1. Fajardo-Wright
University of Wyoming
Saxophonist and Composer Jim Pepper:
A Music Education Model to Engage Students Through Composition
Asia Fajardo-Wright
Plan B
Professors: Chair Dr. Scott Turpen, Co-Chair Dr. Cecelia Aragon
and Committee Member Dr. Anne Guzzo
December 10, 2015

2. Table of Contents:
Forward 1-3
Biography: Jim Pepper 3-6
Trans-Indigenous 6-7
Jim Pepper’s Recognitions 7
The Composition Witchi Tai To 8-10
Importance of Personal Connection in Learning 11-13
Importance of Personal Identity in Education 13-14
Native American Identity 14-15
Indian Schools 15-16
Sounding Native 16
Acoustemology 17-18
Educational Propriety of Jim Pepper’s Composition Model 18-19
Music Education and Creativity 19-20
How to Build from Jim Pepper’s Model to Serve Your Classroom Goals 20-24
Conclusion 24-25
Works Cited 26-2

3. Fajardo-Wright
Saxophonist and Composer Jim Pepper:
A Music Education Model to Engage Students Through Composition
Forward
Purpose
Jim Pepper became a prominent jazz musician in the mid 1960’s when he relocated to
New York City from Portland, Oregon. His band The Free Spirits was formed in 1968 and began
experimenting with fusing rock and jazz. Jim Pepper and other band members in the Free Spirits
are credited for having one of the first fusion bands ("Jim Pepper Bio | Jim Pepper Career”). Jim
Pepper was of Kaw and Creek decent and is well known for bringing Native American chants
and rhythms into the music he performed and composed.
This lecture recital will be about the legacy Jim Pepper left by incorporating his family
heritage into his composition Witchi Tai To. It explains how Witchi Tai To exemplifies a
composition model that will engage students in music. Jim Pepper composed Witchi Tai To by
embedding a traditional Native American chant his grandfather taught him into a jazz combo
format. The lecture discusses how music educators can build from the composition model
illustrated by Jim Pepper’s Witchi Tai To to serve their music classroom goals. The presenter,
Asia Elizabeth Ruth Fajardo-Wright, used Jim Pepper’s model to compose Desert Medicine,
inspired by her own heritage, to serve as a sample composition.

4. 2
Specific Sub Problems
Questions examined in this study:
• Who is Jim Pepper and why is he significant to music education?
• Why does Witchi Tai To by Jim Pepper exemplify a composition model that will
engage students in music?
• How can music educators build from the composition model illustrated by Jim
Pepper’s Witchi Tai To to serve their music classroom goals?
Delimitations
In order to keep the quantity of the lecture manageable, this document focuses on one
musician who incorporated his heritage into his music, Jim Pepper. There have been other
musicians who have also incorporated their heritage into their music, and are of equal
significance to music education, such as Joy Harjo and Rudresh Mahanthappa. Witchi Tai To is
one of many compositions that Jim Pepper embedded his heritage into; however, only Witchi Tai
To will serve as the composition model.
Methodology
Research was conducted by finding biographical information about Jim Pepper to provide
an illustration of Jim Pepper as a person and a musician/composer. The research comes from
scholarly articles from the online database world cat, newspaper articles, books, documentaries
and recordings. An analysis of Witchi Tai To was done to show how it was composed to clearly
illustrate Jim Pepper’s composition model for this musical work. Scholarly articles on Native
American and indigenous identity were consulted to look for possible reasons Jim Pepper

