Pianist, composer and producer Hope Udobi Nwachukwu is an eclectic and innovative pianist who is recognized for his virtuosity and versatility on the piano. Though born in Washington DC, he relocated to Nigeria with his parents and siblings at the age of 9, there he taught himself how to play the piano by ear and was introduced to the music of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and George Benson. Shortly after returning to the US in 2000, he started private piano training in both jazz and classical music.
In 2006, he began his career as a sideman performing with local bands and artists in genres ranging from Jazz, R&B, Soul and Hip hop in the DMV area. Later in 2010, he joined DC based Rock/Soul/Hip Hop influenced band Black Alley. During his time with them he toured the US and Canada with them playing shows and festivals. Within that time they gained recognition and popularity opening shows for popular artists and bands such as Drake, Meek Mill, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Hiatus Kaiyote, Marsha Ambrosius, Chrisette Michelle, Elle Varner and Mack Wilds. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano competition, winning the 2nd place prize.
In 2014, he parted ways with Black Alley to pursue a solo career. During his stint with the band he recorded 2 albums with them, “Soul. Swagger. Rock. Sneakers” which features Raheem Devaughn, Phil Ade and Nicholas Ryan Gant and “Black Alley: Live at the RNR Hotel”. Their videos for their singles “Artist Prayer” and “Bad Girl” have appeared on VH1 Soul and MTV.
In 2016, he was selected as an Artist in Residence as part of the Jazz at The Lincoln Center Artist In residency program to perform a 6-week residency at the St Regis Hotel in Doha, Qatar.
He has worked artists across musical genres such as Bobby Watson, Delfeayo Marsalis, Naturally 7, Frederic Yonnet, K. Michelle, Angie Stone, Jeff Bradshaw, Kindred & The Family Soul, Raheem Devaughn, Vivian Green, Lalah Hathaway, Talib Kweli, Scarface, Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie, MC Lyte, Ade, Common, Stalley and Goldlink to name a few.
In 2019, he partnered with Bose AR as musical director arranging live versions of unreleased songs from Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop and R&B artists for a demo on their music app, Bose RADAR which works with Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, Bose Frames and select QC35II manufactured with Bose AR technology.
He was later invited as a guest speaker at their SXSW 2019 presentation: Bose Augmented Audio Experience, where he discussed the process of recording and producing songs in 3D audio format. Songs from his debut album are also featured on the app.
On April 26th, 2019, he released his debut album In The Wild with a release show on the same day at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club. The album features 10 original compositions that were recorded and honed in studios from New York to D.C. to Miami, concluding with a session with legendary Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Jimmy “The Senator” Douglass, who helped fully form its final sound.
On In The Wild, Udobi pays homage to many of his influences both in music and cinema such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Fela Kuti, Sade, Bjork, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Weather Report, Hans Zimmer, Ridley Scott, John Carpenter, Charlie Brooker and Quentin Tarantino. The album title In The Wild describes personal experiences that influenced Udobi’s current outlook on life, society and the future.
Filled with dark synths, hip hop laden jazz rhythms, simplistic and complicated classical themed piano lines and wailing industrial guitar riffs, “In The Wild” aims to bring the listener into his world which is filled with constant surprises, unpredictability, adventure and excitement while displaying innovation, virtuosity and unconvention. It’s a conceptual album in that each track provides a range of emotions that revolve around the overall theme of being “in the wild” which is synomous with “the world”.