Marlene Cummins is a jazz blues singer, saxophonist, songwriter, artist,

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

activist, broadcaster, dancer, and actor. Many activists consider her to be Australia's

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

Music

Cummins is considered Australia's foremost Indigenous blues performer, and is influenced by

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'' described Thornton by saying: "Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound fra ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

, and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

. She honed her skills at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. Her band includes

Murray Cook Murray James Cook, AM (born 30 June 1960) is an Australian musician, actor, and DJ. Cook was one of the founding members of the children's band the Wiggles from 1991 to 2012. Cook provided guitar, vocals, and songwriting in the group, and rem ...

and Rex Goh. 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. 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 Pemulwuy ( /pɛməlwɔɪ/ ''PEM-əl-woy''; 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal warrior of the Dharug, an Aboriginal Australian people from New South Wales. One of the most famous Aboriginal resistance fighters in the colonial era, he is n ...

as a way of giving back to the Redfern community who see him as a hero. After dancing for

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

, 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. In 2012, Marlene performed three of her original works, including ''Insufficient Funds'', ''Pension Day Blues'', and ''

''. ''

'', she explains, is a spiritual sacred song. She has a sense of black humour and sorrow in her lyrics. The three songs were performed by Marlene at

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

on 30 June 2012 at "Our Music, Performing Place, Listening to Sydney" playing day with other aboriginal artists.

was an infamous and heroic aboriginal warrior in the first days of the Sydney colony near Parramatta. She provided music for a

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Greene. Artistic directors ...

production ''Shark Island Stories'' based on the work of Sally Morgan. Her first full-length album, ''Koori Woman Blues'', is a mixture of original and traditional blues songs and includes guests

Gil Askey Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988. Early and personal life Askey was born in Austin, Texas, ...

, Fiona Boyes, Mark Atkins and Shannon Barnett. She is working on a musical stage show using her songs called ''Boomerang Alley''. In 2022, she was interviewed by Andrew Ford on

ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

's '' Music Show'' about her Marloo's Blues band playing in Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival, at which she was the headline act.

Activism

Cummins joined the Aboriginal Tent Embassy at age 16 and was at the centre of the Aboriginal rights movement in the 1970s. She was a founding member of the Australian Black Panther Party, which was inspired by the American

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

. She campaigned for medical, educational, and legal services, land rights and monitored police conduct on the "pig patrol". She was arrested for using obscene language to an abusive police officer, and absconded bail and fled to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In 2012 she attended an international gathering of Black Panthers in New York hosted by Kathleen Neal Cleaver. In 2014 she spoke out against black-on-black violence and sexual assault.

Painting

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

Acting

Cummins has appeared in the TV series ''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series featuring the lives of Aboriginal Australian families living in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. A second season followed in 2013, and the ser ...

'' and ''

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

'', the feature film ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

'', and the short film ''Hush'' (2007), with Lisa Flanagan and Auriel Andrew.

Personal life

Marlene Cummins was born in

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

, grew up in outback Queensland and Acacia Ridge, and has lived in Redfern for decades. However her country is Kuku Yalanji in the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

. Her mother was a Woppaburra woman from

Great Keppel Island Great Keppel Island (Woppaburra language, Woppaburra: ''Wop-Pa'') lies off the coast from Yeppoon, in the Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality of The Keppels in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Capri ...

. Her father, Darcy Cummins, was a Guguyelandji musician. He travelled internationally and established links with Native Americans. As a teenager she was in a relationship with the Australian Black Panther Party leader Denis Walker. Cummins performed a traditional Murri dance at Thomas Hickey's memorial service. She is the focus of

Rachel Perkins Rachel Perkins (born 1970) is an Indigenous Australian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She founded and was co-director of the independent film production company Blackfella Films from 1992 until 2022. Perkins and the ...

' documentary, ''Black Panther Woman'', which premiered at the 2014

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

Discography

* Whichway Up (2008) * Koori Woman Blues (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins, Marlene Australian blues musicians Australian blues singers Australian indigenous rights activists Australian women songwriters Australian saxophonists Australian women singers Indigenous Australian musicians Living people Australian women human rights activists Australian women saxophonists Australian dancers Australian female dancers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian saxophonists 21st-century women musicians