5. 3
decided to incorporate his culture into his playing and composing. These reasons could be
beneficial in helping music educators engage their students. Scholarly articles that talk about the
importance of family heritage in educating students were also consulted to support the
composition model that Witchi Tai To exemplifies.
Biography: Jim Pepper
Jim Pepper is both a well known and unknown jazz musician. In terms of being well
known, the world renowned saxophonist, Joe Lovano, says that before beginning a solo he will
sometimes ask himself “what would Jim do now?” (Siegel, “Jim Pepper: Indian on the Jazz
Path,” 2008). Jim Pepper was born June 18, 1941 in Salem, Oregon and passed away February
10, 1992 in Portland, Oregon (“Jim Pepper”). He was a Native American saxophonist, composer,
and singer. Floyd Pepper, Jim Pepper’s mother, describes her son as wanting to play his music,
his style, his way (Camera, 2007). Pepper shared the stage with some of the best musicians in the
world. Trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden, and guitarist Larry Coryell are among
some of the jazz giants who Pepper played with (Hughley, 1992). Jim Pepper was among the
first musicians in the jazz-rock movement in the 60’s and considered himself a bebop
saxophonist.
Jim Pepper’s mother was Creek Indian (the water people) and his father was Kaw Indian
(the wind people) (Berry, 2006). Pepper’s family surrounded him with his Native American
heritage and created an atmosphere that made Pepper proud of his roots. He grew up around the
“songs and dances of the intertribal pow wow circuit” (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy of Jim Pepper,”
2008). The Pepper family also was integral in the efforts to preserve traditional dances of the

6. 4
Kaw tribe. They felt they needed to be responsible for “taking the lead” in bringing these
traditions back and making it possible for these traditions to continue (Berry, 2006).
Jim Pepper was involved in performing traditional Kaw dances. He danced at pow wows
and studied tap dancing. When Jim Pepper talks about his childhood memories and music, he
expresses a distaste for the music classes at school. His inclination was geared toward dance. Jim
Pepper states that tap dancing “allowed him to hear some decent music” (Perea, “Witchi Tai To,”
67).
Ralph Pepper, Jim Pepper’s paternal grandfather, was also influential in teaching him
about his Native American roots. Ralph Pepper was a member of the Native American Church,
and taught Jim Pepper the traditional ceremonial chant “Witchi Tai To” (which will be discussed
later). An interview from Jazz and Pop magazine, Jim Pepper explains that he was very close to
his grandfather (Heckman, 1968). Jim Pepper comments that his grandfather would sing and
play the drum all the time when Jim was a child. The connection that Pepper found to Native
American music and his family heritage was sparked at a young age and prominent in the music
that he recorded and performed as an adult.
It is also interesting to consider that Jim Pepper could have become a traditional Kaw
chief. Ralph Pepper was a decedent of Mokumpah, the last traditional Kaw chief (Perea, “Witchi
Tai To,” 2014). If the traditional chief succession would have continued, Jim Pepper who was
the fourth decedent of Mokumpah, was next in line to be the Kaw chief. Ralph Pepper was also
the last male speaker of the Kaw Language (Berry, 2006).
It is said that the “sessions at Portland’s Old Coffee Gallery, the Shadows, and many
other jazz clubs” are where Jim Pepper developed as a musician (Berry, 2006). Pepper left home

7. 5
in the mid 1960’s to establish himself in New York City. Among the musicians that Jim Pepper
played with and formed friendships with in New York were Larry Coryell, Randy Breacker, Bob
Moses, and Dave Liebman (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy,” 2008). Jim Pepper became noticed in the
band the Free Spirits, which may have been the first rock-jazz fusion band. The Free Spirits
recorded the album Out of Sight and Sound in 1967 for Paramount with Bob Moses on drums,
Larry Coryell and Columbus Baker on guitars, Chris Hill on vocals and bass, and Jim Pepper on
saxophone. When Coryell and Moses left, the remaining band members and Pepper formed a
new group called Everything is Everything. Jim Pepper’s composition Witchi Tai To was the
band’s signature piece. Jim Pepper helped these bands get recognition with his notable
unaccompanied 20 minute long saxophone solos that kicked off their sets (Siegle, “The Jazz
Legacy,” 2008).
After Everything is Everything’s success, in 1971 Pepper came out with the first album
under his name entitled Pepper’s Pow Wow. This may have had something to do with the fact
that trumpeter Don Cherry (who was part Choctaw) and saxophonist Ornette Coleman
encouraged Pepper “to dig deeper into his Native music and incorporate it into his jazz playing
and composition” (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy,” 2008). In the 1970’s Jim Pepper recorded with
jazz giants such as: Don Cherry, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Dewey
Redman, Ed Schuller, John Scorfield, Mal Waldron and many others (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy,”
2008).
Jim Pepper spent the latter part of his life living and performing in Austria (Siegle, “The
Jazz Legacy,” 2008). Drummer Reuben Hoch, member of the Jewish and jazz fusion band
Chassidic Jazz Project, said that “they loved him in Austria...loved him. He never got that kind
of recognition here. It’s too band…more people should know about him, they should know about

