Olu Dara, Jazz Guitarist, on Collective Eye 9/27

Olu Dara, cornetist, guitarist and singer will appear live on the Collective Eye with host Janis Lane-Ewart on 9/27 to talk about his performance at the Dakota Restaurant in Minneapolis on Sunday, 9/30 and Monday, 10/1. He first became known as a jazz musician, playing alongside avant-garde musicians such as David Murray and Henry Threadgill. His first album under his own name, 1998's In the World: From Natchez to New York, revealed another aspect of his musical personality: the leader and singer of a band immersed in African-American tradition, playing an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, and storytelling, with tinges of funk, African popular music and reggae. His second album Neighborhoods, with guest appearances by Dr John and Cassandra Wilson, followed in a similar vein.

He was given the name Olu Dara by a Yoruba priest when he returned to America. He has traveled throughout Africa and Europe.
Mr. Dara is also an accomplished playwright and actor, staging Blues Rooms to strong acclaim in New York City and Fairfax, VA during the 1990's.