Ahamefule J. Oluo

Ahamefule J. Oluo
Born1982 (age 43–44)
Denton, Texas, US
GenresJazz
OccupationsTrumpeter, musician, writer, comedian
InstrumentsTrumpet
Spouse
Lindy West (m. 2015)
Partner
Roya Amirsoleymani (2019-present)
Websitehttps://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 and he/him pronouns.[5] [6] They were the first artist-in-residence at Town Hall Seattle.[7]

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.[8] They are a member of jazz quartet Industrial Revelation,[9] winner of a 2014 Stranger Genius Award.[10] The other members of Industrial Revelation are D'Vonne Lewis (drums), Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), and Josh Rawlings (keyboards).[11]

In 2012, Oluo was selected as Town Hall Seattle's first-ever artist-in-residence.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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[9][15] and was also staged at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in February 2017.[16] 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."[17]

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.[18] In November 2023, the film was released on streaming platforms and screened in theaters in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City.[19] Oluo wrote the film's script with Lindy West and Charles Mudede.[20] Mudede also directed. The producers of the film were Michael Seiwerath, Jennessa West, and Jonathan Caso.[20] Oluo's sister Ijeoma Oluo appears in the film as herself.[19]

As a comedian, they have collaborated closely with Hari Kondabolu, who described them in 2010 as "my great friend and writing partner."[21]

Personal life

Oluo is biracial; their father is a black immigrant from Nigeria and their mother is a white woman from Kansas. Oluo says they never met their father, who died in 2006, but spoke to him once over the phone.[22] Their older sister is writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo.[7]

Oluo has been married three times.[23] Their first marriage ended in 2006.[3] They have two children, born around 2002 and 2004.[24] Oluo married writer Lindy West on July 11, 2015.[25] They and West practice polyamory and have a third romantic partner, Roya Amirsoleymani.[26]

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. ^ a b c Berson, Misha (December 6, 2014). "Ahamefule J. Oluo: A true talent emerges at OtB". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "ABOUT". AHAMEFULE J. OLUO. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  6. ^ Mirror, Theater (February 18, 2026). "Strange Turns and True Stories: Ahamefule J. Oluo on Their New Show, 'The Things Around Us'". Theater Mirror. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation". Town Hall Seattle. Town Hall Seattle. June 29, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Mudede, Charles (August 28, 2013). "Horns of Sorrow". The Stranger. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Ahamefule J. Oluo: Now I'm Fine". The Public Theater. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Stranger Genius Awards: The Event". The Stranger. 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  11. ^ Mudede, Charles (2016). "Industrial Revelation". The Stranger. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  12. ^ "TOWN HALL: Our NEW Artist/Scholar-In-Residence!". hosted.verticalresponse.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  13. ^ Sillman, Marcie. "The Miserable Year That Inspired Ahamefule Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine'". Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  14. ^ "When The Biggest Success Is Refusing To Ever Quit". UPROXX. November 4, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Schweich, Emily (February 18, 2017). "Review: Ahamefule J. Oluo's 'Now I'm Fine' at The Clarice". DC Metro Theater Arts. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "'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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ a b "The Team". THIN SKIN. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  21. ^ Kondabolu, Hari (December 13, 2010). "December Shows in the Pacific Northwest". harikondabolu.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  22. ^ Oluo, Ahamefule J. "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". The Stranger. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  23. ^ Martin, Anna (March 4, 2026). "Lindy West Thought She Couldn't Handle Polyamory. She Was Wrong". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  24. ^ "Q&A: Aham Oluo on Kind of Blue, Generic Jazz, and the State of the Seattle Jazz Scene". Seattle Weekly. February 9, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  25. ^ West, Lindy (July 21, 2015). "My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time". The Guardian.
  26. ^ 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
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