Jana sings carols in Native voice (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Jana sings carols in Native voice

Posted: December 21, 2005
by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412104
ONEIDA NATION HOMELANDS, N.Y. - Reviewers across the country are taking
note of a remarkable new CD that combines Native language restoration
with seasonal pop and maybe even commercial appeal.

The album ''American Indian Christmas,'' sung by pop star Jana, presents
10 of the most familiar Christmas songs - each in a different tribal
tongue. From ''O Holy Night'' in Navajo to ''Amazing Grace'' in Jana's
own Lumbee, the recording is bringing the sounds of Native languages to
a wide audience.

The idea is so simple and yet so fresh, it's a wonder it hasn't been
tried before. The National Museum of the American Indian headed in the
same direction last year with the well-received CD ''Beautiful
Beyond,'' issued in conjunction with Smithsonian Folkways Records, of
Christian hymns sung by different tribal groups. A sequel has been
under consideration.

In an interview with Indian Country Today, she described the
time-consuming effort of finding translations. ''We had to call
Germany,'' she said, to consult on one cut. The Lumbee version of
''Amazing Grace'' was a special labor of love, she said, because the
language of that North Carolina nation, the largest tribe in the
country without full federal recognition, is still in a process of
recovery.

The exotic twist on holiday standards has intrigued reviewers at the
country's largest newspapers. In the wrap-up of seasonal releases, USA
Today listed Jana's CD as the main entry in its ''World Music''
category. New York Daily News reviewer David Hinckley said the work by
''this sweet-voiced singer'' was ''strong from the first notes of 'O
Holy Night,' which is sung in Navajo.''

The release comes at a peak of productivity for Jana, who first broke
into the scene around 2000 with dance-mix singles released by Curb
Records. Her version of ''Stairway to Heaven'' reached No. 8 on the
Billboard dance charts, the first time a Native performer cracked that
category. Jana later parted company with the major label, objecting to
the way her solid rhythm and blues singing voice was underused and
drowned out by the dance beat arrangements.

Earlier this fall, she released her first full-length CD, ''Flash of a
Firefly,'' on the independent Radikal Records label.

But the Christmas project is not just a shrewd career move. Jana
emphasizes its contribution to the ''language retention'' movement.
''The preservation of our languages is extremely important to the
culture and vitality of our people,'' she wrote in the liner notes.

The release, she said, should also bring attention to the original
translators and performers of each song. The credits for ''Little
Drummer Boy,'' for instance, go to Albert Cata, Frances Harney, Esther
Martinez and the Tewa Indian Women's Choir. The Ojibwe ''Winter
Wonderland'' is the work of well-known music journalist Kim Hall, of
the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Immersion Charter School.

The CD is also noteworthy for being possibly the first commercial CD to
be issued in conjunction with a tribal enterprise. The Standing Stone
label is a division of Four Directions Media, an Oneida Indian Nation
company which also publishes Indian Country Today. Distribution is
handled by the SOAR Corp., founded by Tom Bee, Lakota.