Leyla McCalla | |
---|---|
![]() Leyla McCalla in concert with the
Carolina Chocolate Drops in September 2012 | |
Born | Leyla Sarah McCalla October 3, 1985 New York City, United States |
Occupations |
|
Musical career | |
Genres |
|
Instrument(s) |
|
Labels |
|
Website |
leylamccalla |
Leyla Sarah McCalla [1] (born October 3, [2] 1985) [3] is an American classical and folk musician. [4] She was a cellist with the Grammy Award-winning [5] string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, [6] but left to focus on her solo career. [7]
Both of McCalla's parents were born in Haiti. [6] Her father Jocelyn McCalla [8] was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights [9] from 1988 to 2006 [10] and is credited as translator on her album Vari-Colored Songs. [11] Her mother Régine Dupuy arrived in the United States at age 5, and is the daughter of Ben Dupuy who ran Haïti Progrès, a New York-based Haitian socialist newspaper. [9] McCalla's mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization. [9] McCalla's younger sister, Sabine McCalla, is also a musician in New Orleans. [12] [13]
McCalla was born in Queens, New York City, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, [14] where she attended Columbia High School. [15] [9] She lived in Accra, Ghana for two years as a teen. After a year at Smith College, she transferred to New York University to study cello performance and chamber music. In 2010 she then moved to New Orleans [9] where she honed her craft playing music on the streets of the French Quarter. In addition to cello, she also plays banjo and guitar. [15]
From 2011 to 2013, McCalla was a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. [16] As of 2019 she is a member of Our Native Daughters.
As of 2017, McCalla was touring with her New Orleans-based trio, which also included Québécois Daniel Tremblay on guitar, banjo, and iron triangle (ti fer); and Free Feral on vocals and guitar. [16]
In 2019–20, McCalla toured with her Leyla McCalla Quartet, which included New Orleans musicians Dave Hammer (electric guitar), Shawn Myers (drums/percussion), and Pete Olynciw (electric and acoustic bass). [17] [18]
McCalla's critically acclaimed album Vari-Colored Songs is a tribute to Langston Hughes, which included adaptations of his poems, Haitian folk songs sung in Haitian Creole, [4] and original compositions. [6] McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was " Heart of Gold" because it provided "a window into Hughes' thinking". [19] McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says "reading his work made me want to be an artist." [6] McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release. [6] Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album. [5] Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album. [5] The album was financed at least in part through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter which exceeded its goal of $5,000 to raise $20,000. [15]
McCalla lives in the New Orleans area and has three children. [9] [16] [20] [21]
Leyla McCalla | |
---|---|
![]() Leyla McCalla in concert with the
Carolina Chocolate Drops in September 2012 | |
Born | Leyla Sarah McCalla October 3, 1985 New York City, United States |
Occupations |
|
Musical career | |
Genres |
|
Instrument(s) |
|
Labels |
|
Website |
leylamccalla |
Leyla Sarah McCalla [1] (born October 3, [2] 1985) [3] is an American classical and folk musician. [4] She was a cellist with the Grammy Award-winning [5] string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, [6] but left to focus on her solo career. [7]
Both of McCalla's parents were born in Haiti. [6] Her father Jocelyn McCalla [8] was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights [9] from 1988 to 2006 [10] and is credited as translator on her album Vari-Colored Songs. [11] Her mother Régine Dupuy arrived in the United States at age 5, and is the daughter of Ben Dupuy who ran Haïti Progrès, a New York-based Haitian socialist newspaper. [9] McCalla's mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization. [9] McCalla's younger sister, Sabine McCalla, is also a musician in New Orleans. [12] [13]
McCalla was born in Queens, New York City, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, [14] where she attended Columbia High School. [15] [9] She lived in Accra, Ghana for two years as a teen. After a year at Smith College, she transferred to New York University to study cello performance and chamber music. In 2010 she then moved to New Orleans [9] where she honed her craft playing music on the streets of the French Quarter. In addition to cello, she also plays banjo and guitar. [15]
From 2011 to 2013, McCalla was a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. [16] As of 2019 she is a member of Our Native Daughters.
As of 2017, McCalla was touring with her New Orleans-based trio, which also included Québécois Daniel Tremblay on guitar, banjo, and iron triangle (ti fer); and Free Feral on vocals and guitar. [16]
In 2019–20, McCalla toured with her Leyla McCalla Quartet, which included New Orleans musicians Dave Hammer (electric guitar), Shawn Myers (drums/percussion), and Pete Olynciw (electric and acoustic bass). [17] [18]
McCalla's critically acclaimed album Vari-Colored Songs is a tribute to Langston Hughes, which included adaptations of his poems, Haitian folk songs sung in Haitian Creole, [4] and original compositions. [6] McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was " Heart of Gold" because it provided "a window into Hughes' thinking". [19] McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says "reading his work made me want to be an artist." [6] McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release. [6] Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album. [5] Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album. [5] The album was financed at least in part through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter which exceeded its goal of $5,000 to raise $20,000. [15]
McCalla lives in the New Orleans area and has three children. [9] [16] [20] [21]