlantic ensemble language.[1]

Release details

2022

Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba

Leader, vocalist, arranger, and producer

The recording serves as a companion to Somi’s stage work devoted to Miriam Makeba.[1][2]

Release details

2026

What Does It Take to Bloom?

Leader, vocalist, composer, songwriter, and producer

The later album gathers original songs written and recorded across Dakar, Lagos, Paris, and New York.[1][2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Somi on Bandcamp

Stream the Miriam Makeba project, Frankfurt Radio Big Band collaboration, and 2026 album.

Official audio and theater guide

Explore Somi’s recordings, theater work, and artist-curated project context.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Fri, Sep 18, 8:00 PM

Somi at Space

Space · Evanston

Show details

Thu, Oct 1, 8:00 PM

Somi at Sony Hall

Sony Hall · New York

Show details

Sun, Oct 11, 7:00 PM

SOMI

SFJAZZ Center · San Francisco

Show details

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Benny Benack IIITrumpet · VocalsShared documented roles: Vocalist · ComposerBrian BladeDrums · ComposerShared documented roles: Vocalist · ComposerCécile McLorin SalvantVocals · ComposerShared documented roles: Vocalist · ComposerEric ShifrinPiano · VocalistShared documented roles: Vocalist · ComposerGiulio Xavier CettoAcoustic bass · Electric bassShared documented roles: Vocalist · ComposerGrace KellySaxophone · VocalistShared documented roles: Vocalist · Composer

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography, theater, and project history

    Somi

  2. [2] Artist-authorized recording catalog

    Somi