THURSDAY 5/6/04
Kelly Orphan was a guest on Steven Kent's "Music of the World " show
KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley-and ON THE WEB at www.kpfa.org) at 11am!
Steve played cuts from Kelly's new "Give it to the People" CD
and gave away some tickets to the upcoming show at the Oakland Box Theater.
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Notes from the interview with Steve Kent on his "Music of the World" Show:
Steve opened the show with "Spirits Calling", then congratulated Kelly on her new CD with it's colorful artwork by Irene Nicols. "You went all out on the cover." Steve asked "Where did you come from, how did your journey begin?" Kelly grew up in the Bay Area in a close family multi-cultural family that was active in church, and had no TV.
She got into African music in her 20's working as a keyboardist with Babatunde Olatunji and African Rain, a Bay Area afro-pop band, before moving to Zimbabwe. In Africa Kelly formed life-long friendships with the people she met, and performed for heads of state at a pivotal time in history. In Africa, she was given the name Takunda, which means "success in everything thing you do." Orphan was the name chosen by her Armenian grandfather
when he immigrated to America. So Kelly Takunda Orphan is a true
expression of Kelly's international identity.
Returning to America, Kelly delved into blues, funk, and songwriting.
She toured with the Keith Terry and Crosspulse, until they broke up in 2001. Then she decided to produce her own CD, mixing her African and American expressions, to form a new Kelly world sound.
Steve ended the show with the first cut on the CD, "Eagle Woman Must Fly". It sounds like Kelly's personal journey is just beginning.
Catch a taste of her spirit on the web site:
www.kellytakundaorphan.com
Kelly is available for more interviews, live or phone.
CONTACT: Kelly Takunda Orphan 510-893-4875
Ktakunda@aol.com