Madeleine Yayodele Nelson ( – ) was an American
percussionist
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
. She specialized in playing the West African
shekere
The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The Shekere originated in a tribe in Nigeria called the Yoruba. The ins ...
. She also played the
djembe
A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.
According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...
drum, the
mbira
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
thumb piano and the
calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
.
She was the founder and director of Women of the
Calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
, founded in 1978. The calabash is a gourd that comes from a fruit from Africa. Women of the Calabash gets its influences from Africa and the African Diaspora.
Women of the
Calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
is an ensemble percussion group that draws inspiration from sub-Sahara Africa, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and South and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
using their own interpretations. She handcrafted shekeres, including for the Broadway show ''
Fela!
''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based ...
'', in New York City and in London.
Career
Nelson taught shekere classes for 41 years for
DanceAfrica
DanceAfrica is a heritage and community celebration equable on the manifold dance forms of the African Diaspora held annually in New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago. Included are indoor and outdoor performance including live music, a film ...
in New York City on Saturdays. She taught music for the Fresh Air Fund camp,
Symphony Space
Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...
in New York City and in
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
.
She taught at Symphony Space in New York City's educational program teaching children and adults.
She taught for public schools in Pennsylvania and in New York as a teaching artist.
Nelson performed as a solo artist with
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
,
Edie Brickell
Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...
,
Billy Harper
Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of John Coltrane, Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.Chris KelseyBilly Harper Biogr ...
and Timbila.
She was the director and founder of Women of the Calabash. The musical group draws inspiration from Africa and the
African Diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
. The group shared the stage with the
Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 1 ...
,
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
,
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
,
Odetta
Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...
,
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
,
Ashford & Simpson
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946).
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...
and others. They were a touring performing company under Nelson's leadership. The group performed at clubs, theaters, festivals, and schools.
The Women of the Calabash recorded ''The
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa () is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called ''Karamu'', usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest ...
'' album that honors
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa () is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called ''Karamu'', usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest ...
, a week-long celebration of African-American culture in December of each year. The album was released in 2000 by Bermuda Reef Records. Members of the group include vocalists/percussionists Marsha Perry Starkes, Mayra Casales, Joan Ashley, Caren Calder, Ahmondylla Best, Pam Patrick and Ti'Ye Giraud.
Nelson worked and performed with many groups and artists; mbiraNYC, Kalunga, Alakande, Vivian Warfield, Zauditu Chambers, Dawn Drake, Rhodessa Goings and Gabriella Dennery.
Film and television
*1987 – Women of the Calabash appeared in a television documentary by
Skip Blumberg
Skip Blumberg (born October 10, 1947) is one of the original camcorder-for-broadcast TV producers, and among the first wave of video artists in the 1970s. His early work reflects the era's emphasis on guerrilla tactics and medium-specific graphics ...
. They performed African and African Diaspora rhythms, and South African protest songs.
*1995 –
Marlon Riggs
Marlon Troy Riggs (February 3, 1957 – April 5, 1994) was a Black gay filmmaker, educator, poet, and activist. He produced, wrote, and directed several documentary films, including ''Ethnic Notions'', '' Tongues Untied'', ''Color Adjustment'', ...
' Black Is Black Ain’t
*The American Bible Society's – The Visit.
Musical style
*West African Tradition
*Afro-Latin
*Afro-Beat
*
African diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
*Ethnic fusion
Instruments
*
Shekere
The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The Shekere originated in a tribe in Nigeria called the Yoruba. The ins ...
*African drums
*
Mbira
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
*
Cajón
A cajón (; "box", "crate" or "drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, ...
Discography
*2004''–Raven: The Classics–''
Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; t ...
*1998''–The Kwanzaa Album–''Women Of The Calabash
*1995''–Tongues–''Gabrielle Roth & the Mirrors
*1994''–Picture Perfect Morning–''
Edie Brickell
Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...
*1994''–''Raven Records
*1993''–Somalia–''
Billy Harper
Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of John Coltrane, Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.Chris KelseyBilly Harper Biogr ...
*1991''–Waves–''Gabrielle Roth & the Mirrors
*1990''–The Rhythm of the Saints–''
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
*1989''–Bones–''Gabrielle Roth & the Mirrors
References
External links
WOMEN OF THE CALABASH - Live Performance - SISTAH TALK TV SHOW -Televised LIVE Dec. 10, 2011Shekere at M'Finda Kalunga Community GardenWomen of the CalabashFanku: It's a party!Westbeth *Interview - Madeleine Yayodele Nelson: Musician
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Madeleine Yayodele
1948 births
2018 deaths
American women music educators
American women percussionists
African-American musicians
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania alumni
People from Pittsburgh
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American women