Leyla McCalla is a Haitian-American artist born on October 3, 1985 in New York City, United States.
Leyla sings in French, Haitian Creole and English, and plays cello, tenor banjo and guitar. Deeply influenced by traditional Creole, Cajun and Haitian music, as well as by American jazz and folk.
She studied cello performance and chamber music at New York University. In 2010 she moved to New Orleans. where she hone
From 2011 to 2013, McCalla was a member of the celebrated stringband Carolina Chocolate Drops. She later left to start a solo career.
In 2016, she released ‘A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey’
In 2017, McCalla toured with her New Orleans-based trio that also included her Quebecois husband Daniel Tremblay on guitar, banjo, and iron triangle; and Free Feral on vocals and guitar.
In 2019 she formed Our Native Daughters. that same year she formed the Leyla McCalla Quartet that included Dave Hammer on electric guitar; Shawn Myers on drums and percussion; and Pete Olynciw on electric and acoustic bass.
Leyla McCalla’s third album, ‘The Capitalist Blues,’ contains a collection of protest songs. Leyla recorded the album in New Orleans. The Capitalist Blues includes jazz, folk, Cajun, Zydeco, rock, and a considerable Haitian influence. Leyla sings on the album in English and in Haitian Kreyol. She also collaborated with Haitian collective Lakou Mizik, who recorded on the album while they were visiting New Orleans to perform at the Jazz and Heritage Festival.
In 2020, Smithsonian Folkways reissued Leyla’s Vari-Colored Songs album.
Discography:
Leaving Eden, with Carolina Chocolate Drops (Nonesuch, 2012)
Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (Music Maker, 2014)
A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey (Jazz Village, 2016)
Recorded Live at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music, 2016)
Recorded Live at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music, 2017)
Recorded Live at the 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music, 2018)
Capitalist Blues (Jazz Village, 2019)
Songs of Our Native Daughters (Smithsonian Folkways, 2019)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.