The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
Indigenous jazz musicians, ensembles, and big bands have their place in the contemporary jazz world as well as in jazz history. There were small ensembles and big bands on reservations across the US in the first half of the Twentieth Century and several Indigenous musicians who ascended to celebrity with jazz as their medium. From time immemorial, songs have been the vessels of stories and lessons for the Indigenous people of the Americas. The goals of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band are to celebrate and continue that tradition, to compose and perform new music inspired by traditional backgrounds, and to create a community of likeminded peoples from all backgrounds to uplift the next generation of Indigenous jazz musicians.
The Delbert Anderson Trio
The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band world premiere
To ‘honor the shoulders we stand on’ – Big band premieres with nod to history of Native jazz musicians
A scheme to entertain a four-year-old youngster in Spokane by playing a jazz album nearly three decades ago produced a cascade of aftereffects that culminated on stage in Olympia, Washington, this month with crescendos of horns and multiple standing ovations.
Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
Indigenous Big Band | Julia Keefe
“Jazz is a uniquely American art form. The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band… takes that one step further.” -Olympian, 2022 The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) is an ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians from across Indian Country.