Julia Keefe on Mildred Bailey, Indigenous Big Band and Navigating Misogyny
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
01/26/26
•86m
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Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) is an internationally acclaimed Native American jazz vocalist, actor, activist, and educator currently based in New York City. You’ll hear how her Indigenous Big Band project started, the history behind jazz in Native American communities and inspiration from Delbert Anderson to Jim Pepper. A special influence in her life has been Mildred Bailey and you’ll be hearing some clips from Julia’s Mildred Bailey Project album throughout this podcast; the track names are in the timestamps. Mildred was a very important figure in jazz and Julia is also working on a film about her life and career. Julia spoke about some of the sexual harassment she has experienced and how she was affected by the experience of sexual assault by a professor when she was in graduate school. She opened up about how she got through that time with the support of her vocal teacher Jo Lawry . In the shadow of this challenging time, Julia shared some fascinating specifics into how her voice teachers Jo, Theo Bleckmann and also Kate McGarry helped push her artistic and expressive boundaries, and later what a transformative experience it was to be mentored by Esperanza Spalding.
Julia’s identity as an Indigenous jazz musician shapes her creative life in so many affirming and inspirational ways; I’m so happy to share this meaningful conversation with you.
In the show notes: links to other suggested episodes, newsletter, buy me a coffee, podcast merch, link to Indigenous Big Band video, transcript and of course Julia Keefe's music!
photo: Don Hamilton
(00:00) Intro
(02:38) Indigenous Big Band, Delbert Anderson
(10:21) clip of Jim Pepper’s “Water”, video linked in show notes
(12:24) Mildred Bailey Project
(14:19) clip of “Thanks for Memory" track 8
(15:08) Mildred Bailey Project album release
(18:10) Mildred Bailey with clip of Rockin’ Chair opener track 1
(25:28) clip of track 9 Rockin’ Chair, Mildred Bailey film project with Lily Gladstone, Gary Farmer
(39:23) clip of track 2 “Lover, Come Back to Me” Sterlin Harjo film “Love and Fury”
(41:51) linked episodes and ways to support this podcast
(42:56) Jim Pepper
(49:06) Julia’s childhood, Kamia, learning Nimipuutimt
(55:00) residential schools bands history
(01:00:24) Master’s at Manhattan, Kate McGarry, Jo Lawry, Theo Bleckmann
(01:05:35) personal challenges including sexual assault, support of Jo Lawry
(01:19:11) Esperanza Spalding mentorship
Previous Episode
Eliza Marshall on Eternal Birth: Flute Without Borders
January 10
•80m
Eliza Marshall is a British flute player acclaimed for her expressive multi-style playing and in this episode we’re celebrating her new album “Eternal Birth” in which this award-winning flautist and composer channels over two decades of international collaboration into a bold, genre-defying album, with a rich cinematic soundscape, blending classical, folk and world traditions, with haunting flutes, whistles, bansuris, spoken word, percussion and electronics. Recorded in both the UK and Senegal, the album features an extraordinary line-up of world-class andGrammy Award-Winning musicians: Ady Thioune, Ansumana Suso, Drew Morgan , Dónal Rogers, and Lena Jonsson .
Eliza shared her rich musical life: her studies with Michael Cox, her varied career including performing on the long-running West-End show The Lion King in London, touring with Peter Gabriel, and the joys and challenges of using a loop pedal. She shared insights about the importance of the folk band Ranagri in her life, her multi-disciplinary project Freedom to Roam, her love of the Hebrides Islands, the importance of re-wilding, and finding the courage to push boundaries and take risks.This episode is being released a few days before the release of Eternal Birth; you’ll find the pre-order link on Eliza’s website. I was really inspired to exchange ideas with Eliza about living a life rich with connection and creativity.
Show notes take you to linked episodes you'll love, the video, transcript, podcast Newsletter to get access for exclusive information about upcoming guests, and support link for this independent project for which I do all the many jobs! (also podcast merch)
Photo: Jason Sheldon
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(03:04) album “Eternal Birth”, Lena Jonsson, with clip of They Listen
(06:29) layering textures, interest and research into music of Africa, percussionist Ady Thioune
(09:13) youth Steiner Education, trip to Buea,Cameroon
(11:13) about Roots Entwined, with clip of track 2
(13:28) many different flutes, collaborating with Joby Talbot
(17:40) about track 3, Our Times Reborn with clip
(19:56) joy in composing, Reich influence, Sarah Jeffery
(21:45) Michael Cox, learning different flutes and styles
(26:25) Freedom to Roam project
(31:32) Dónal Rogers, Ranagri, staying with projects long-term
(36:08) linked episodes and buying me a coffee to keep this podcast going
(37:08) Leah improv and podcast, Hebrides Islands, re-wilding
(43:03) loop pedal, Linsey Pollak, getting outside your comfort zone, The Lion King job
(53:45) Ansumana Suso on kora, safeguarding the fertility of the Earth, with clip of track 6 On and On
(56:49) Ady Thioune, trips to Senegal
(01:02:48) Rebeca Omordia, Omo Bello, my podcast
(01:05:55) playing with Peter Gabriel
(01:08:30) mortality with clip track 7 Dust to Dust
(01:12:14) Stevie Wonder, studio work, love of film music, album cover meaning
(01:16:56) Embracing our interconnectedness, with clip of track 8 Interconnected, self-care
Next Episode
The trumpet player and composer Nadje Noordhuis joined me for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, creativity, and carving out a life in music on her own terms. Nadje reflects on her early musical upbringing in Sydney, Australia, and the formative training that led her toward jazz trumpet. She remembers her friend Lois Martin, and Nadje speaks candidly about experiences of sexism in the music world, and the challenges of breaking into the New York jazz scene—financial struggles, years at the Manhattan School of Music, and finding her footing as a woman in jazz.
She reflected on her collaborative project Multitudes with composer James Shipp, and you’ll be hearing clips from that project as well as Gulfoss with Maeve Gilchrist, Full Circle with Fred Hersch. She talked about being about to record with the legendary engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug, and Nadje encourages all of us to take risks to follow our own paths.
Complete Show Notes with all the links! (Video, linked episodes, Transcript, podcast merchandise and Ko-fi support page, newsletter)
photo: Matt Baker
(00:00) Intro
(02:12) Sara Caswell, Dutch heritage
(03:45) Multitudes with James Shipp
(07:06) clip of Run Together from Multitudes
(07:48) more about Multitudes, clip of Say Goodbye
(09:31) Lois Martin
(13:36) Laurie Frink
(16:09) versatility in building a career, Anat Cohen
(19:21) early music training childhood in Australia
(22:20) experiences of sexism, decision to pursue jazz trumpet
(30:15) Full Circle album Elan Mehler, Fred Hersch (clip Little Song from Full Circle)
(34:24) move to New York, financial struggles
(39:06) breaking into the jazz scene as a woman, Manhattan school
(43:54) other linked episodes and ways to support this project
(44:51) youth in Sydney, Australia
(48:40) teaching, Fifth Bridge
(53:26) recording Gulfoss album with clip of Seven Miles
(57:25) working with Jan Erik Kongshaug, recording Ten Sails with Luke Howard
(01:05:35) clip of Rainbow from Multitudes, living as an expat
(01:07:36) clip of Full Circle, reflections on choosing her own path
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