Leyla McCalla

Leyla McCalla

Leyla McCalla in concert with the Carolina Chocolate Drops in September, 2012
Born Leyla Sarah McCalla
(1985-10-03) October 3, 1985
New York City, United States
Occupation
Partner(s) Daniel Tremblay[1]
Children 1 (Delilah)[2]
Musical career
Genres
Instruments

Guitar

Labels Music Maker
Associated acts Carolina Chocolate Drops
Website leylamccalla.com

Leyla Sarah McCalla[3] (born October 3,[4] 1985)[5] is an American classical and folk musician.[6] She was a cellist with the Grammy-winning[7] string band Carolina Chocolate Drops[8] but left to focus on her solo career.[9]

Background

Both of McCalla's parents were born in Haiti.[8] Her father Jocelyn McCalla[10] was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights[11] from 1988 to 2006[12] and is credited as translator on Vari-Colored Songs.[13] Her mother Régine Dupuy arrived in the United States at age 5, is the daughter of Ben Dupuy who ran Haïti Progrès, a New York based Haitian socialist newspaper.[11] McCalla's mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization.[11]

McCalla was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey.[14] 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. She then moved to New Orleans where she played music on the streets. In addition to cello, she also plays banjo and guitar.[14]

First album

Her critically acclaimed album Vari-Colored Songs is a tribute to Langston Hughes which includes adaptations of his poems, Haitian folk songs sung in Haitian Creole[6] and original compositions.[8] McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was Heart of Gold because it provided "a window into Hughes' thinking".[15] McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says "reading his work made me want to be an artist."[8] McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release.[8] Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album.[7] Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album.[7] 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.[14]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Leyla McCalla Facebook Page". Facebook. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Leyla McCalla Facebook Page". Facebook. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. "Heart of Gold Work ID No. 886049205 Leyla Sarah McCalla IPI No. 715028763". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2016. Heart of Gold Work ID No. 886049205 Leyla Sarah McCalla IPI No. 715028763
  4. ↑ Leyla McCalla (leylamccallamusic) (September 11, 2015). "October 3rd is my birthday!". Facebook. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  5. ↑ Leyla McCalla (leylamccallamusic) (September 3, 2015). "my 30th BIRTHDAY!!". Facebook. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Tassell, Nige. "Cellist Leyla MacCalla: From Bach on the Street to Haitian Folk Jazz". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Fensterstock, Alison (February 5, 2014). "Leyla McCalla's tribute to Langston Hughes, out this week, plus more New Orleans albums to look forward to". Nola.com/The Times Picayune. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Orr, Dacey. "Album Stream: Leyla McCalla – Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes". Paste. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ Steinoff, Jessica (September 23, 2014). "Carolina Chocolate Drops give vintage string-band music a very bright future". Isthmus. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Leyla McCalla at the BRIC". Loumacfotos. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Dwyer, Andrea. "A Conversation with Cellist and Singer Leyla McCalla". AfroPunk. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Jocelyn McCalla". LinkedIn.
  13. ↑ "Vari-Colored Songs". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 "About". Leyla McCalla. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Ruehl, Kim. "Folk Alley Presents: Leyla McCalla". NPR. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
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