Delbert Anderson Quartet

Jazz that tells the story of Diné culture is the jam of this wonderfully innovative group. Led by Delbert Anderson, a Navajo (Diné) trumpet master whose playing style channels the spirit of Miles Davis (who was of Cherokee ancestry), Delbert Anderson Quartet infuses traditional Diné ‘spinning songs’ with jazz improvisation, funk lines, hip-hop notes and soulful Latin grooves. Having one of the pillars of the Native American jazz scene visit Aotearoa is a privilege for the Festival’s Indigenous Music Series, and we extend a warm welcome to the Quartet and its musical heritage drawn from Northwest New Mexico, the landscape and surrounding Indigenous tribes.

Delbert Anderson is a Diné jazz trumpet artist, composer and educator. His musicianship is deeply rooted in his Diné heritage. He is joined by keyboardist Robert Muller, bassist Evan Suiter and funk/fusion drummer Khalill Brown, who has roots in the Blackfoot and Cherokee tribes. The Navajo principles of K’é (family values) and Hózhó (beauty and balance) and are behind the Quartet’s synergy as a unit and their unique interpretation of ‘spinning songs’, which were sung in Diné social circles to teach people stories and traditions of the past, present and future.