Ahamefule J. Oluo

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]

Ahamefule J. Oluo
BornDenton, Texas, US
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Trumpeter, musician, writer, comedian
InstrumentsTrumpet
Associated actsMayer 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

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,[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]

In 2020, Thin Skin was released, a film based on Oluo's off-Broadway play "Now, I'm Fine" and his This American Life episode "The Wedding Crasher." Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede.[16]

As a comedian, he has collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described him in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner."[17]

Personal life

Oluo is biracial; his father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and his mother is a white woman from Kansas.[18]

Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015.[19] His older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo.[5]

References
  1. Davila, Florangela (December 1, 2014). "New Pop Opera By Oluo of Industrial Revelation Opening in Seattle". KPLU-FM. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  2. Berson, Misha (December 6, 2014). "Ahamefule J. Oluo: A true talent emerges at OtB". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. Sillman, Marcie (December 4, 2014). "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". KUOW-FM.
  4. Oluo, Ahamefule J. (November 24, 2014). "Technically Christmas". City Arts.
  5. "Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation". Town Hall Seattle. June 29, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  6. Mudede, Charles (August 28, 2013). "Horns of Sorrow". The Stranger. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  7. "Ahamefule J. Oluo: Now I'm Fine". The Public Theater. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  8. "The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event". The Stranger. 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  9. Mudede, Charles (2016). "Industrial Revelation". The Stranger. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. "TOWN HALL: Our NEW Artist/Scholar-In-Residence!". hosted.verticalresponse.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  11. Sillman, Marcie. "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  12. "When The Biggest Success Is Refusing To Ever Quit". UPROXX. November 4, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  13. Brantley, Ben (January 17, 2016). "Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  14. Schweich, Emily (February 18, 2017). "Review: Ahamefule J. Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine' at The Clarice". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  15. Brantley, Ben (2016). "Review: 'Now I'm Fine,' Ahamefule J. Oluo's Take on Himself". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  16. "Thin Skin". Thin Skin. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  17. Kondabolu, Hari (December 13, 2010). "December Shows in the Pacific Northwest". harikondabolu.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. Oluo, Ahamefule J. (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". The Stranger.
  19. West, Lindy (July 21, 2015). "My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time". The Guardian.
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