New York-based British-Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja is one of the select musicians from over here who has made it over there, landing gigs with A-listers such as Terence Blanchard, Joe Lovano and José James since his relocation to the Big Apple over a decade ago. His previous two releases, Speak and The Promise showcased his composing and arranging, but here he places the emphasis on his ability as a player, while still serving up some great tunes, several of which have ornate string tapestries. A thorough command of hard-hitting afrobeat, jazz and funk enables Olatuja to make appealing music that draws a coherent line from the rhythmically and metrically complex to ballads with a soulful or folkish beauty. As befits the title this is a rich, heady stew, but it has the kind of clear narrative and depth of emotion to make it digestible amid the sizzling rises in temperature. An epic, engaging platter.

Jazzwise spoke to Michael Olatuja:

Lagos Pepper Soupis a clear reference to Nigerian cuisine and culture. Tell me about the concept/inspiration of the album?

Much like pepper soup has many ingredients and spices, I wanted to tell the story of my musical journey from London, Lagos, back to London and then to New York. Many of the songs are in the Yoruba Language, which my parents taught me. Concerning the musical concept, the idea was: ‘what if Jaco Pastorius met Fela Kuti in the context of a motion picture soundtrack? Cinematic Afrobeats.’

Is it about reflecting the full richness of your musical journey – from your African roots and formative years in Britain, to your work on the American scene?

Yes! It's a tale of three cities. Lagos, London, New York. Lagos years – earliest musical memories, I learnt to speak Yoruba there, played drums and percussion in the Nigerian church, learning these local styles, Hi Life, Woro, Juju, AfroJuju, Fuji. London years – I studied jazz at Middlesex University, immersed myself in the jazz, soul and pop scene. New York – I came here at 24 in 2004 for my Masters at the Manhattan School of Music. This turned out to be a great decision.

There is a stellar and eclectic guest list – Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Robert Mitchell to name but some…

The soup has flavors and rhythms from Benin, Mali, Senegal, Lagos, Cameroon and more. Those are the people [you mentioned] that I've either toured with, played with, or they've influenced me. I consider all of them family. Angelique is like my big sister, Lionel like my big brother. They have all poured love and encouragement into my life both musically and personally. It was only natural for me to call them.

The album has some rhythmically intricate uptempo tunes but also slower numbers. Was it important to show you can write ballads?

The idea was to showcase my playing and writing at different tempos and moods. More importantly, the best movies have an arc and a narrative. I wanted the music to reflect that.

You value great singers as much as you do players?

Yes! I've basically been playing with choirs all my life – from my church in Lagos when I was five to recording albums with The Brooklyn tabernacle Choir. I'm very much in love with the human voice and feel fortunate that I've worked/played with some of the best – Jennifer Hudson, Jonathan Butler, Cynthia Erivo.