story to offer along with my style and rhymes. I plan on just being myself and sharing what I have been gifted in hip hop. Mostly, I am looking forward to building with other MCs and I know Nigeria has amazing MCs throughout the country. I believe I will learn just as much as I plan to share.” Anderson, the music teacher at San Juan
College, plays a variety of instruments, He is a life-long musician who began singing and playing the drums at a mere three years of age in the church choir. He later developed a love for jazz. Stylistically, he has been heavily influenced by Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins and Esperanza Spalding, among others. He cites numerous supporters. “I credit
my aunt, Cecelia Woodis, and uncle, Philbert Anderson, for pushing me as an artist and teaching me the importance of consistency. Other individuals who have made a differ- ence in my life are my elementary and middle school band teacher, Janet Isham, and the fac- ulty of Eastern New Mexico University: John Kennedy, Dustin Seifert and Chris Beaty.” The Delbert Anderson Trio’s first album,
Manitou, has received multiple Indigenous awards in New Mexico and on the West Coast.
The album has also been recognized by NPR and Sirius Radio as Today’s New Jazz. One of the earliest collaborations performed by DDAT was the track “Roadrunner.” Anderson recalls, “I composed [that] piece for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert competition. The trio performed it with hip hop lyricist Def-i. It received an NPR Top Ten Honorable Mention. It has also been featured on Yahoo and
MIC.com as the best Native American jazz music piece.” The DDAT sound is uniquely its own.
Anderson attributes that to their relative iso- lation. Their removal from the din that can sometimes come from working in a larger city has helped them focus more on develop- ing their own sound. As he sums it up, “We’re not trying to copy anyone else. Or, trying to incorporate ideas that we heard. Everything is just strictly staying here. All the ideas that come forth are emerging from this area. So, we’re using it to our advantage and coming up with a unique sound.” The band members were as excited as their
fans for the release of their debut CD. Ander- son contrasts the experience with the making of his first CD, Manitou, as the Delbert An- derson Trio. He says the first recording “was
actually made onstage at the Totah Theater, Farmington, N.M. We did a live performance. And, it was basically push record and stop. We didn’t get to edit anything or do anything special with it.” This time, he says, the DDAT CD was
made in an actual studio. “We were waiting for a while. It took a while, but we got it done.” There is no greater testament to a musi-
cian’s skill than his connection with the crowd. Lucero recognized DDAT’s “aha mo- ment” when “we played at Marble Brewing and I saw two floors of people jamming and enjoying the songs and solos and dancing. It’s one thing to rely on cultural influences and build an audience. But it’s a completely different thing to cross genres and cultures and stand on our own, as artists, rather than cultural clichés.” Fans and potential fans alike can find
these groups at
ddatlive.com and delbertand-
ersontrio.com. X
Jason Morgan Edwards (Seminole/African-American) began his career as a freelance writer and photographer in 2010, after retiring from the Environmental Protection Agency. He has written for Native Peoples, Indian Country Today Media Network, First American Art, Navajo Times and The Independent (Gallup), among others.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 15
PHOTO COURTESY OF EL REVEREND GOMEZ PHOTO WORKS
PHOTO COURTESY OF DDAT
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