Leyla McCalla

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-winning[5] string band Carolina Chocolate Drops[6] but left to focus on her solo career.[7]

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
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
Labels
Associated acts
Websiteleylamccalla.com

Background

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]

Career

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 her Québécois husband Daniel Tremblay on guitar, banjo, and iron triangle (ti fer); and Free Feral on vocals and guitar.[16]

As of 2019 into 2020, McCalla has been touring with her Leyla McCalla Quartet, which also includes New Orleans musicians Dave Hammer (electric guitar), Shawn Myers (drums/percussion), and Pete Olynciw (electric and acoustic bass).[17][18]

First album

McCalla's 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,[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]

Personal life

As of 2019, McCalla is married to fellow musician, and electrician, Daniel Tremblay. They live in the New Orleans area and have three children.[9][16][20][21]

Discography

Collaborations

References
  1. 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
  2. Leyla McCalla (leylamccallamusic) (September 11, 2015). "October 3rd is my birthday!". Facebook. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  3. Leyla McCalla (leylamccallamusic) (September 3, 2015). "my 30th BIRTHDAY!!". Facebook. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  4. Tassell, Nige. "Cellist Leyla MacCalla: From Bach on the Street to Haitian Folk Jazz". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  5. 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.
  6. Orr, Dacey. "Album Stream: Leyla McCalla – Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes". Paste. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  7. Steinoff, Jessica (September 23, 2014). "Carolina Chocolate Drops give vintage string-band music a very bright future". Isthmus. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  8. "Leyla McCalla at the BRIC". Loumacfotos. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  9. Dwyer, Andrea. "A Conversation with Cellist and Singer Leyla McCalla". AfroPunk. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  10. "Jocelyn McCalla". LinkedIn. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  11. "Vari-Colored Songs". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  12. Hobbs, Holly (September 16, 2019). "Gambit's 2019 Music Issue: Sep 16, 2019". Gambit. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. Cugny, Noé (June 27, 2018). "Power Players: Sabine McCalla Speaks From The Heart". OffBeat. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. Rentner, Simon. "Cellist, Banjoist, and Singer-Songwriter Leyla McCalla Revisits Her Own Root System, on The Checkout", WBGO, December 4, 2017. Accessed January 15, 2020. "Leyla McCalla has traveled a winding path as a musician, from the European classical canon to the folkways of her Caribbean heritage. Born into a Haitian-American family in Queens, she was raised in Maplewood, and brought up in the New Jersey public school system."
  15. "About". Leyla McCalla. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  16. Gilbert, Andrew (September 22, 2017). "Leyla McCalla thriving in life after the Chocolate Drops". Mercury News. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  17. Gilbert, Andrew (February 12, 2019). "Leyla McCalla: Cool Under Pressure". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  18. "Leyla McCalla: Shows". Leyla McCalla. 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  19. Ruehl, Kim. "Folk Alley Presents: Leyla McCalla". NPR. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  20. "Leyla McCalla Facebook Page". Facebook. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  21. "Leyla McCalla Facebook Page". Facebook. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
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