Marlene Cummins

Marlene Cummins is a jazz blues singer, saxophonist, songwriter, artist, Aboriginal Australian activist, broadcaster, dancer, and actor.[1][2][3] Many activists consider her to be Australia's Angela Davis.[4]

Marlene Cummins
BornCunnamulla
GenresBlues
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Instrumentsvocals, saxophone
Websitewww.marlenecummins.com

Music

Cummins is considered Australia's foremost indigenous blues performer, and is influenced by Big Mama Thornton, Etta James and Ray Charles.[5] She honed her skills at the Berklee College of Music.[2] Her band includes Murray Cook and Rex Goh.[6]

She showcases her vast knowledge of blues and roots music on Koori Radio, where she hosts Marloo's Blues, providing music and discussions from an indigenous perspective.[2] This show won her the Broadcaster of the Year award at the 2009 Deadly Awards.

Marlene co-wrote her first release "Whichway Up" with writer & performer Isaiah B Brunt, the EP was recorded and produced by Tony Buchen and released in 2008. "Whichway Up" made the top 10 Australian Blues Radio Charts and was picked up by Qantas where it aired on high rotation.

Cummins wrote a song about Pemulwuy as a way of giving back to the Redfern community who see him as a hero. After dancing for Prince William, she gave him a copy of the song and explained the significance of the story to him, along with a petition to bring Pemulwuy's head back to his people.[2]

She provided music for a Griffin Theatre Company production Shark Island Stories based on the work of Sally Morgan.[7]

Her first full-length album, Koori Woman Blues, is a mixture of original and traditional blues songs and includes guests Gil Askey, Fiona Boyes, Mark Atkins and Shannon Barnett.[8] She is working on a musical stage show using her songs called Boomerang Alley.[9]

Activism

Cummins joined the Aboriginal Tent Embassy at age 16 and was at the centre of the Aboriginal rights movement in the 1970s.[1][10]

She was a founding member of the Australian Black Panther Party, which was inspired by the American Black Panther Party.[1] She campaigned for medical, educational, and legal services, land rights and monitored police conduct on the "pig patrol".[1][11] She was arrested for using obscene language to an abusive police officer, and absconded bail and fled to New Zealand.[4] In 2012 she attended an international gathering of Black Panthers in New York hosted by Kathleen Neal Cleaver.[12]

In 2014 she spoke out against black-on-black violence and sexual assault.[1]

Painting

Cumins is also an accomplished painter and was shortlisted for the New South Wales Parliament Art Prize.[5] She has recently been working on portraits and her saxophone in Rabbitohs colours.[6]

Acting

Cummins has appeared in Redfern Now, Supernova and The Matrix Reloaded.[13]

Personal life

Marlene Cummins was born in Cunnamulla, grew up in outback Queensland and Acacia Ridge, and has lived in Redfern for decades.[11][14][15][4] However her country is Kuku Yalanji in the Cape York Peninsula.[14]

Her mother was a Woppaburra woman from Great Keppel Island.[14] Her father, Darcy Cummins, was a Guguyelandji musician. He travelled internationally and established links with Native Americans.[14][10]

As a teenager she was in a relationship with the Australian Black Panther Party leader Denis Walker.[1]

Cummins performed a traditional Murri dance at Thomas Hickey's memorial service.[16]

She is the focus of Rachel Perkins' documentary, Black Panther Woman, which premiered at the 2014 Sydney Film Festival.[1][11]

Discography
  • Whichway Up (2008)
  • Koori Woman Blues (2015)

References
  1. Robinson, Natasha (7 June 2014). "Blues panther's fight to stem the violence". The Australian. p. 5.
  2. "Local Heroes: Marlene Cummins". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. Lehmann, Megan (7 June 2014). "The soft power of Rachel Perkins, bringing Aboriginal stories into the mainstream". The Australian. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. McNally, Ward (1974). The Angry Australians. Victoria: Scope Publishing. pp. 29–33. ISBN 0869320033.
  5. "Marlene Cummins". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  6. "MarleneCummins". facebook. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  7. Syron, Liza-Mare. "An Actor Prepares: what Brian told me" (PDF). australianplays.org. Australian Script Centre. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  8. "Koori Woman Blues Album". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  9. "Boomerang Alley". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  10. "Marlene Cummins". Deadly Vibe. Vibe Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  11. Thomas, Sarah (7 June 2014). "Black Panther woman Marlene Cummins breaks silence on fight for freedom". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  12. Dutto, Matteo (13 August 2014). "A blues song to break the silence: Black Panther Woman at MIFF". The Conversation. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  13. "Marlene Cummins (I)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  14. Cummins, Marlene (2000). "Stories for Sharing". Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal. 24 (5): 15–18.
  15. Blake, Thom (2001). A dumping ground : the history of Cherbourg settlement. St. Lucia, Qld.: University of Queensland Press. p. 212. ISBN 9780702232220.
  16. "Memorial service held for Aboriginal teenager whose death sparked riot in Australia". Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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