Nikara Warren

Our guest this week on Art of the Song is vibraphonist, composer, educator Nikara Warren. Born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, her grandfather is world-renowned jazz pianist Kenny Barron, and she’s the daughter of a half Trinidadian father, and a “Brooklyn ‘Round the Way” girl mother. Nikara celebrates Black excellence in music with her debut album, Black Wall Street. The title commemorates the 1921 massacre when white mobs in Tulsa, Oklahoma attacked Black residents and destroyed their homes and businesses. Though that was a day that has cast a dark shadow on Black achievement, Nikara prefers to honor her Black ancestry with a joyous celebration of cultures, genres, identities, and resilience. Viv had the honor of interviewing Nikara in front of an audience at a Martin Luther King commemoration at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York.


Share This Episode