Oakland, California-based singer, guitarist and songwriter Nia Cephas lets her creativity flow and her talent shine on her debut album Cosmicpolitan, releasing in November through Little Village Foundation. The skillful arrangements include bossa nova, samba, Middle Eastern folk, pop, blues, reggae and jazz. Cephas, and the musicians backing her, followed their instincts, metaphorically tracing the footsteps of the multi-cultural musical journey Cephas took from her birth place in Orange, California to her current home in Oakland.
Cephas was discovered by award-winning blues singer-songwriter Alabama Mike. He was jamming with a few folks in front of his cousin’s house when Nia walked by. When Mike’s cousin mentioned that she plays guitar and sings, Mike asked her to join them. She went home, came back with her guitar and began playing “400 Years,” one of the songs on her debut.
Mike invited her to sit in with his band at a Little Village Artist Appreciation gig in Berkeley. Jim Pugh, head of the Little Village label, was impressed by her stage presence and asked her to record demos of a few songs. When he heard the results, Pugh signed her to a deal.
Cosmicpolitan was recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studios in San Jose over the course of a year. There were sessions with a full band, 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, keys and assorted stringed instruments. Jim Pugh (B.B. King, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray) played keys. 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. The alubum was produced by Kid Andersen, Alabama Mike and Jim Pugh.
Standouts include the funky bossa nova of “Frequencia,” a nod to the singer’s Afro-Brazilian background, with her scatted asides adding to the tracks rhythmic complexity; “Autumn Nights,” a ballad with a rocking reggae backbeat and “400 Years,” a folk rock tune, describing the way the effects of slavery resonate today. There are hints of the blues and gospel in the wailing melismas Cephas adds to her vocal lines.
The performances on Cosmicpolitan are a tribute to the resilience and determination Cephas has shown in her off stage life. She grew up in a musical household and studied music at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, but a car accident in 2019 destroyed her right arm, leaving her unable to play the guitar. Practicing fingerpicking, and physical therapy returned her ability to play and compose music.
“I hope that my audience can take heart and join me in the feeling that, despite what one may be going through, everything is going to be all right in the end.”
Source: www.gaiaversemusic.com
Instagram: @niacephas