Ahamefule J. Oluo Explained

Ahamefule J. Oluo
Genre:Jazz
Instruments:Trumpet
Occupation:Trumpeter, musician, writer, comedian
Birth Place:Denton, Texas, US
Associated Acts:Mayer Hawthorne
Hey Marseilles
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Meklit Hadero
John Zorn
The Ham Store
Hadley Caliman
Wayne Horvitz
Blue Scholars
Julian Priester
Hari Kondabolu
Mike Drucker

Ahamefule J. Oluo is an American musician,[1] trumpeter,[2] [3] composer, 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, winner of a 2014 Stranger Genius Award.[7] The other members of Industrial Revelation are D'Vonne Lewis (drums), Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), and Josh Rawlings (keyboards).[8]

In 2012, Oluo was selected as Town Hall Seattle's first-ever artist-in-residence.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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. The piece went on to New York City's Public Theater in January 2016 as part of the Under the Radar Festival[12] [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, 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. Mudede directed; Oluo's sister Ijeoma Oluo appears in the film as herself.

As a comedian, he has collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described him in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner."[19]

Personal life

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.

His older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Pop Opera By Oluo of Industrial Revelation Opening in Seattle. Florangela. Davila. December 1, 2014. KPLU-FM. July 1, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150702142418/http://www.kplu.org/term/ahamefule-j-oluo. July 2, 2015. dead.
  2. Web site: December 6, 2014. Ahamefule J. Oluo: A true talent emerges at OtB. Misha. Berson. The Seattle Times. February 6, 2018.
  3. Web site: The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'. Marcie. Sillman. December 4, 2014. KUOW-FM.
  4. Web site: City Arts. Technically Christmas. https://web.archive.org/web/20141126155407/http://www.cityartsonline.com/articles/technically-christmas. usurped. November 26, 2014. November 24, 2014. Ahamefule J.. Oluo.
  5. Web site: Town Hall Seattle. Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation. June 29, 2017. February 6, 2018.
  6. Web site: Horns of Sorrow. Charles. Mudede. Charles Mudede. August 28, 2013. The Stranger. February 6, 2018.
  7. Web site: The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event. 2016. The Stranger. February 6, 2018.
  8. Web site: Industrial Revelation. 2016. The Stranger. Charles. Mudede. Charles Mudede. February 7, 2018.
  9. Web site: TOWN HALL: Our NEW Artist/Scholar-In-Residence!. hosted.verticalresponse.com. March 10, 2018.
  10. News: The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'. Sillman. Marcie. March 10, 2018.
  11. News: When The Biggest Success Is Refusing To Ever Quit. November 4, 2016. UPROXX. March 10, 2018.
  12. Web site: Ahamefule J. Oluo: Now I'm Fine. The Public Theater. February 6, 2018.
  13. Web site: Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself. The New York Times. Ben. Brantley. Ben Brantley. January 17, 2016. February 6, 2018.
  14. Web site: Review: Ahamefule J. Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine' at The Clarice. DC Metro Theater Arts. Emily. Schweich. February 18, 2017. February 6, 2018.
  15. News: Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself. Brantley. Ben. 2016. The New York Times. March 10, 2018. 0362-4331.
  16. Web site: Thin Skin. 2020-11-03. Thin Skin. en-US.
  17. News: Stranger Suggests: Thin Skin, Old Man of the Woods, Seattle Turkish Film Festival, Alva Noë, Gaza Fights for Freedom. The Stranger. 2023-11-05. Seattle. 2023-11-15.
  18. Web site: Thin Skin. 2023-11-15. Thin Skin. en-US.
  19. Web site: December Shows in the Pacific Northwest. December 13, 2010. harikondabolu.com. Hari. Kondabolu. Hari Kondabolu. February 7, 2018.
  20. Web site: 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. Ahamefule J.. Oluo. The Stranger.
  21. Web site: West. Lindy. Lindy West. My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time. The Guardian. July 21, 2015.

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