Ugonna Okegwo

Ugonna Okegwo is a New York double bassist, composer, bandleader, and ensemble musician with roots in Germany, Nigeria, and Britain.

Double bassComposerBandleaderEnsemble musician5 current shows

Photo source · Photo: Bob Doran, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Ugonna Okegwo

An artist-linked label biography identifies Okegwo as London-born to a German mother and Nigerian father and raised in Germany. It traces his bass studies in Berlin, European touring with Lou Blackburn's Mombasa, and his move to New York in 1989.[1]

The biography documents formative trio work with Jacky Terrasson and Leon Parker, a long relationship with Tom Harrell, and Okegwo's own quartet and UOniverse recording. Those projects connect his leader writing to decades of New York small-group accompaniment.[1]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, bassist, composer, and arranger

Ugonna Okegwo Quartet

The artist-linked biography documents Okegwo's quartet, European touring, and the original compositions and arranged standards recorded on UOniverse.[1]

Bassist

Tom Harrell groups

Okegwo's biography records a long association with Harrell, while Trip documents the quartet with Mark Turner and Adam Cruz.[1][2]

Bassist

Jacky Terrasson and Leon Parker trio

Okegwo's biography describes the trio's development at New York clubs and its role in establishing his approach to ensemble bass playing.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

Satchmo Jazz

UOniverse

Leader, bassist, composer, and arranger

Okegwo's artist-linked biography identifies the quartet recording as a program of his compositions and arranged standards drawing on jazz, African, funk, and classical sources.[1]

Release details

2014 · HighNote Records