8. 6
his music” (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy”). Pepper’s mother said the reason that Jim Pepper went to
Europe was because in America he did not “find support and acceptance” of his music. In
Europe Jim Pepper “was respected as a person and as a jazz musician. There he found peace”
(Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy”).
Trans-Indigenous
Jim Pepper got the opportunity from Don Cherry to tour in Africa in 1980. According to
Don Cherry, when Pepper went to Africa with him on a State Department tour, Pepper enjoyed a
“particularly warm reception from African audiences who applauded his unique blend of Native
American music and jazz. He was viewed as being truly American” (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy,”
2008). In the newspaper article “Comin and Goin”, John Berry explains that being in Africa
excited Jim Pepper and he saw a connection between Native American’s traditional life and
village lives in Africa. The power in African and Native American music “comes from the
ground up” according to Jim Pepper (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy,” 2008).
What did Pepper mean when he said Native American and African music comes from the
ground up? Perhaps he meant that their music came from the people and was a part of their
everyday lives. In “The Effective Power of Music in Africa” Mbaebgu explain a type of music
called signaling music. When the children assist with the economic activities of their parents,
like tending to their animal flocks, they are given flutes to play for entertainment, to signal their
companions, and to guide their flock (Mbaegbu, 179). For the adults in African a big wooden
drum called Ikolo is played to signal when a man has passed away. In Africa, music is a means to
“disseminate information.” For adults in Africa music “is the soul of life” and “it permeates all
[their] daily activities” (Mbaegbu, 179). For African village people and Native Americans, music

9. 7
was a constant in their everyday lives and was not reserved exclusively for a performance
settings. It should be noted that the scholars and artist; such as poet Joy Harjo, believe that
Native Americans contributed to early jazz. However, this connection is almost forgotten and
this is a discussion for another time.
Jim Pepper’s Recognitions
After Jim Pepper’s death, he received numerous recognitions. They are, Lifetime Musical
Achievement Award by First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) in 1999, Native American Music
Awards Hall of Fame at the 7th Annual NAMMY Awards ceremony in 2000, Leroy Vinnegar
Jazz Institute and the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission named Pepper Jazz Musician of the
Year at the Portland Jazz Festival in 2005, his legendary silver Selmer saxophone, beaded
baseball cap, leather horn cases, early LPs, and original sheet music were donated by the Pepper
family to the Smithsonian Institution for the National Museum of the American Indian‘s
permanent collection in 2007. Today, the Remembrance Band keeps Jim Pepper’s music alive,
the band is comprised of former bandmates and Jim Pepper’s wife Caren Pepper. (Siegle, “The
Jazz Legacy of Jim Pepper”)
In Portland, Oregon the legacy of Jim Pepper is celebrated at the Jim Pepperfest (“Jim
PepperFest”). September 2013 marked the initiation of the Jim Pepper festival. Musical groups
such as; The Flying Eagle All Star Band, Cochise Anderson, and John Gross performed at the
festival. Every year money is raised to support the “Jim Pepper Remembrance Music
Scholarship” helping Native Youth to study music.

