THREE SYNDICATED RADIO SHOW TAPINGS OVER NEXT MONTH FOR FAST-RISER AS PASTE STREAMS ALBUM THIS WEEK
Leyla McCalla – cellist and tenor banjo player, Jazz Fest alum, and
member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops family – will celebrate Langston
Hughes' February 1 birthday with concerts February 11 at BRIC House (647 Fulton St., Brooklyn) and February 13
at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 (196 Allen St.). Leyla McCalla will be taping
three syndicated radio segments over the next month--NPR Tell Me More;
NPR eTown; and Nat Geo Radio—talking about her stellar debut album
'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes,' which is influenced
by sounds from New York, New Orleans, and Haiti. Paste Magazine will
stream the album this week before its February 4 release.
Performance videos from the streets of New Orleans.
Early buzz came from the UK. The Sunday
Times called it an "unforgettable... triumph." The UK's R2 gave it four
stars, calling it "a labour of love, beautifully consummated." UNCUT
gave it an 8/10, heralding its "magic." The Guardian said that McCalla
casts "a charming, resonant spell."
In the US, New Orleans' Offbeat Magazine tabbed it "ambitious, deep and
gorgeous." Sing Out Magazine has raved, "What a voice, more Billie
Holiday than anything, flourishing in such bare surroundings and
bringing the words, whether joyous or dark, to life... As arranger,
musician and vocalist she’s a remarkable talent, and this debut is
assured and a harbinger of a towering career."
More info on Leyla's tour.
Showing posts with label langston hughes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label langston hughes. Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
INFLUENCES OF NEW YORK, NEW ORLEANS, AND HAITI COMBINE TO PRESENT LEYLA MCCALLA'S LP 'VARI-COLORED SONGS: A TRIBUTE TO LANGSTON HUGHES' (FEB. 4 / MUSIC MAKER)
FAMILY HERITAGE, LANGSTON HUGHES' "COMPASS," ALAN LOMAX RECORDING, AND
HER OWN OPENNESS LEAD HER TO CREATE "AMBITIOUS, DEEP, GORGEOUS" (OFFBEAT
MAGAZINE) DEBUT ALBUM
"A HARBINGER OF A TOWERING CAREER" – SING OUT
A tribute to Langston Hughes comes out of the interconnected worlds of New York, NY; New Orleans, LA; and Haiti for Leyla McCalla, marking the release of 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes' (February 4 / Music Maker Relief Foundation) the stunning debut album of the cellist/vocalist and former Carolina Chocolate Drops member.
"Hughes begins his book 'I Wonder As I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey' by traveling around Haiti," she points out. McCalla herself has undertaken a similar journey. Born and raised in the New York, NY area into a Haitian immigrant family, she adopted the Crescent City as her hometown.
She explains, "After I moved to New Orleans, I read Ned Sublette's [book] The World That Made New Orleans and I was blown away by how much Haiti was mentioned. There are so many Louisianans with Haitian origins. What is Cajun? What is Creole? There's so much overlap in cultures. Langston Hughes' work is all about providing history from a black perspective; He provides a good compass."
Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops lent McCalla a box set of Haitian folk music as she was preparing 'Vari-Colored Songs.' McCalla arranged "Kamèn sa w fè" by Ago Fixè from the Alan Lomax recording of Ago’s Bal Band made on Christmas Day, 1937 in Port-au-Prince. "What a great groove," she says.
Leyla recalls, "I discovered that there are different lines of Haitian folk music and heard recordings with ties to France and Africa. I fell in love with the troubadours in particular. It's a banjo tradition of rustic countryside music, old but also Haitian. The melodies so irregular, not like anything I had heard before in other types of music." "Manman Mwen," "Latibonit," "Mesi Bondye" also come out of the traditions of Haiti. "Dad helped me a lot, translating lyrics," she says.
She has traveled to Haiti each of the past three years and her mother lives here now, working in international development, each trip inspiring her to create 'Vari-Colored Songs.'
The traditional New Orleans song "Changing Tide" joins the album as well, a symbol of her present home and of its and her eclectic heritage. In fact, she played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2012.
Tour dates: http://www.leylamccalla.com/
Sing Out Magazine has raved, "What a voice, more Billie Holiday than anything, flourishing in such bare surroundings and bringing the words, whether joyous or dark, to life… As arranger, musician and vocalist she’s a remarkable talent, and this debut is assured and a harbinger of a towering career."
"A HARBINGER OF A TOWERING CAREER" – SING OUT
A tribute to Langston Hughes comes out of the interconnected worlds of New York, NY; New Orleans, LA; and Haiti for Leyla McCalla, marking the release of 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes' (February 4 / Music Maker Relief Foundation) the stunning debut album of the cellist/vocalist and former Carolina Chocolate Drops member.
