Ola Onabule

Successful artist
Ola Onabule is one of Britain’s most successful international soul and jazz artists, recording and producing seven albums on his label Rugged Ram Records. The singer-songwriter has performed on the largest festival stages worldwide including the main stage of Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival and many others.

Seven Shades Darker
In March 2012 Ola will release his long-awaited seventh studio album, Seven Shades Darker. The album is already tipped to be a modern classic. While the rhythm of the album is undoubtedly rooted in the Soul and Blues music of the late1960s and early 1970s, its melodies draw on mournful and complex African melodic lines.

With this album, Ola puts himself in the shoes of an unwanted visitor and explores how they deal with jealously, cowardice and the ebbing away of precious time in a world that is increasingly losing its identity.

What sets Seven Shades Darker apart from its rivals is Ola’s lyrical sensibility; poetic in tone and attuned to the issues of the day. As Ola puts it himself: “Though my music is of a different idiom, I write with the heart of a folk songwriter and the desire for my lyrics to be heard and read.”

Performing with the best
In his career, Ola has shared the stage with some of the world’s finest soul and jazz artistes: Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Joe Zawinul, Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole, Roy Hargrove, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle.

For this show Ola will be performing songs from his new album and his extensive repertoire.