Ugonna Okegwo

Ugonna Okegwo is a German-Nigerian bassist whose rich tone and deep sense of swing have made him one of the most sought-after rhythm anchors on the New York jazz scene. Born in London in 1962 and raised in Munster, Germany, he took up the upright bass in his early twenties and moved to Berlin in 1986 to study with Jay Oliver and Walter Norris before settling in New York in 1989. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s as a member of pianist Jacky Terrasson's trio with drummer Leon Parker, a group praised as one of the finest of the decade and heard on the album Reach (1996). Beginning in 1997 he became a longstanding member of trumpeter Tom Harrell's groups, including the sextet Colors of a Dream that Harrell formed in 2013. Okegwo has also performed with Kenny Barron, Benny Carter, Johnny Griffin, and James Moody, among many others.