Indigenous people have been making an impact on arts and culture since time immemorial, especially in jazz and blues. In honour of National Indigenous Month and National Indigenous Day on June 21, we’ve curated a playlist of our favourite Indigenous artists who are making waves in the music scene.
One of Canada’s most celebrated artists, Crystal Shawanda’s music ranges from country to blues to folk. Born in Wiikwemkoong First Nation, on Manitoulin Island, Crystal was introduced to the blues by her older brother and to old school country music by her parents. “I was also into other styles of music that led me to the blues,” she says, citing everything from Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog,” written by Big Mama Thornton, to R&B star Monica’s “Misty Blue,” by Dorothy Moore.
Her latest album Midnight Blues was released in 2022. She recently collaborated with Sultans of String on the song “The Rez.”
Julia Keefe has become one of jazz’s most celebrated vocalists. In her 20+ year career, she has opened up for jazz greats such as Tony Bennett and Esperanza Spalding. She is also the band leader and director of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, an ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians from across North America. She is currently at work on The Mildred Bailey Project, a tribute album in honour of the great Native American jazz vocalist Mildred Bailey. The album is slated to be released later this year.
Mildred Bailey was one of the most influential and well-known jazz vocalists of her time. She grew up on the Coeur d’Alene reservation in Idaho and through her mother, who was a pianist, developed a love for music. She started to sing in nightclubs and speakeasies in her late teens and introduced her brother Al Rinker to his future bandmate Bing Crosby. But it was through her third marriage to Red Norvo that she launched her solo career. In 1936, Norvo brought Bailey to be a lead vocalist in his big band, making her the first female vocalist ever to sing lead in a big band. She performed at the top nightclubs in New York City and even hosted her own CBS radio show in 1945. She continued performing until her death in 1951.
Mildred’s impact on jazz has been largely forgotten but new generations of Indigenous jazz artists such as Julia Keefe are ensuring that her legacy is remembered and amplified in the world of jazz today.
A self-proclaimed musical chameleon, Julian Taylor has been making waves in the Canadian and International music scene for 25 years and counting! He co-founded the alt-rock band Staggered Crossing in 1996 and released four albums before they disbanded in 2007.
Of Mohawk and West Indian heritage, Taylor earned Juno nominations for his 2020 album The Ridge and his most latest release, Beyond the Reservoir, released in 2022. His song, “Seeds,” speaks to the experiences of Black and Indigenous people in light of the 2020 George Floyd protests and the discovery of the unmarked graves in Kamloops, British Columbia which held the remains of over 271 Indigenous children who attended the residential school there.
A citizen of Odanak First Nation, Mali Obomsawin is an award-winning bassist, composer, vocalist and multi-disciplinary artist whose works spans various industries. Her current projects include being a member of the duo Deerlady, leading her own jazz band and collaborating with the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band.
Her most recent releases include 2024’s Greatest Hits (with Deerlady) and Sweet Tooth, her debut solo album released in 2022.
Composer, educator, vocalist and songwriter Martha Redbone split her childhood between Brooklyn, New York City and the Appalachian Mountains of Harlan County, Kentucky where her Indigenous grandparents raised her in the Chocotaw/Shawnee knowledge, culture and traditions.
Her music has been described as an “unique gumbo of folk, blues, and gospel,” infused with elements of traditional Native American music. She has released four albums and continues to tour and perform internationally.
Edmonton-based Celeigh Cardinal has been described as “a soul-folk songstress from the Northern Prairies” whose music ranges from jazz to pop to soul. She won the 2020 Juno for Indigenous Artist of the Year which marked a turning point in her career. Her new album, Boundless Possibilities, comes out on National Indigenous Day on June 21.
Poet, Actor, Educator, Journalist, Activist and Elder Dr. Duke Redbird has been a key figure in the Canadian arts scene for over 60 years. Originally from Saugeen First Nation, Dr. Redbird started performing spoken word poetry at folk festivals in the 1960s and is consider one of the founders in developing First Nations literature in Canada.
At 85 years old, Dr.Redbird continues to make art and perform all over the country and internationally.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and raised in the historic community of Africville, Faith Nolan is a Canadian folk and blues musician whose Mik’maq, African Nova Scotian and Irish heritage is a central component of her music. Faith is also a social justice and labour activist who uses her music to speak to the injustices in our society.
Her 1986 album Africville, a tribute to her home community that was bulldozed by the Halifax government in 1970, was the recipient of the 2021 Polaris Heritage Music Prize.
A classically trained tenor and composer, Jeremy Dutcher was conducting research on archival recordings of 20th century traditional Maliseet songs which served as the foundation for his debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize which he recorded entirely in the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language. As a member of the Tobique First Nation (Wolastoqiyik Neqotkuk), Jeremy Dutcher has been committed to perserving the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language alive through his music, which is currently considered an endangered language in North America with only 355 Native speakers.
His second album, Motewolonuwok, is currently long listed for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.