How OBfound jazz
OB Nelson is a Nigerian jazz singer and the founder of OB Nelson & The Serenade Band. He sings standards and his own songs in a voice that sits somewhere between a crooner and a horn, for rooms that like to listen closely.
Benin
Born in Benin, Nigeria
He grows up far from any jazz scene. Nobody around him plays it, and nobody expects him to sing it.
Around 2007
The seventh chord
Fresh out of secondary school, he joins his church’s music department and takes the keyboard. He lingers on seventh chords long after the service ends, until a sound he can’t yet name starts to form.
OB Jazz
A nickname before a genre
Friends start calling him OB Jazz. Only then does he go looking for the jazz greats, and he finds he already sounds like them. The instinct came first.
2012
A dream about one night
He imagines a jazz concert in Lagos that feels like one in New York or New Orleans, where every note takes you home and every sip stirs a memory.
The band
OB Nelson & The Serenade Band
He builds a band around the sound: horns, keys, upright bass and drums, dressed for the occasion every time.
2022 to now
Records and rooms
Singles from Love in the Air to Your Love. Stages across Lagos, from the MÌLÍKÌ Jazz Series to Isimi Lagos, Gaby Lagos and BFF Fest.
19 December 2026
Jazz & Wine
The 2012 dream, live in Lekki.
In his words, and the press
“Music is actually a person. I see music as a person.”
“His music exudes a quiet, honed confidence and warmth. Each song is smooth, spacious and uncluttered in a way that is hard to find.”
“To him, jazz is a medium, one that only really speaks to people who value excellence.”
You can also hear him on Imaginations (Special Version) (Gideon Itimi, 2023), Prayer (Austin Omozeje with The Blend and Papa White, 2024), Sunshine (Samzi Bumerey, 2024) and Ebenezer (Mr Kels, 2024).
The 2012 dream, live in Lekki.
Jazz & Wine
Planning your own night? Book OB.