“By mining traditional Navajo “spinning songs” of love, healing and courtship, and marrying them to jazz and funk lines, Anderson and his trio have taken a place at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene.”
The trumpeter’s trio takes inspiration from traditional Navajo songs. Its work has stirred up global interest, as well as conversations about the responsibilities of Indigenous artists.
DDAT wants to thank everyone for subscribing to their page! We wanted to say hello from South Dakota’s Crazy Horse Memorial. DDAT just finished a show with the great Doc Native from the Seminole tribe of Florida. We have so many people and organizations to thank who have helped us with our journey to the New York Times!
We have been able to create such an organic team of individuals. Many of us met though local gigs. Later we all became friends. From time to time we still get together and make things happen. There’s nothing like having support from those who believe in you and have very special gifts.
To the Crew:
Jude Candelaria – Sound Engineer
Carlos Martinez – Graphics/Photos
Dakarai Williams – Office Management
Maurice Johnson – Media
Gerardo Diaz – Tech/Video
Karen Ellsbury & Patrick Hazen – Support/Space Management
Mentors are such an important part of walking in the industry. We are so thankful for those who took the time and still do to this day to mentor and guide our ensemble through life, business and the arts.
To our Mentors:
David Greenberg
Ed Bourgeois
Gargi Shindé
Tim Wilson
Shane Cadman
Organizations have been such a huge help in completing our projects. Many of our grants and awards were to build a growing and sustainable art project. We are happy to announce all projects funded are continuing to grow and tour.
Supportive Organizations:
Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation – supporting our community jazz jams and jazz festival in Farmington, NM.
South Arts – granting DDAT the Jazz Road Creative Residencies 2021 (Bureau of Land Management Tour) and Jazz Road Tour 2023 (Jacob C Morgan Tour).
Mid Atlantic Arts – supporting our South Africa project and Kindred Spirits Album. USArtists International Award.
Lewis Prize for Music – supporting our Build A Band project fostering & nurturing young musicians in Farmington, NM. Think Tank Youth Program.
First Peoples Fund – supporting our Bureau of Land Management tour and Build A Band project. Cultural Capital Fellow 2023.
Chamber Music America – helping develop our regional jazz presenters consortium! Presenters Jazz Consortium 2021 & 2022. Shout out to Cortez Cultural Center, gallupARTS and Northwest New Mexico Arts Council.
WESTAF – for the leaderships skills and mentorship. Emerging Leaders Program 2021.
We would like to thank those who have given us space to relax, think and create! All of our projects were built with the help of space, environment and funding.
To our Creative Residencies:
Caldera Arts
Willowtail Springs
Some Serious Business
Cortez Cultural Center
Farmington Civic Center
Institute of American Indian Art – March 8 – April 20, 2023
Bureau of Land Management – August 2 – September 3, 2023
Hawaii Volcanoes National Monument – October 3 – 31, 2023
PROJECTS
Kindred Spirits – A Navajo-South African Story
Diné & Zulu cultures cross collaborate to bring a performance/story about cultural hardship and the importance of Indigenous tribal Matriarch.
Grandma’s Song Release March 8, 2023 (International Women’s Day)
Kindred Spirits Album Releases April 1, 2023
South Africa Tour in conjunction with WOMAD
Sept. 21 – Oct. 2, 2023
Spirit Coalescent
Eight (8ft x 4.4ft) canvases telling the story of how Indigenous peoples heal themselves through the landscapes. 2023 brings a new cast featuring Rena Priest (WA State Poet Laureate), Stephen Brown Dance Studio, the Delbert Anderson Trio and photo fusion artists Karen Ellsbury & Patrick Hazen. Multi-Media Presentation featuring art, music, dance and poetry.
Currently searching for Residency
DDAT Suite
The Delbert Anderson Trio’s original compositions arranged for large group ensembles. Every new location, a new piece is composed by Franklin and the trio with the Indigenous tribes representing the lands in which we will be performing. We then premiere the piece with the large group. While the trio and Franklin are rehearsing during the week, we offer a numerous amount of workshops, community outreach and engagements. DDAT Suite has worked very well in the University setting. The project also helps connect many different departments with your performance space.