"Hughes begins his book 'I Wonder As I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey' by traveling around Haiti," she points out. McCalla herself has undertaken a similar journey. Born and raised in the New York, NY area into a Haitian immigrant family, she adopted the Crescent City as her hometown.
She explains, "After I moved to New Orleans, I read Ned Sublette's [book] The World That Made New Orleans and I was blown away by how much Haiti was mentioned. There are so many Louisianans with Haitian origins. What is Cajun? What is Creole? There's so much overlap in cultures. Langston Hughes' work is all about providing history from a black perspective; He provides a good compass."
Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops lent McCalla a box set of Haitian folk music as she was preparing 'Vari-Colored Songs.' McCalla arranged "Kamèn sa w fè" by Ago Fixè from the Alan Lomax recording of Ago’s Bal Band made on Christmas Day, 1937 in Port-au-Prince. "What a great groove," she says.
Leyla recalls, "I discovered that there are different lines of Haitian folk music and heard recordings with ties to France and Africa. I fell in love with the troubadours in particular. It's a banjo tradition of rustic countryside music, old but also Haitian. The melodies so irregular, not like anything I had heard before in other types of music." "Manman Mwen," "Latibonit," "Mesi Bondye" also come out of the traditions of Haiti. "Dad helped me a lot, translating lyrics," she says.
She has traveled to Haiti each of the past three years and her mother lives here now, working in international development, each trip inspiring her to create 'Vari-Colored Songs.'
The traditional New Orleans song "Changing Tide" joins the album as well, a symbol of her present home and of its and her eclectic heritage. In fact, she played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2012.
Tour dates: http://www.leylamccalla.com/
Sing Out Magazine has raved, "What a voice, more Billie Holiday than anything, flourishing in such bare surroundings and bringing the words, whether joyous or dark, to life… As arranger, musician and vocalist she’s a remarkable talent, and this debut is assured and a harbinger of a towering career."
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
LANGSTON HUGHES CELEBRATED IN NEW ALBUM BY CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROP LEYLA MCCALLA
'VARI-COLORED SONGS: A TRIBUTE TO LANGSTON HUGHES' OUT FEB 4 – THREE DAYS AFTER HUGHES' BIRTHDAY
WALL STREET JOURNAL PREMIERS FIRST TRACK
Carolina Chocolate Drop and cellist Leyla McCalla pays tribute to Langston Hughes on what would have been his birthday with 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes,' out February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. (Hughes was born February 1, 1902.) "I grew up with Langston Hughes' poetry and he inspired me to become an artist," recalls McCalla, continuing, "I wanted to honor his life and his legacy and my own creativity through him with 'Vari-Colored Songs.'"
She adapted his poetry to her original music. She says of the process, "His poetry is so musical, so rhythmic. They're blues poems. I wrote what I felt without having to fit the music into jazz or blues constructs."
The Wall Street Journal premiered a track from the project, the jubilant "Mesi Bondye," last week.
"Langston's poetry encapsulates things that they don't teach in school about black history. He writes about the human experience so elegantly," she says reverently.
WALL STREET JOURNAL PREMIERS FIRST TRACK
Carolina Chocolate Drop and cellist Leyla McCalla pays tribute to Langston Hughes on what would have been his birthday with 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes,' out February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. (Hughes was born February 1, 1902.) "I grew up with Langston Hughes' poetry and he inspired me to become an artist," recalls McCalla, continuing, "I wanted to honor his life and his legacy and my own creativity through him with 'Vari-Colored Songs.'"
She adapted his poetry to her original music. She says of the process, "His poetry is so musical, so rhythmic. They're blues poems. I wrote what I felt without having to fit the music into jazz or blues constructs."
The Wall Street Journal premiered a track from the project, the jubilant "Mesi Bondye," last week.
"Langston's poetry encapsulates things that they don't teach in school about black history. He writes about the human experience so elegantly," she says reverently.
Monday, November 18, 2013
LEYLA MCCALLA TO SHOWCASE AT APAP ALONGSIDE DAVID WAX MUSEUM, WESLEY STACE, ARC IRIS, JOY KILLS SORROW
MCCALLA CASTS "A CHARMING, RESONANT SPELL" (THE
GUARDIAN)
Leyla McCalla – Carolina Chocolate Drops member and
vocalist/cellist whose solo album 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston
Hughes' will be released February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation – has been
added to an APAP showcase January
10 at City Winery with Wesley Stace hosting. She joins a bill with Stace (formerly John Wesley Harding),
David Wax Museum, Arc Iris (Jocie Adams, formerly of The Low Anthem), Joy Kills
Sorrow, Sam Lee, and Grace & Tony.
