THE FISHER CENTER AT BARD AND BARD COLLEGE CENTER FOR INDIGENOUS STUDIES PRESENT JULIA KEEFE INDIGENOUS BIG BAND, NOVEMBER 1

Bridging diverse legacies, the vital present, and an exhilarating future of Indigenous peoples in jazz, Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band kicks off Native American Heritage Month

“Jazz is a uniquely American art form. The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band… takes that one step further.” —Olympian

“[Julia] gives me hope for the future of jazz.” —Judy Carmichael, NPR Jazz Inspired

 The Fisher Center at Bard, one of the country’s leading multidisciplinary producing houses, partners with Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies to present a concert from Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB), November 1 in the Sosnoff Theater. The performance from the ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians, led by the celebrated vocalist and luminary Julia Keefe (Nez Perce), celebrates the start of Native American Heritage Month.

With a mission to lift up Indigenous musical innovation and develop a network of programming in arts, education, and advocacy, JKIBB embodies the Fisher Center’s mission of incubating innovative arts programming and the Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies’s mission of showcasing contemporary Indigenous excellence and creativity.

JKIBB, founded in 2022, features 16 band members, and, as the Band’s artistic statement reads, upholds the tradition of songs as “the vessels of stories and lessons for the Indigenous people of the Americas.” Performing pieces from their under-appreciated predecessors in jazz, alongside works by contemporary Indigenous composers, the band spotlights a vibrant, long-standing tradition of Indigenous improvised music today. Their statement continues, “Indigenous cultures are not monolithic; many cultures carry traditions and songs as old and sacred as the next. The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band reflects a wide range of Indigenous identities, from South America to Canada, Northeast to Southwest. Together, we represent a long-silenced, long-forgotten chapter of jazz history: the participation, contribution, innovation, and legacy of Indigenous jazz musicians. A legacy that seasoned composers and arrangers Julia Keefe and co-founder Delbert Anderson (Diné) carry forward through original works inspired by songs and rhythms of their Native heritage, reimagined through the language and stylings of jazz.”

The concert begins at 7 pm, and The Center for Indigenous Studies invites guests to join in a community gathering starting at 5:30 pm at the Sosnoff Theater. Before the performance, complimentary food offerings from Chef Taelor Barton (Cherokee Nation) will celebrate seasonal Indigenous foodways. Barton’s cooking is a tribute to Cherokee culinary wisdom, serving up history on a plate. A maker’s market will feature work by local artists and information about Bard’s affiliated programs.

About Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band

The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) is an ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians from across Indian Country. Performing pieces from their under-appreciated predecessors in jazz, like Mildred Bailey (Coeur d’Alene) and Jim Pepper (Kaw/Mvskoke), alongside works by contemporary Indigenous composers, the band spotlights a vibrant, long-standing tradition of Indigenous improvised music today.

Led by the celebrated vocalist and luminary Julia Keefe (Nez Perce), the ensemble brings charisma, passion, and purpose to every stage, leaving audiences both inspired and educated. Premiering at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in 2022, the band quickly gained a reputation for deepening and challenging our understanding of the “uniquely American” art form known as jazz. JKIBB features a ‘who’s who’ of Indigenous bandleaders today and has headlined marquee events, including the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2024.

About Julia Keefe

Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) is an internationally acclaimed Native American jazz vocalist, actor, activist, and educator currently based in New York City. Her professional career has spanned over 18 years, and she has headlined marquee events at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., NMAI-NY, as well as opened for the likes of 20-time GRAMMY Award winner Tony Bennett and 4-time GRAMMY Award winner Esperanza Spalding. Her life’s work is the revival and honoring of the legendary Coeur d’Alene jazz musician Mildred Bailey, and she is leading the campaign for Bailey’s induction into the Jazz Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center.

Keefe grew up in Kamiah, ID, on her Tribe’s reservation before moving to Spokane, WA. It was in Spokane that she began studying music and competing at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival each year. In 2007, she won Outstanding Vocal Soloist in the alto division at the festival. She earned her bachelor’s in music from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2012, graduating with honors. She taught jazz voice at Gonzaga University and was a guest clinician at North Idaho College and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival before deciding to relocate to New York City. She earned her master’s in music from Manhattan School of Music in 2019, under the tutelage of Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Jo Lawry, Stefon Harris, Dave Liebman, and Phil Markowitz.

Keefe also has a passion for Indigenous film and was a featured artist in Sterlin Harjo’s critically acclaimed documentary, Love and Fury. Her first feature film, Virginia Minnesota, was the closing feature at the Catalina Film Festival in 2018. She is the Executive Director of the Board for One Heart Native Arts and Film Festival, an annual non-profit festival in Spokane, showcasing the diversity and vitality of contemporary Native art in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Keefe’s recent recording, Nobody Else But Me, was released to glowing reviews. In addition to rehearsing for an upcoming album, she is currently directing the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, a new project highlighting the history and future of Indigenous people in jazz, and the Mildred Bailey Project will be released in winter 2023. Julia has performed with world-class musicians, including Jim McNeely, Emmet Cohen, Billy Test, Dan Hearle, Andreas Oberg, Bob Bowman, Clipper Anderson, Jack Mouse, and the Lionel Hampton Big Band, among many others.

Tickets

Tickets start at $25; $5 tickets for Bard students are made possible by the Passloff Pass. For more information regarding tickets, visit fishercenter.bard.edu or call the Fisher Center box office at (845) 758-7900.