Ahamefule J. Oluo
Ahamefule J. Oluo | |
---|---|
Born | Denton, Texas, US |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Trumpeter, musician, writer, comedian |
Instruments | Trumpet |
Ahamefule J. Oluo is an American musician,[1] trumpeter,[2][3] composer,[2] stand-up comedian, and writer.[4] He was the first artist-in-residence at Town Hall Seattle.[5]
Career
As a trumpeter, Oluo has performed or recorded with numerous prominent musicians and groups, including Das Racist, John Zorn, Hey Marseilles, Wayne Horvitz, Macklemore, and Julian Priester.[6] He is a member of jazz quartet Industrial Revelation,[7] winner of a 2014 Stranger Genius Award.[8] The other members of Industrial Revelation are D'Vonne Lewis (drums), Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), and Josh Rawlings (keyboards).[9]
In 2012, Oluo was selected as Town Hall Seattle's first-ever artist-in-residence.[10] During his time as the artist-in-residence, he created an experimental autobiographical pop opera, "Now I'm Fine," about the year his father died.[11] The full-length opera (co-written with Lindy West) debuted in December 2014, at On the Boards theater, complete with a 17-piece orchestra, and received positive reviews.[12] Seattle Times critic Misha Berson said Oluo possibly created "a new art form" by combining his own big-band jazz pieces with a blend of standup comedy and memoir.[2] The piece went on to New York City's Public Theater in January 2016 as part of the Under the Radar Festival[7][13] and was also staged at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in February 2017.[14] The New York Times reviewed the Public Theater run of "Now I'm Fine," saying that Oluo expanded the format of the "standard, modest, one-man confessional show" to "dizzying proportions" and described the score as "modernist jazz [that] leans toward solemnity, suggesting a New Orleans funeral march."[15]
In 2020, Thin Skin was released, a film based on Oluo's off-Broadway play "Now, I'm Fine" and his This American Life episode "The Wedding Crasher." Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede.[16]
As a comedian, he has collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described him in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner."[17]
Personal life
Oluo is biracial; his father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and his mother is a white woman from Kansas.[18]
Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015.[19] His older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo.[5]
References
- ^ Davila, Florangela (December 1, 2014). "New Pop Opera By Oluo of Industrial Revelation Opening in Seattle". KPLU-FM. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ a b c Berson, Misha (December 6, 2014). "Ahamefule J. Oluo: A true talent emerges at OtB". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Sillman, Marcie (December 4, 2014). "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". KUOW-FM.
- ^ Oluo, Ahamefule J. (November 24, 2014). "Technically Christmas". City Arts.
- ^ a b "Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation". Town Hall Seattle. June 29, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Mudede, Charles (August 28, 2013). "Horns of Sorrow". The Stranger. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "Ahamefule J. Oluo: Now I'm Fine". The Public Theater. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ "The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event". The Stranger. 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Mudede, Charles (2016). "Industrial Revelation". The Stranger. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ "TOWN HALL: Our NEW Artist/Scholar-In-Residence!". hosted.verticalresponse.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Sillman, Marcie. "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "When The Biggest Success Is Refusing To Ever Quit". UPROXX. November 4, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (January 17, 2016). "Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Schweich, Emily (February 18, 2017). "Review: Ahamefule J. Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine' at The Clarice". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (2016). "Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Thin Skin". Thin Skin. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Kondabolu, Hari (December 13, 2010). "December Shows in the Pacific Northwest". harikondabolu.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ Oluo, Ahamefule J. (July 6, 2011). "My Father Is an African Immigrant and My Mother Is a White Girl from Kansas and I Am Not the President of the United States Or, How to Disappoint Your Absent Father in 20 Words or Less". The Stranger.
- ^ West, Lindy (July 21, 2015). "My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time". The Guardian.
External links
- Official website
- Put a Bow on It, episode of This American Life, October 9, 2015. Act 2, "The Wedding Crasher", is a 23-minute autobiographical piece by Oluo.
- Paulette Beete, Art Talk with Ahamefule J. Oluo, Art Works Blog (blog of the National Endowment for the Arts), February 17, 2016
- Industrial Revelation – Full Performance (Live on KEXP), recorded November 23, 2016, published February 3, 2017, official KEXP account on YouTube.
- American jazz trumpeters
- American male trumpeters
- Living people
- Writers from Seattle
- Musicians from Seattle
- 21st-century American musicians
- American people of Nigerian descent
- African-American jazz composers
- African-American jazz musicians
- African-American writers
- 21st-century trumpeters
- American male jazz composers
- American jazz composers
- 21st-century American male musicians