Joy Harjo – Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace

As a poet and musician, Joy Harjo channels a creative force she describes as a vibration of love" to connect countless traditions and artforms, countering the despair and heartache caused by power and hate. Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, her debut for Smithsonian Folkways, draws on the long-intertwined rhythms of jazz and poetry, the power of improvisation and self-expression through sound, and the vitality of Native culture and spirituality to spark a chain of vibrational energy to engulf the whole world. Harjo's voice is bold and direct, supported producer and bass player esperanza spalding, covering a repertoire that includes a jazz standard, a song written by Harjo's mother and uncovered by her sister, and many originals that speak to contemporary issues and her life as one of the most celebrated American poets of the last century."

Disc 1

1. Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace
2. Rabbit Is Up to Tricks
3. I Pray for My Enemies
4. Fear Redux
5. Without
6. Mahk Jchi
7. Instinct
8. My Guy
9. Perhaps the World Ends Here
10. Stomp All Night
11. I Am a Prayer
12. In the Beautiful Perfume and Stink of the World
13. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Label: Smithsonian Folkways

Catalog: 40269

Genre: Jazz