Nikki Birch | April 9, 2025 Nubya Garcia smiles as she lights her bespoke incense. Named for Odyssey, her 2024 album, the scent is meant to give the same multisensory experience that she enjoys while listening to or creating music. As the fragrance fills the NPR Music office, her powerful, yet delicate compositions take us on a tranquil journey.
Garcia's deeply rich tenor saxophone graces swelling strings and hypnotic grooves throughout this Tiny Desk. "Dawn" sets the stage and "Solstice" turns up the tempo, then the band crests the wave into "Clarity" and the album's title track. Garcia's been compared to John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, but her eloquent melodies, reggae and dub rhythms, and commanding tone keep the course, propelling the passage forward.
This performance concludes with "Triumphance," which features the first lyrics Garcia ever penned. Delivered with a gentle, but insistent strength, she encourages us: "Your difference is your power / Our differences can be our collective power."
SET LIST "Dawn" "Solstice" "Clarity" "Odyssey" "Triumphance"
MUSICIANS Nubya Garcia: tenor saxophone, vocals Sam Jones: drums Max Luthert: upright bass Lyle Barton: keys Amyr Joyner: 1st violin Margret Radovani: 2nd violin Kyung LeBlanc: viola Maxfield Wollam-Fisher: cello
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Nikki Birch Director/Editor: Maia Stern Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai Production Assistant: Dora Levite Photographer: Alanté Serene Tiny Desk Team: Lars Gotrich, Ashley Pointer Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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