'Vari-Colored Songs' is a stunning solo debut consisting of
original music set to Langston Hughes music; Haitian folk songs; and two
originals.
WHO: Leyla McCalla, on a bill with David Wax Museum, Arc
Iris, Joy Kills Sorrow, and others
WHAT: Wesley Stace's APAP Showcase
WHEN: Friday, January 10, 2014, 6:00pm doors, 8:00pm start
WHERE: City Winery, 155 Varick St, NYC
TICKETS: $18, 20, 25 at City Winery box office and
CityWinery.com
There is already buzz in the UK, where she has played on
three BBC programs and the Guardian made her subject of a profile and a
four-star review, saying that the album casts "a charming, resonant
spell." Last month, she opened for Mavis Staples. Clive Davis of the Times
(UK) called 'Vari-Colored Songs' a "triumph… unforgettable."
Meanwhile, Songlines Magazine named 'Vari-Colored Songs' one of its top ten new
albums, calling it "exquisite," continuing, "Anyone who's seen
the Carolina Chocolate Drops will have been warmed by this young woman's
artistry… this exploration of the city's under-explored Caribbean currents is
most welcome; the Big Easy is, after all, as close – both geographically and
culturally – to Port-au-Prince as it is to New York City."
Monday, October 21, 2013
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS' LEYLA MCCALLA PLANS SOLO DEBUT 'VARI-COLORED SONGS: A TRIBUTE TO LANGSTON HUGHES,' OUT FEBRUARY 4 ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION PEGGED TO HUGHES FEBRUARY 1 BIRTHDAY
MUSIC SET TO HUGHES' POETRY, TWO ORIGINAL SONGS, AND HAITIAN FOLK SONGS CAST "A CHARMING, RESONANT SPELL" (THE GUARDIAN)
"Haiti, land of blue sea and green hills… Nights full of stars, throbbing with Congo drums. At the capital lovely ladies ambergold, mulatto politicians, warehouse full of champagne, banks full of money. A surge of black peasants who live on the land, and the foam of the cultured elite in Port-au-Prince who live on the peasants."
- Langston Hughes, "I Wonder as I Wander," 1956
New Orleanian, cellist, and Carolina Chocolate Drop Leyla McCalla will release her solo debut 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes,' February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. Hughes was born February 1, 1902. Bouncing cello, pulsing tenor banjo, and her rich voice accompany the original music set to Hughes' poetry; two original songs with original lyrics; and several Haitian folk songs, reflecting both McCalla's own heritage and Hughes' travels to Haiti.
See Leyla in performance.
There is already buzz in the UK, where she has played on three BBC programs and the Guardian made her subject of a profile and a four-star review, saying that the album casts "a charming, resonant spell."
Raised in the NYC area by Haitian-born parents, McCalla was inspired to become creative by reading Langston Hughes at a young age. She was classically trained in cello at NYU before moving to the Crescent City, where she began a creative rebirth. She would play Bach's Cello Suite #1 and Bach's Sarabande from Suite #3 on the streets of the French Quarter for tips and began to learn about the cultural relationships between Haiti and New Orleans. "The more I learned about the history of Louisiana, its ties to Haiti and French speaking culture, the more sense of belonging I felt and continued to feel," she reflects.
'Vari-Colored Songs' was recorded in rural, southern Virginia with additional sessions in New Orleans, with special guests Rhiannon Giddens (also of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), Hubby Jenkins (The Carolina Chocolate Drops), and Luke Winslow-King (now signed to Bloodshot Records).
Publicity photos.
McCalla is booked by Concerted Efforts and is presently touring Europe with Giddens.
"Haiti, land of blue sea and green hills… Nights full of stars, throbbing with Congo drums. At the capital lovely ladies ambergold, mulatto politicians, warehouse full of champagne, banks full of money. A surge of black peasants who live on the land, and the foam of the cultured elite in Port-au-Prince who live on the peasants."
- Langston Hughes, "I Wonder as I Wander," 1956
New Orleanian, cellist, and Carolina Chocolate Drop Leyla McCalla will release her solo debut 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes,' February 4 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. Hughes was born February 1, 1902. Bouncing cello, pulsing tenor banjo, and her rich voice accompany the original music set to Hughes' poetry; two original songs with original lyrics; and several Haitian folk songs, reflecting both McCalla's own heritage and Hughes' travels to Haiti.
See Leyla in performance.
There is already buzz in the UK, where she has played on three BBC programs and the Guardian made her subject of a profile and a four-star review, saying that the album casts "a charming, resonant spell."
