Counterfeit Madison: I Got Life, and I Got Freedom

Event Description

Sharon Udoh, a Nigerian-American pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader creates under the moniker Counterfeit Madison. A typical live musical experience, whether through her original work or the recontextualisation of the music of visionary Nina Simone, embodies a demonstration of the richness of humanity, absurdity, empathy, chaos, and the struggle and freedom of black and brown individuals in America and worldwide.

I Got Life, And I Got Freedom: Exploring Personal & Social Change Through the Music of Nina Simone is a curated performance of some of Nina Simone’s most poignant material. With this performance and workshop, I want to ask the following questions about Nina: Who is she? Why is she important? Do you have any personal history with her music? What was Nina asking for in the performance of her music? How did she set change in motion in her world? How can we learn from her to set change in motion in our world and in ourselves? Nina Simone’s music remains relevant today with ever-looming racial tension between Black Americans and police, the politicization of immigration, and the general rhetoric from our nation’s capital. Americans are very afraid these days of any unfamiliar changes that might of our freedoms. Nina once exclaimed, “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!” It is my undeniable belief that we cannot move past these American fears without deep personal and individual revolution. Nina’s music can help us do this work, as it is indeed both externally and internally revolutionary.