10. 8
The Composition Witchi Tai To
Witchi Tai To was derived from a traditional Native American chant that Jim Pepper
learned from his Kaw grandfather, Gilbert Pepper. Jim Pepper embedded the traditional Native
American chant “Witchi Tai To” in a jazz landscape creating a song fusing jazz, rock, and
traditional Native American chant, creating what was essentially a new musical work. Before
describing Jim Pepper’s Witchi Tai To it is valuable to understand the habitat of this traditional
Native American chant “Witchi Tai To”. “Witchi Tai To” was sang (and may still be) at
ceremonies held by the Native American Church. This chant, in ceremonial context, is a
religious song asking for strength according to Jim Pepper in his interview with Pop and Jazz
magazine in 1968 (Heckman, 1968: 41-43).
Jim Pepper explains that these traditional songs change meter, and that for Witchi Tai To
he made the melody an 8 bar phrase and the harmony a 7 bar phrase to account for the meter
change. Pepper said that next time he is going to “stick to the way Indians did them, and change
the meter” (Heckman, 1968: 41-43). When Heckman asked Pepper about the use of pentatonic
scales he replies with this statement illustrating the nature of these songs.
It tends to use the pentatonic scales, but it’s not restricted to that. There are a lot of
quarter-tones used. It depends on the song. Like a [Native American Church] song is
liable to go anyplace – slurs, glissandos…not necessarily going back to a note in the set
scale. And the beat turns around, too. The beat turns around completely. [The] music
reminds me a lot of…say, some of Don Cherry’s lines. I don’t think he thinks in terms of
one, two, three, four. (Heckman, 1968: 41-43)
Characteristically, Native American Church songs seem to center around a basic melody,
while different musical nuances given to the expression of the melody and accompanying drum

11. 9
beat are improvised. In some sense, the way that Jim Pepper extracted this melody and then
surrounded it with a jazz/rock framework could be argued to be in line with tradition.
Witchi Tai To is divided into two parts on track one. The first part is called “Witchi Tai
To” the chant and the second is called Witchi Tai To the song. “Witchi Tai To” the chant
involves the chant being spoken while accompanied by a drum beat and rattle. Next, after a short
pause, “Witchi Tai To” the song starts. It begins with a solo piano playing an introduction with a
rattle and bell in the background. The guitar enters playing a melody with the drum set playing a
standard rock beat. The guitar enters playing what is either a solo or addition to the introduction.
After the song’s introduction Pepper sings the “Witchi Tai To” chant. Pepper sings the
“Witchi Tai To” chant first in the Comanche language, and then gives the chant English words.
Jim Pepper plays the saxophone hook as an interlude between vocal sections. A hook is a short
musical idea used to catch the listener’s ear. The chant is then repeated. Then, Pepper plays a
saxophone solo. The guitar plays riffs to accompany the saxophone solo. To end the solo section,
Jim Pepper returns to the saxophone hook. The chant is sung again. The first time in Comanche
and next with the English words. Behind the chant are flute sounds and the guitar playing
distorted backgrounds. Next the guitar takes a solo while the chant is being sung. The saxophone
then enters to play the saxophone hook to conclude Witchi Tai To.
Witchi Tai To is in the key of D Major and follows the chord progression (D-D/C-Bm-G-
Em-A7), in Roman numeral harmonic analysis this would be (I-I-vi-IV-ii-V7). This chord
progression shows the influence of rock because it contains the I and IV and vi, and doesn’t
leave the key of D. It also shows jazz influence because of the ii-V turn around. Jim Pepper’s
solo uses a soft and full saxophone tone. He uses fast trills, false fingering, and other effects that

