Ahamefule J. Oluo
Ahamefule J. Oluo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Denton, Texas, US |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Trumpeter, musician, writer, comedian |
| Instruments | Trumpet |
| Spouse | Lindy West |
| Website | https://www.nowimfine.com/ |
Ahamefule J. Oluo is an American musician,[1] trumpeter,[2][3] composer,[2] stand-up comedian, and writer.[4] Oluo uses they/them pronouns.[5] They were the first artist-in-residence at Town Hall Seattle.[6]
Career
[edit]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.[7] They are a member of jazz quartet Industrial Revelation,[8] winner of a 2014 Stranger Genius Award.[9] The other members of Industrial Revelation are D'Vonne Lewis (drums), Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), and Josh Rawlings (keyboards).[10]
In 2012, Oluo was selected as Town Hall Seattle's first-ever artist-in-residence.[11] During their time as the artist-in-residence, they created an experimental autobiographical pop opera, "Now I'm Fine," about the year their father died.[12] 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.[13] Seattle Times critic Misha Berson said Oluo possibly created "a new art form" by combining their 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[8][14] and was also staged at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in February 2017.[15] 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."[16]
The film Thin Skin, starring Oluo was based on their off-Broadway play Now, I'm Fine and their This American Life episode "The Wedding Crasher". The film premiered in 2020 at the Bentonville Film Festival online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] In November 2023, the film was released on streaming platforms and screened in theaters in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City.[18] Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede.[19] Mudede also directed. The producers of the film were Michael Seiwerath, Jennessa West, and Jonathan Caso.[19] Oluo's sister Ijeoma Oluo appears in the film as herself.[18]
As a comedian, they have collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described them in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner."[20]
Personal life
[edit]Oluo is biracial; their father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and their mother is a white woman from Kansas.[21]
Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015.[22] They and West practice polyamory.[23]
Their older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Berson, Misha (December 6, 2014). "Ahamefule J. Oluo: A true talent emerges at OtB". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Sillman, Marcie (December 4, 2014). "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". KUOW-FM.
- ^ Oluo, Ahamefule J. (November 24, 2014). "Technically Christmas". City Arts. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014.
- ^ "ABOUT". AHAMEFULE J. OLUO. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation". Town Hall Seattle. Town Hall Seattle. June 29, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Mudede, Charles (August 28, 2013). "Horns of Sorrow". The Stranger. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "Ahamefule J. Oluo: Now I'm Fine". The Public Theater. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ "The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event". The Stranger. 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ Mudede, Charles (2016). "Industrial Revelation". The Stranger. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ "TOWN HALL: Our NEW Artist/Scholar-In-Residence!". hosted.verticalresponse.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Sillman, Marcie. "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "When The Biggest Success Is Refusing To Ever Quit". UPROXX. November 4, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'Thin Skin,' inspired by Seattle musician and comedian Ahamefule J. Oluo's stories, will debut at Bentonville Film Festival". The Seattle Times. August 7, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "Stranger Suggests: Thin Skin, Old Man of the Woods, Seattle Turkish Film Festival, Alva Noë, Gaza Fights for Freedom". The Stranger. Seattle. November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "The Team". THIN SKIN. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Kondabolu, Hari (December 13, 2010). "December Shows in the Pacific Northwest". harikondabolu.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ West, Lindy (July 21, 2015). "My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time". The Guardian.
- ^ Polyamory Is Not Too Good To Be True: Lindy, Roya, & Aham On The Best Relationship Of Their Lives, January 27, 2022, retrieved July 3, 2023
External links
[edit]- Put a Bow on It, episode of This American Life, October 9, 2015. Act 2, "The Wedding Crasher", is a 23-minute autobiographical piece by Oluo.
- Paulette Beete, Art Talk with Ahamefule J. Oluo, Art Works Blog (blog of the National Endowment for the Arts), February 17, 2016
- Industrial Revelation – Full Performance (Live on KEXP), recorded November 23, 2016, published February 3, 2017, official KEXP account on YouTube.
- American jazz trumpeters
- American male trumpeters
- Living people
- Writers from Seattle
- Musicians from Seattle
- 21st-century American musicians
- African-American jazz composers
- African-American writers
- 21st-century American trumpeters
- American male jazz composers
- American jazz composers
- 21st-century American male musicians
- 21st-century African-American musicians
- Polyamorous people
- American musicians of Nigerian descent