By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The hip-hop fusion band named by National Public Radio as one of the 10 best in the country is coming to Sitka to perform for schools and the public.
“We have two parts – a performance side, which we really love doing, and we’re also active in the public school side, which we really love doing – from the beginning since we started,” said Delbert Anderson, who plays trumpet in DDAT. “We were active in the public school system so we kept that.”
Two of the four group members are Native American, the band takes influences from Native American tunes, and the group has an entire program dedicated to Native American outreach, as well as education outreach.
The group will perform 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in Odess Theater, on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp campus. School performances are scheduled Wednesday at Mt. Edgecumbe High and Thursday at Sitka High.
The band has drawn national and international attention with its blend of hip hop, funk, blues, jazz and improv.
The Sitka Fine Arts Camp heard that a sponsor in Juneau was bringing an indigenous hip hop group to Alaska for shows, and jumped on the chance to host the musicians as well. The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is another sponsor.
“It felt like a cool bridge to bring them to Sitka,” said Kenley Jackson, SFAC program director.
Hip-hop fusion band DDAT will be performing at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in Odess Theater on Sitka Fine Arts Camp campus. (Photo provided)
Anderson, an accomplished trumpeter, was born on the Navajo reservation, in Shiprock, New Mexico. The first incarnation of the band was the Delbert Anderson trio, where he and drummer Nicholas Lucero and Mike McCluhan created indigenous melodies and jazz tunes.
“We were trying to fuse those things together,” Anderson said.
Then, while playing in 2015 at the Survival of the First Voices Festival in Farmington, N.M., they heard rapper Chris Bidtah (known as Def-i), who is part Navajo, and invited him to perform with the trio.
“It was totally improvised,” Anderson said. “We asked if he wanted to come on stage, and rap to what we were playing. After we played, people started asking us where we were playing next? What’s your group called?”
The video of the group playing “Roadrunner” together at KSJD’s Sunflower Theatre across the border in Cortez, Colo., helped put the group on the national music map. DDAT has also been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, yahoo.com, and mic.com
“This song is about life on the road and never giving in and never giving up,” DDAT said in its description of the tune.
“It was put together at the last minute,” Anderson said. “The video is very good – the videographer did a great job. ... We weren’t expecting to get feedback.”
The group started playing festivals and today is in demand as a touring group.
“We’re very multicultured as well,” Anderson said. “It’s great working with people of different backgrounds and ethnicities.”
McCluhan, who is of Irish descent, is the oldest in the group with a background in jazz. He is from Buffalo, New York, and is always thinking about what the band should do next, Anderson said. Lucero, who is originally from Colorado, has a background touring and performing with other groups.
Anderson grew up with a strong passion for music, and improvisational music in particular, from a young age. At San Juan College he became more serious about music, and tried to form a jazz band. After some time, Lucero, Anderson and McCluhan noticed they were the only ones attending practice regularly, so they decided to form a trio.
“The reason we do outreach programs is my background has always been into schools, giving lessons and helping elementary bands as a guest, and work with them,” Anderson said. “As soon as we got the trio built, we thought it would be great to educate them about jazz, and how it relates to emotions. That caught on.”
The group offers programs to schools of all ages, as well as a counseling component for rehabilitation programs.
“It’s not just about music and performance for us; we also wanted to make a difference in community and with youth,” Anderson said.
Tickets are $10 at the door or online at fineartscamp.org.
