Season 7 Episode 5 Julia Keefe

The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) – led by celebrated vocalist and band leader Julia Keefe of the Nez Perce tribe, is one of the only jazz big bands in the world comprised exclusively of Native and Indigenous people. Julia brings together a 16-piece ensemble to celebrate a largely unrecognized lineage of Indigenous artists in jazz, while presenting new compositions rooted in tribal histories and storytelling. This project is their premiere album titled “Incarnadine.” The album features music made famous by Indigenous jazz musicians from the Twentieth Century such as jazz singer Mildred Bailey, whose mother was a Coeur d'Alene tribal member, and Jim Pepper a saxophonist, singer and composer of Kaw and Muscogee Heritage. Also playing significantly in the development of Incarnadine is the collaboration between Julia and trumpeter Delbert Anderson of the Dine tribe who is a featured artist on this album.  In my in-depth conversation with Julia Keefe, we learn not only about the music, but about the centuries of struggle, deep beliefs, and unwavering respect of the earth that brought Julia to gift us with this truly remarkable work.