Featured artist: Pura Fe - Tuscarora

Pura Fe’s Spanish name translates as “Pure Faith”, given to her by her Father who was from Puerto Rico, who sang as well. Pura Fe was born and raised in New York City by her Tuscaroran Mother, a classically trained Opera singer who toured with “The Duke Ellington Orchestra”. Pura Fe’s musical inheritance comes from her Mothers family of gifted female singers and count as the fourth generation of seven singing sisters in a row through the maternal line. “Singing is my first language!”.

“Our voice stems out of North Carolina, our ancestral homeland of the Tuscarora Nation”. Pura Fe’s Mothers family of mixed ancestry, Indian, Black and Scott-Irish is “the experience” of many Southern and Eastern Nations that endured slavery, removal, deportation, through colonization and commercial genocide. “The Underground Rail road which trailed through Indian occupied territories through Canadian borders is “the crossroads” and “cross blood” that runs through every Jazz and Blues pioneer I can think of”. Charlie Patton the first King of the Delta was Choctaw. Scrapper Blackwell, Duke Ellington, Lina Horne, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Tina Turner, Chaka Kahn, Don Cherry, Charles Mingus, The Neville Brothers, Taj Mahal, Thelonious Monk and many more…! “This story needs to shine…Hallelujah…for the Red, Black on Blues”!

This “Renaissance woman” is the founding member of the internationally renowned native woman’s a capella trio, ‘Ulali’, and is recognized for creating a new genre, bringing Native contemporary music to the forefront of the “mainstream” music industry.

Pura Fe has studied and performed with ‘The American Ballet Theatre’ company’, has been in several Broadway musicals and TV commercials. She has sung for ‘The Mercer Ellington Orchestra’, countless Jazz, R&B, Rock bands and has stamped her distinct vocals on many recordings, demo’s, jingles, music videos and movie sound tracks/trailers through out her career. She was nominated for a Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) with ‘Kanatanaski & Pura Fe’ for best aboriginal music video.

She’s appeared on Jay Leno’s ‘The Tonight Show’, UK’s ‘The Late Show’ and Brazil’s ‘Joe Suares Show’ with Ulali and Robbie Robertson. Pura Fe has toured world wide, in concert halls, festivals, nightclubs, universities, Pow Wow’s, conferences, campaigns and endless benefits…for environmental and humanitarian rights.

Here's her website: http://www.purafe.com/index.html