Grammy-winning US cellist Leah Coloff says she is delighted to finally be in Edinburgh to perform her Fringe show Super Second Rate.
The life-affirming autobiographical one-woman show, combining music, original songs and spoken word, explores what happened after she discovered a letter by her father.
It’s a tale that will remind many people of their own lives and parental relationships.
Leah said: “It’s great to be here at last, the chance to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe is a dream come true.
“While it’s specifically about my musical upbringing with my overbearing Dad, almost everyone can relate to the feeling that they can’t, or don’t want to, live up to their parents’ expectations.”
The production’s unusual name comes from her rejection of other people’s ideas of who and what she should be.
Leah said: “The phrase had been in the back of my mind for years. It was the perfect antidote to Dad’s obsessive need for my sister and I to strive for his idea of perfection.
“This is a story about learning to be yourself – and loving it.”
In fact, Leah has achieved remarkable success and respect in the musical world.
She has played alongside David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry and many more.
In the classical realm, Leah has worked with contemporary composers including Philip Glass, Ted Hearne, Joel Thome, Sean Friar and Michael Gordon.
She has also performed and recorded with artists including Trey Anastasio, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Michael Cerveris, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Damon Albarn, Ziggy Marley, Linda Thompson, Dean & Britta, Angelique Kidjo, Nancy Sinatra and Mark Mulcahy.
And this year the multiple award-winning Leah, and her colleagues in the Scorchio Quartet and Tonality, took the Grammy for best new age, ambient or chant album for So She Howls by composer Carla Patullo.
Then there are her own songs and music, which have been characterised as honest, sensual, funny, brutal, pissed-off, beautiful and chilly sweet.
The New York Times says she “plays and sings with artful angularity and a rock-inflected assertiveness”.
Raised in the USA’s Pacific northwest, Leah’s music interweaves her classical roots with 70s punk rock in a style she identifies as CLUNK.
Leah was also a member of the seven-piece onstage band for Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma! from its run at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn to the Tony Award winning production on Broadway.
Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com