Raised in the NYC area by Haitian-born parents, McCalla was inspired to become creative by reading Langston Hughes at a young age. She was classically trained in cello at NYU before moving to the Crescent City, where she began a creative rebirth. She would play Bach's Cello Suite #1 and Bach's Sarabande from Suite #3 on the streets of the French Quarter for tips and began to learn about the cultural relationships between Haiti and New Orleans. "The more I learned about the history of Louisiana, its ties to Haiti and French speaking culture, the more sense of belonging I felt and continued to feel," she reflects.
'Vari-Colored Songs' was recorded in rural, southern Virginia with additional sessions in New Orleans, with special guests Rhiannon Giddens (also of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), Hubby Jenkins (The Carolina Chocolate Drops), and Luke Winslow-King (now signed to Bloodshot Records).
Publicity photos.
McCalla is booked by Concerted Efforts and is presently touring Europe with Giddens.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Leyla McCalla bio
Leyla McCalla finds inspiration from a variety of sources, whether it
is her Haitian heritage, living in New Orleans or dancing at Cajun
Mardi Gras. Leyla, a multi-instrumentalist, is a cellist and singer
whose distinctive sound is impossible to replicate.
Leyla’s music reflects her eclectic and diverse life experiences, projecting a respect for eloquent simplicity that is rarely achieved. Born in New York City to Haitian emigrant parents, Leyla was raised in suburban New Jersey. As a teenager, she relocated to Accra, Ghana for two years. Upon her return, she attended Smith College for a year before transferring to New York University where she studied cello performance and chamber music. Armed with Bach’s Cello Suites, Leyla moved to New Orleans to play cello on the streets of the French Quarter.
It is the move to New Orleans that signaled a journey of musical and cultural discovery for Leyla. “New Orleans always felt like home to me,” she recalls. “The more I learned about the history of Louisiana, its ties to Haiti and French speaking culture, the more sense of belonging I felt and continue to feel.” Most recently, Leyla has fallen in love with the late Louisiana Creole fiddlers Canray Fontenot and Bébé Carrière and has explored their fiddling styles on the cello.
Leyla’s move to New Orleans also signaled a new stage in her career. It was while playing on the street that she caught the attention of Tim Duffy, the founder and director of the Music Maker Relief Foundation. He invited Leyla to join the Music Maker Relief Foundation family and introduced her to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a renowned African-American string band. After appearing on the band’s GRAMMY-nominated album Leaving Eden and touring extensively with the group, she now focuses on her solo career.
Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes, Leyla’s debut album, is set for a February 2014 release. The album, which has been years in the making for Leyla, was given a push after a successful Kickstarter campaign in which she surpassed her $5,000 goal by four times to ultimately raise over $20,000. Vari-Colored Songs consists of compositions she has written to Langston Hughes poetry, Haitian folk songs and original pieces. The album features musicians including Rhiannon Giddens and Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops as well as New Orleans’ own Don Vappie on tenor banjo and Luke Winslow King on guitar.
Leyla’s music reflects her eclectic and diverse life experiences, projecting a respect for eloquent simplicity that is rarely achieved. Born in New York City to Haitian emigrant parents, Leyla was raised in suburban New Jersey. As a teenager, she relocated to Accra, Ghana for two years. Upon her return, she attended Smith College for a year before transferring to New York University where she studied cello performance and chamber music. Armed with Bach’s Cello Suites, Leyla moved to New Orleans to play cello on the streets of the French Quarter.
It is the move to New Orleans that signaled a journey of musical and cultural discovery for Leyla. “New Orleans always felt like home to me,” she recalls. “The more I learned about the history of Louisiana, its ties to Haiti and French speaking culture, the more sense of belonging I felt and continue to feel.” Most recently, Leyla has fallen in love with the late Louisiana Creole fiddlers Canray Fontenot and Bébé Carrière and has explored their fiddling styles on the cello.
Leyla’s move to New Orleans also signaled a new stage in her career. It was while playing on the street that she caught the attention of Tim Duffy, the founder and director of the Music Maker Relief Foundation. He invited Leyla to join the Music Maker Relief Foundation family and introduced her to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a renowned African-American string band. After appearing on the band’s GRAMMY-nominated album Leaving Eden and touring extensively with the group, she now focuses on her solo career.
Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes, Leyla’s debut album, is set for a February 2014 release. The album, which has been years in the making for Leyla, was given a push after a successful Kickstarter campaign in which she surpassed her $5,000 goal by four times to ultimately raise over $20,000. Vari-Colored Songs consists of compositions she has written to Langston Hughes poetry, Haitian folk songs and original pieces. The album features musicians including Rhiannon Giddens and Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops as well as New Orleans’ own Don Vappie on tenor banjo and Luke Winslow King on guitar.
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