Ikechi Onyenaka

    Born in Austin, Texas and raised in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Ikechi Onyenaka (pronounced "E-Ketch-E" "Own-Ye-Nah-Kah") is a 27-year-old American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and recording artist on the rise in the Philadelphia music scene. Although his primary instrument is the alto saxophone, he also plays the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, piano, keyboard, bass, and drums. Ikechi’s musical journey began in 2006 when he became a member of the Highland Park Elementary School concert band in the 4th grade. He had recently started playing the clarinet and was just getting his feet wet in instrumental music. He played classical music for a year and was later accepted into the school's Jazz Band in the 5th grade. He connected with jazz music on a deep level and sought out to teach himself jazz clarinet. After years of perfecting his sound on the clarinet, Ikechi decided to purchase an alto saxophone in the 9th grade in hopes of achieving the sound that he was looking for.

  Shortly after, the alto saxophone became his main instrument because he was able to truly express himself while playing music with ease on the instrument. From there, he took it upon himself to learn how to play the rhythm section instruments (piano, keyboard, drums, and bass) so that he could describe the music that he was hearing in his head to his band members. Ikechi’s musical style draws from multiple sources and genres. With his original music, he explores the genres of Jazz, Funk, Fusion, R&B, Neo Soul, and Hip Hop. Ikechi’s playing and composition is heavily influenced by numerous artists. His main musical inspirations are Grover Washington Jr, Kenny Garrett, Gerald Albright, Casey Benjamin, Terrace Martin, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Thundercat, Robert Glasper, Musiq Soulchild, Nas, and J Cole.

  Throughout his music career, Ikechi has performed at multiple events and venues both in and outside of the Philadelphia area. Some of which include the 10th Annual Haverford Township Music Festival 2022, Rec Philly, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, SOUTH Jazz Club, SouthSide Events & Catering, City Winery Philadelphia, Bayou Jazz Lounge, Heritage, Time Restaurant, Rex at the Royal, Upper Darby International Festival, Philadelphia 16th Annual Juneteenth Festival 2023, 2nd Annual MCCP Hip Hop & Jazz Fest, Philadelphia Winterfest Tree Lighting 2023, and The NAMM Show 2024 to name a few.

  During his high school career, Ikechi was handpicked by Anthony Tidd, the director of the Creative Music Program for Jazz Faculty, to enroll in the Kimmel Center Jazz Camp of Philadelphia with no audition required. In this camp, he became the first chair alto saxophonist in the Kimmel Center Magenta Ensemble, the elite ensemble. Ikechi has also performed at numerous talent shows. On Saturday July, 30th, 2016, Ikechi and his quartet won the first place prize in the Teen/Adult Talent Night held at Theater 45 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Ikechi earned the title of “Philly Rising February Standout” for winning the World Café Live Philly Rising Open Mic.

  Ikechi has also made an impact on the music scene at Penn State Altoona. Since the beginning of his enrollment at the college, Ikechi garnered a reputation as an up and coming saxophonist, with numerous students referring to him with the nickname “Sax Guy”. He obtained this nickname because he was widely known for practicing his saxophone by the campus pond area. In February 2016, he made it on the headline for Altoona Mirror for performing at Penn State Altoona’s 7th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Lunch. He also had a news story done on him by Penn State Altoona entitled “Altoona Students Love for Music is Heard Throughout Campus” that was released on Monday, February 27th, 2017.

  Ikechi has had the opportunity to play with numerous artists, both in and outside of the Philadelphia area. Some of which include Lady Alma, Reggie Wayne Morris, Jon Hammond, Sap Sounds, Jakeya Sanders, Talibah Safiya, Ukulenny, Phillip Morrin, Beatpeace, Del’s Groove, Swift Technique, The Living Sample, Rit Mo Collective, Full Circle Band, Eh440, Flute Juice, James Santangelo Trio, Timothy Brey Trio, Pete Gaudioso, Warren Cooper, Al Chez, Chris Aschman, Victor North, Maurice Brown, Leon Jordan Jr, George “Spanky'' Mccurdy, Dai Miyazaki, Aaron Goode, Stan Davis, Larry Lambert, Ja’far Barron, and Foster Child to name a few. On Sunday, April 23rd, 2017, Ikechi Onyenaka and his previous band, East Coast Experiment, were given the opportunity to open for Khalid and The Strumbellas at the Ivyside Off the Rails Concert held at the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania. One of Ikechi’s recent achievements was getting featured on NBC Sports Philadelphia. On Thursday, September 6th, 2018, Ikechi performed The Philadelphia Eagles Fight Song on the alto saxophone for NBC Sports Philadelphia at the Xfinity Live Center.

  In 2021, Ikechi Onyenaka made his worldwide debut as a songwriter with his debut studio EP, ‘The City Dreams EP’. Through emotionally driven saxophone melodies, atmospheric piano chords, and immaculate bass lines, Ikechi Onyenaka has truly created his own lane in modern jazz with his new heartfelt project. This musical body of work is a collective of contemporary jazz pieces that set out to inspire and motivate individuals to uncover their true passions in their lives. The official music video for the title track of the EP, ‘City Dreams’, has seen worldwide success, with the video obtaining well over 100,000 views on YouTube. The EP released on Friday, October 29th, 2021 and is available on all streaming platforms. And in support of the project, Ikechi released a four-part behind the scenes documentary series highlighting the journey he and his team underwent to create the EP. ‘The City Dreams EP’ achieved international radio success, with radio stations, such as OurMusicRadio, The Groove Guide 91.8 Hayes FM, and Soulscope Music FM 99.3 Northside Radio, adding it to their rotations.

  With his YouTube Channel, he has garnered over 5K subscribers, uploaded over 1,000 YouTube videos to date, and has been able to entertain well over 750,000 people worldwide with his vlogs, song covers, and performance videos. He has used his saxophone, piano, and bass tutorials to teach, motivate, and inspire both young and older musicians to either pick up an instrument or continue their musical journeys. Ikechi’s work has been shared by numerous world-renowned artists and companies on social media. Some of which include DJ Khaled, We The Best Music Group, Snoop Dogg, Rotimi, Romeo Miller, Jaleel Shaw, BE ON IT, LeriQ, Amorphous, Cool - Cool & Dre, Smooth Gio, DDG, Paidway T.O, OG Parker, C5, Bankrol Hayden, Dyl, Reel Goats, NBC10 Philadelphia, Facebook Watch, and ATTN. Ikechi aspires to become a world-renowned solo artist as well as a sideman for both mainstream and independent artists.

Photographer: WaveGod Photography

Musician: Ikechi Onyenaka