3 minute read

DELBERT ANDERSON: EXPLORING THE POWER OF IMPROVISATION

from Bravo Magazine - Fall 2023

from Bravo Magazine - Fall 2023, page 9

BEYOND THE PLATE

For as long as jazz has been around, musicians have used traditional genres, such as the blues, the Great American Songbook and gospel, as sources for inspiration . This creative lineage extends through to rising New Mexico trumpeter Delbert Anderson, but the traditional music that inspires him might be less familiar to most — Diné (Navajo) spinning songs .

With the spinning songs used for generations as behavior guides for members of the community, Anderson transforms the songs into the basis for profound and enrapturing improvisational jazz. And in the process, he’s made a prominent place for himself in the dynamic Native American jazz scene.

Lakewood audiences will be able to hear for themselves the power of the Delbert Anderson Quartet when the group comes to the Lakewood Cultural Center on Saturday, Nov. 4. The quartet includes Mike McCluhan on bass, Khalill Brown on drums and Robert Muller on keys.

“Anderson’s performance has been scheduled during Native American Heritage Month to offer a great opportunity to hear from this powerful cultural ambassador,” said Rita Sommers, Cultural Center administrator. “As one of the genre’s most exciting voices, there’s a reason Anderson is becoming so well-known in the jazz world.”

Anderson discovered the power of jazz and the possibility of improvisation at the same time. When he was in the fourth grade, a jazz combo performed at his school and the trombone player made an immediate impact, especially when he went off on an improvised solo. Anderson said he couldn’t get any sound to come out of the trombone when he tried, so he moved on to the trumpet and discovered his musical voice.

As he was starting out as a member of a large band and then his own trio, Anderson played the kind of standards-based jazz most listeners were already familiar with. But once he came upon examples of Diné spinning songs, his creativity was unleashed. It moved him to try different things with the Delbert Anderson Trio, including adding rap elements to his sound. Now, his recently formed quartet further cements Anderson’s passion for creative evolution.

“The way my elders put it is a spinning song is like a tornado — it consumes everything around it, mixes it all together and spits it out,” Anderson said.

“Being around [my bandmates] is like we’re all caught up in this tornado, mixing cultures, abilities and musicianship. And when we put it all together, this is what comes out.”

Both spinning songs and jazz share the ability to capture a moment in musical form and this keeps Anderson continuously

By mining traditional Navajo ‘spinning songs’ of love, healing and courtship, and marrying them to jazz and funk lines, Anderson and his ‘quartet’ have taken a place at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene.

— NEW YORK TIMES

inspired as he performs. It makes each concert, where all four players create a sonic bridge between each other and their cultures, unique and unmissable.

“They’re all very great improvisers, so we can all kind of go a certain way if we want to, or we can get a little experimental,” he said. “But the music is always forward and very tasteful… I know it’s going to evolve into something great.”

Article by Clarke Reader, freelance arts and culture journalist in the Denver metro area. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Lakewood Cultural Center

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Villalobos Brothers

7:30 p.m. • Saturday, October 14

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with one of today’s leading contemporary Mexican ensembles, the Villalobos Brothers as they masterfully fuse and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music.

Delbert Anderson Quartet

7:30 p.m. • Saturday, November 4

Critically acclaimed Diné (Navajo) trumpet artist Delbert Anderson and his quartet create a multicultural jazz experience connecting traditional Diné spinning melodies with improvisational jazz language for a cross-cultural collaboration that forms the experience of Hózhó (beauty and balance).

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Award-winning songwriter and singer Kat Edmonson blends jazz, cabaret and vintage cosmopolitanism pop. Kat performs original songs and familiar classics, interweaving humorous anecdotes, philosophical musings and her love of film with disarming candor and vulnerability.

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