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]
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]
The film Thin Skin, starring Oluo and based on his off-Broadway play Now, I'm Fine and his This American Life episode "The Wedding Crasher" was scheduled for release in 2020, [16] but apparently that did not happen,[ citation needed] and the film is being released streaming and for showings in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City November 2023. [17] [18] Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede. [18] Mudede directed; Oluo's sister Ijeoma Oluo appears in the film as herself. [17]
As a comedian, he has collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described him in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner." [19]
Oluo is biracial; his father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and his mother is a white woman from Kansas. [20]
Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015. [21] He and West practice polyamory. [22]
His older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo. [5]
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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]
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]
The film Thin Skin, starring Oluo and based on his off-Broadway play Now, I'm Fine and his This American Life episode "The Wedding Crasher" was scheduled for release in 2020, [16] but apparently that did not happen,[ citation needed] and the film is being released streaming and for showings in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City November 2023. [17] [18] Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede. [18] Mudede directed; Oluo's sister Ijeoma Oluo appears in the film as herself. [17]
As a comedian, he has collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described him in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner." [19]
Oluo is biracial; his father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and his mother is a white woman from Kansas. [20]
Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015. [21] He and West practice polyamory. [22]
His older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo. [5]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)