Leyla McCalla - A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey - Leyla McCalla's new album A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey, takes it's title by a book of the same name that the singer and cellist read while pregnant with her first daughter. Taking it's title in turn from a Haitian proverb, the book analyzes the intersection of politics, power and music in Haiti.
McCalla, a former member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops who now calls New Orleans home, was struck by how political crisis can create a scene for music to be born. Through deeply felt originals and interpretations of traditional songs from Creole, Cajun, Haitian, American folk and jazz canons, the album depicts a diverse American experience and Leyla's struggles with and acceptance of her own identity.
A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey includes guests Rhiannon Giddens (a bandmate in the Carolina Chocolate Drops), guitarist Marc Ribot, fiddler Louis Michot of Lost Bayou Ramblers and more.