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. ” - Michael Powell

The New York Times

Anderson has developed a slew of spin-off projects that have quickly gained notice and rightly marked him as a community-minded Indigenous individualist,” - Dan Bilwasky

JazzTimes

When New Mexico trumpeter Delbert Anderson needed new inspiration for his jazz trio, he rolled out to an Aztec library and looked for Indigenous music. As a man of Navajo descent himself, he wanted to dig deeper into his ancestry. What Anderson found was a tape of “spinning songs”—essentially, songs dictating social interaction—chanted by Navajo chiefs. ” - Morgan Enos

Grammy.com

Delbert Anderson is a Diné jazz trumpet artist, composer, educator and culture bearer. Anderson performs music inspired by his Diné heritage with the Delbert Anderson Quartet. Anderson also composes music inspired by Navajo Nation landscapes and historical events in hopes to educate and preserve the truth of Diné history. Anderson also created Build A Band, an educational program teaching jazz improvisation to young students  through a Diné and Family curriculum. Anderson's musical projects keep Indigenous knowledge and wisdom  at the forefront. Along with researching Diné historical figures and events, Anderson developed wellness programs and community outreach programs to evoke change for the wellbeing of all humans. 

Anderson has been featured on The New York Times, JazzTimes, Grammy.com, NASA, NPR Music Top 10, Smithsonian Magazine, Yahoo/Mic.com, TEDx, PBS and much more. Anderson has also been awarded the 2024,22 & 21 Presenters Consortium for Jazz Award from Chamber Music America funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Cultural Capital Fellowship 2023 from First Peoples Fund, Jazz Road Touring Grant 2023 from South Arts, Arts Forward 2022 funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2022 Collective Spirit Award by First Peoples Fund, 2022 Jazz Road Creative Residency from South Arts funded by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2021 Emerging/Leaders of Color Program from Western States Arts Federation and the 2019-22 Native Launchpad Award by Advancing Indigenous Performance with Western Arts Alliance.