- Leyla McCalla( Leyla Sarah McCalla )【 3 albums 16 lyrics 】
- Leyla Sarah McCalla (born October 3, 1985) is an American classical and folk musician. She was a cellist with the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops but left to focus on her solo career.
Background
Both of McCalla's parents were born in Haiti. Her father Jocelyn McCalla was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights from 1988 to 2006 and is credited as translator on Vari-Colored Songs. 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. McCalla's mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization.
McCalla was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. 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.
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 and original compositions. McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was Heart of Gold because it provided 'a window into Hughes' thinking'. McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says 'reading his work made me want to be an artist.' McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release. Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album. Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album. 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.
Discography
Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (February 4, 2014, Music Makers)
A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey (May 20, 2016, Jazz Village / harmonia mundi) - Sorted by ＞ Sorted by album (Time) Sorted by song name (Characters) Sorted by other
- Album name Release Date Song
-
A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey
2016
1.A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey (Provided)
2.Les Plats Sont Tous Mis Sur la Table (feat. Louis Michot) (Provided)
3.Far from Your Web (feat. Aurora Nealand) (Provided)
4.Little Sparrow
5.Manman (feat. Rhiannon Giddens) (Provided)
6.Peze Café (feat. Marc Ribot, Louis Michot & Aurora Nealand) (Provided)7.Bluerunner (feat. Louis Michot) (Provided)
8.Vietnam (feat. Sabine Mccalla) (Provided)
9.Salangadou (feat. Sarah Quintana) (Provided)
10.Let It Fall (Provided)
11.Fey-O (feat. Shaye Cohn) (Provided)
12.Minis Azaka (feat. Shaye Cohn) (Provided) -
Vari-Colored Songs
1.Girl
2.Lonely House3.Search -
Miscellaneous
1.Heart of Gold
【Correction of errors in the album information】