Music Archives » Native America Calling

Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (Kiowa) was an in-demand session player starting in the mid 1960s, appearing on dozens of recordings with artists such as Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Jackson Browne. He appears on solo albums by three of the four Beatles. Davis toured with The Faces, alongside Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., is mounting an exhibition celebrating Davis’ life and work along with a tribute concert featuring Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, and Joy Harjo. We’ll hear from some of the people who knew and worked with the man Bonnie Raitt called “one of the most original, and soulful, and cool guitar players.” We hear about Davis and the exhibition honoring him in this encore show (we won’t be taking live telephone calls from listeners).

Two new albums feature Native languages front and center, incorporating traditional storytelling and themes of resilience. Nuxalk Radio is celebrating ten years on the air with compilation of original songs entirely in the Nuxalk language. Nusximta is the result of a call to community members to write songs rooted in cultural tradition and to inspire language revitalization. Indigenous jazz/funk/rock band Khu.éex' references federal Native relocation programs and other historical issues in their new album, Siyáadlan. We’ll speak with artists about their respective projects.