#jim pepper

[forever70s]

Jim Pepper - Pepper's Pow Wow (1971)

[driftglazz]

Fellow gringos! On this Indigenous People’s Day, I thought I might share a little technique that I’ve been honing over the past few years. I’m assuming you’ve already researched which tribal lands you currently reside on, and have taken your first steps on a #LandBack journey and/or made donations of time and $ to indigenous organizations that you feel most need it.

One of the things that has helped remind me that Native Americans are still very much present in North America and are more than just their political and social struggles is to actively seek out music by Indigenous artists. For the past 15-20 years I’ve made myself a summer mixtape and a winter mixtape of my favorite songs from that particular stretch of time. For the last decade or so, I’ve made a commitment (just to myself) to have at least one song in each mix by an Indigenous musician or band.

It’s been awesome. I knew of Buffy Saint-Marie but had never actually explored her deep catalog. I have now. That was one of the ways I discovered A Tribe Called Red too, they did a wildass remix of one of her songs. I’d heard Jesse Ed Davis playing with Taj Mahal, but didn’t know he’d done tons of session work, had two solo albums, and a collab with John Trudell. I love jazz, so I was familiar with Jim Pepper, but recently I’ve discovered Afro Algonquin and Mali Obomsawin (who also plays and sings in folk trio Lula Wiles) and the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet. I even discovered that our current National Poet Laureate Joy Harjo plays sax and recites her poetry with a jazz combo. I love punk and my favorite indigenous band from awhile ago was Subsistencia from L.A. but I recently found out about this band called Dead Pioneers who are feckin brilliant and killer. I listen to metal too, and while most current metalheads should be familiar with the Crepusculo Negro/Black Twilight Circle crew, I recently found this band from my neck of the woods called Nechochwen who are really incredible. The primary mover in that band even gave an academic lecture on the history of Native Americans in Appalachian heavy metal that you can watch on YouTube. It’ll blow yr mind.

Whatever genres you like, you can find Native artists making music. Country and western, folk, electronic, blues, experimental, reggae and dub, bedroom pop, traditional musics, rock. There’s tons of Native hip hop. It will take some active searching on your part, but you can handle it. Support active artists with your money!

If you’re passionate about other kinds of art besides music, seek out indigenous artists working in those mediums. Fiction, poetry, fan fiction, textile/fiber arts, theater, video, comedy, whatever! Do a little research, take a chance, drop some $ if you can, discover new art and perspectives, and do it regularly , make it a habit. You will not regret it.

[davidmeyerblog]

“Water spirit feelin' springin' round my head Makes me feel glad that I'm not dead”

[ourladyofperpetualnaptime]

[agoodsongeveryday]

Day Six Hundred and Five

Water spirit feelin' Springin' round my head Makes me feel glad That I'm not dead

[shamandrummer]

Jim Pepper's Classic Peyote Song "Witchi Tai To"

Jim Pepper (1941-1992) was a jazz saxophonist, composer, and singer of Native American descent. Born in Salem, Oregon, Pepper grew up in Portland. He moved to New York City in 1964, where he came to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of The Free Spirits, an early jazz-rock fusion group that also featured Larry Coryell and Bob Moses. His primary instrument was the tenor saxophone (he also played flute and soprano saxophone), and his characteristic incisive, penetrating tone and soulful delivery was unique for its time. A similar timbre was taken up by later players such as Jan Garbarek, Michael Brecker, and David Sanborn.

Of Kaw and Muscogee Creek heritage, Pepper also achieved notoriety for his compositions combining elements of jazz and Native American music. Jazz trumpeter Don Cherry and saxophonist Ornette Coleman encouraged Pepper to reflect his roots and heritage and incorporate it into his jazz playing and composition. His "Witchi Tai To" (derived from a peyote healing chant of the Native American Church which he had learned from his grandfather) is the most famous example of this hybrid style. The song first turned up in 1969 on an album by the band he was playing with at the time, Everything Is Everything. But it's the 1971 version from his own solo album Pepper's Pow Wow that's the definitive version. The song has gone on to be covered by numerous artists including Harper's Bizarre, Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, and Brewer & Shipley.

Over seven minutes in length, "Witchi Tai To" is beautiful, powerful, and very moving. Assisting Pepper in the recording studio were guitarist Larry Coryell, bassist Chuck Rainey, pianist Tom Grant, drummers Spider Rice and Billy Cobham, and then wife Ravie Pepper on flute, shakers, and vocals. The song begins with the peyote chant plain and unadorned, and slowly segues into Pepper's beautiful, flowing sax line that sets the tone for the rest of the tune. When Pepper begins to blow his sax, there is so much raw emotion and power packed into his delivery it can still bring chills decades later. Pepper died on February 10, 1992 of lymphoma. Listen to Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To".

[jacobwren]

Jim Pepper - Witchitai-to

[llekei]

Pepper’s Pow Wow

Jim Pepper, 1971