DDAT Suite Opening New Oregon Theater (Stay updated for details)
April 6, 2024
Build A Band
Fosters and Nurtures young musicians in the fields of music business and artistic development. The Third Hour has been supported by the Lewis Prize of Music and First Peoples Fund. The will be doing a mentored 2023 tour with the Delbert Anderson Trio:
June 7 – Gallup, NM
June 8 – Santa Fe, NM
June 9 – Ignacio, CO
June 10 – Cortez, CO
June 11 – Farmington, NM
Painted Mountains
A partnership between the Delbert Anderson Trio and Bureau of Land Management. The Trio visits the BLM Artist in Residency locations and connects with the Indigenous tribes and compose pieces inspired by their culture and land environment. The project celebrates public land access and Indigenous cultures. 2022 consisted of 5 locations 5 performances, 5 workshops and 5 research days with the Indigenous tribes. This year, we will visit 13 sites:
Painted Mountains Tour 2023
Organ Mountains Desert Peaks, Las Cruces, NM – Aug. 2 & 3
El Malpais NCA (Rio Puerco), Grants, NM – Aug. 4 & 5
Canyon of the Ancients, Delores, CO – Aug. 7 & 8
Gunnison Gorge NCA, Montrose, CO – Aug. 9 & 10
Dominguez/Escalante NCA, Grand Junction, CO – Aug. 11 & 12
Canyon Country District, Moab, UT – Aug. 13 & 14
Basin and Range National Monument, Advent, NV – Aug. 16 & 17
California Trail Interpretive Center, Elko, NV – Aug. 18 & 19
Morley Snake River Birds of Prey, Boise, ID – Aug. 20 & 21
Lake Simsimtus, Warm Springs, OR – Aug. 23 & 24
King Range NCA, Shelter Cove, CA – Aug. 27 & 28
California Coastal NM at Trinidad, Trinidad, CA – Aug. 29 & 30
San Juan Islands NM, Lopez Island, WA – Sept. 2 & 3
Currently seeking partners, sponsorships and funding.
Naat’áanii Musical
Naat’áanii struggles to whether to choose a traditional life or a modern society way of living. Through dance, Naat’áanii begins to find his true identity while going through many life trials. New Native Theatre is currently working with the musical. To be released 2024…
Currently searching for Residency
The Jacob C. Morgan Project
Jacob C. Morgan was a Diné trumpet player who was born in Crownpoint, NM (1879) and died in Farmington, NM (1950). The project is mainly an ongoing research project to expose the history of a Diné historical figure. During our research, we were able to find music of Indigenous bands who came our of the Indigenous Boarding School systems. These songs were arranged in the trio’s way of performance. South Arts supported these efforts and awarded us with the jazz road touring grant which will follow Jacob’s locations according to his milestones in life. During the tour, we will have a brief presentation about Jacob C. Morgan and his important contribution to today’s living.
Jacob’s Tour 2023
May 30 – Crownpoint, NM
May 31 – Gallup, NM
June 1 – Ft. Defiance, AZ
June 2 – Ignacio, CO
June 3 – Cortez, CO
June 4 – Farmington, NM
Searching for funding to help create statue in Farmington, NM
Delbert Anderson Trio
The Delbert Anderson Trio allows improvised sounds of the Diné circle to resurface with jazz, funk and hip-hop. The trio brings all venues back to the social tornado of Diné Spinning songs. Spinning Songs were composed to teach all people stories and traditions of the past, present and future. The trio researched Diné melodies of the past for inspiration, perform our stories for today and preserve cultural music for the future.
Hózhó (Beauty & Balance) formed the trio by combining different personal identities and cultural backgrounds. K’é (Family Values) keeps the trio together as one unit practicing the values of love, compassion, kindness, friendliness, generosity and peacefulness.
Upcoming DDAT shows:
April 8 – Stanford Live, Stanford, CA
April 15 – IAIA Presentation Event, Santa Fe, NM
May 15 – Spokane Fall Community College, Spokane, WA
May 19 – Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds, WA
May 20 – Center for the Arts at Kayenta, Kayenta, UT
May 21 – Boulder Arts Council, Boulder, UT
May 27 – Riverfest, Farmington, NM
June 30 – Jazz in the Gardens, D.C.
July 12 – Green Box Arts, Green Mountain Falls, CO
July 14/15 – California Worldfest, Grass Valley, CA
July 21 – OKC Levitt Amp, Clifton, OK
November 3/4 – Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO
November 11 – Clovis Community College, Clovis, NM
(For booking, please contact [email protected] or andre@
Press: Delbert Anderson (505)-478-7004
Thank you for all your support!
Please check out other projects: