ListN Up playlists are commissioned by American Composers Forum. Artists are selected by ACF staff (including I CARE IF YOU LISTEN and innova Recordings).
Sharon Udoh is a Nigerian-American pianist, composer, arranger, curator, and vocalist based in Chicago. Her collaborators have included clipping., Tune-Yards, Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus, Mabel Kwan, Ben LaMar Gay, Angel Bat Dawid, and Allen Moore; her performances have been described as a warm bowl of soup, a tornado, a jalapeño pepper, a Jackson Pollock painting, a bulldozer, magnetic, dangerous, and kind.
Hello, hello, hello! My name is Sharon Udoh, and I am a pianist and improviser here in Chicago, and I’m going to say something crazy about myself. I think I’m only good at one thing in this life: emotions. I think anything else that I’m good at is merely a reflection of my ability to deeply feel. And I think that’s the heart of why I’m a good musician. So, this playlist I’ve made…the songs on it are the most defined musical landmarks of my current emotional landscape. Yeah! I hope you enjoy!
“yowzers” by Ben LaMar Gay
In May 2024, I was in South Africa with Heliacal Rising of Sothis, a jazz quintet led by AACM member Dr. Adam Zanolini. Fellow AACM member Ben LaMar Gay is in the quintet as well, and during this particular hit in Pretoria, the South Africans began to chant in their tribal language. As a former Pentecostal, I am well familiar with the effects of the Spirit on a body, and I watched Ben almost float, arms pounding the air, eyes closed, sweaty, grimacing. He was the conduit for this moment, and we all followed suit. It was one of the most religious experiences I’ve ever had—and I was a church pianist for 33 years!
Ben LaMar Gay has been called a conjurer by many. Music always pours out of him, even just in his smile and gait. His most recent release, “yowzers”, captures what he is truly a master of: texture. There isn’t much on this track, but a simple repeated chorus, a patient crescendo, synth and piano partnering and bubbling just beneath the surface. It is so deeply and satisfyingly right.
“Grandmother’s Teaching” by Johnny Dyani
Another favorite moment with Ben: in March 2025, he led a group of AACM musicians in performance of South African bassist Johnny Dyani’s music at Constellation here in Chicago, and I had the privilege of playing with them. Dyani, like Lamar Gay, is also in tune with the Spirit. Our set opened with the Dyani tune, “Grandmother’s Teaching”, featuring one of his trademark hypnotic bass lines that simultaneously feels like a meditation and a celebration.
“Jealous Guy” by John Lennon, Performed by Donny Hathaway
Where I’m from, skinny white boys often claimed to me, a Black woman, that the best musicians of all time were The Beatles. So, naturally, I love when a Black musician covers a Beatles song, often to its betterment. John Lennon’s original offering of “Jealous Guy” is a milquetoast whine, while Donny Hathaway’s version is raw, passionate, and even demanding, including one of my favorite ad libs ever: “I don’t want nobody looking at you!”
“Tainted Love” by Ed Cobb, Performed by Gloria Jones
Unlike the previous song where the white person’s version was a literal snooze, I actually love Soft Cell’s massive hit version of this next song. Maybe this was common knowledge, but I was 43 years old when I found out Soft Cell’s recording of “Tainted Love” wasn’t the original. How old am I now? Forty-three!
Both of Gloria Jones’ releases flopped, first in 1965 and again in 1976, which is wild to me!
“Hater’s Anthem” by Infinity Song
“Hater’s Anthem” was my top listened-to song in 2024, by Infinity Song, 4 siblings who I’m not convinced aren’t models. I’m known for my warmth, but my father, Essien Udoh, is the most outspoken hater I know. I’ve been embracing this part of myself lately, and the chorus of this song encapsulates the sentiment: “I love the way it feels to be a hater”, sung in lush, cheerful, sustained harmonies. Huge fan.
“Cancer” from Zodiac Suite by Mary Lou Williams
My classically trained ear initially had a hard time wrapping my head around avant-garde, improvisational jazz piano when I first moved to Chicago; Mary Lou Williams’ way around chromatic harmony and voice leading was my guide. She has quite the catalog of terrific material, but I keep coming back to the Zodiac Suite. My favorite track is “Cancer,” a piece with one of my favorite melodies I’ve ever heard. I am not a Cancer.
“Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads
I know I just went on and on about the mediocrity of white male musicianship, but when David Byrne leaves this earth, I will be inconsolable for a while. I’m comforted by his takes on the absurdity of living, paired with irresistible grooves and his semi-awkward semi-shouting. “Once in a Lifetime”, a pondering of where the hell we find ourselves, is a song I cannot get enough of. I hope to meet him someday!
“Ends” by Christopher Fleeger
Another white male musician I admire is one of my best friends, Christopher Fleeger. I met him via clipping., an experimental rap trio I tour with. The latest release of his project Cooling Prongs, 316, is a symphonic rejection of genre altogether, and through it all, Fleeger damn well knows how to write a great melody and solid harmonies. The closer, “Ends”, is a fantastically harmonized remix of the clipping. track by the same name.
“I’ll Show You How” by Cinnamon Soulettes
Yeah, okay, so I talk big talk about being a hater but I’m really a cuddly-ass wuss lesbian-ish who loves crying. I’m a sucker for a love song, and there are so many that I can’t live without. But one rises above all for me: Cinnamon Soulettes’ “I’ll Show You How”. It’s a straightforward, uncomplicated song about love, nothing more or less. No notes.
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