12. 10
create different timbers to color his solo. Pepper is able to distort his tone in a way that is very
unique and sounds like an acoustic version of a flanger pedal. He also develops melodic ideas
throughout his solo. His solo is based around D Mixolydian and stays close to the tonic center.
The straight 8th notes of the drum beat keep the saxophone lines rhythmically closer to a rock
feel.
Witchi Tai To became Everything is Everything band’s signature song. Witchi Tai To
was a crossover hit on jazz and popular Top 40 lists around the world, and has been covered in
nearly 100 recordings by countless pop and world musicians” (Siegle, “The Jazz Legacy of Jim
Pepper”). Witchi Tai To was popular among main stream American music fans and around the
world. The success of Witchi Tai To is considered a unique phenomenon.
At first, Jim Pepper was worried about his grandfather’s reaction to Witchi Tai To.
According to Jack Berry in the article “Comin’ and Goin’”, a radio interview with KBOO in the
1980’s quotes Pepper quoting his grandfather after he listened to the recording. His grandfather
said “That’s good! That’s good!” Berry uses David Lowenthal’s quote to explain Jim Pepper’s
grandfather’s reaction to Jim Pepper’s Witchi Tai To.
To be a living force the past must be ever remade. Heritage is not to be stored away in a
vault of an attic; the true steward adds his own stamp to those of his predecessors…To
receive and transmit a legacy is not enough; it must be refurbished and given new
resonance while in our care. (Berry 2006, 122-29)
Culture is living and evolves over time. The way to preserve heritage is not to hold it
frozen, but to let it grow as future generations carry it from their grandparents to their
grandchildren. It gives the future generations a voice, and allows them to see themselves in the
creation process.

13. 11
Importance of Personal Connection in Learning
Jim Pepper’s composition model provides a method to approach teaching music
curriculum in a way that engages students because it helps students to have a personal
connection to the material and skill sets they are learning. In “Embracing Multicultural
Teaching,” educator Pamela Tiedt, explains that “all students come to school with a vast store of
knowledge, which we should relate to new concept. A study of families around the world might
begin with children sharing what they know about their families” (Tiedt, 1994). Why not use
that vast store of knowledge that students already have to get them excited about what they are
learning about in music? While a student’s vast store of knowledge may need to be filled up
because there is family research that needs to be done, every student sill has an abundance of
knowledge that exists within them.
When a student is directed to do family research for their composition, students are active
in searching for information that is relevant to them and their music composition project.
According to Pamela Tiedt, “if learning is to take place, the learner must be actively engaged in
making inquiries to construct his or her own meaning” (Tiedt, 1994). The incorporation of a
student’s family heritage into a music composition creates possibilities for students to ask
questions like:
• My parents are from Ghana, can I expand on a traditional melody and use it as a theme in
my composition? How do other composers use a melodic theme throughout their
composition?
• I heard that my great-grandparents were miners during the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado
and had to risk their lives to stand up against injustice. How can I musically represent

14. 12
how they felt during this time? Is there a range on my instrument that would convey the
sadness that the miners were facing at this time? Where can I learn more about the lives
of the miners in the Ludlow Massacre? Would it be helpful if I could visit this historical
site? If I take pictures of my trip there, can I display them while my composition is
performed?
• I really love syncopated rhythms. My aunt was a professional flamenco dancer. Can I
write a piece that uses rhythms that are similar to her foot work?
• One of the composition parameters is to use the composition form AABA. My
composition is going to be about my family reunion that has been happening for the past
105 years in Akron, Colorado. How can I use this composition form to help tell a story
from one of my family’s reunions? Would it be interesting for me to play this
composition at my family’s next reunion? Wouldn’t it be cool if it becomes a tradition to
play this composition every year?
• I am adopted from Guatemala. Where can I learn about traditional songs and music from
Guatemala? Can I write a song that talks about what is like being adopted? Maybe I can
write a melody that is inspired by a traditional Guatemalan song.
• I am a foster child and have been moved from family to family. I am not interested in my
family heritage. Maybe I can write a song that helps other children in my situation feel
empowered. What can I incorporate into my song that represents me?
Questions that students start asking will get them engaged in their music in a way that allows
them to have a personal connection to the curriculum they are learning in class through their
composition and gain additional insight. The musical skills they are learning at school will

15. 13
become a tool for them to express who they are and the stories that they what to tell others
through their composition. A student that uses a composition form to tell a story about their
family is probably never going to forget that composition form, and will have a good
understanding of the importance that composition forms play in supporting a musical idea. A
student that is interested in highly syncopated flamenco rhythms can find motivation to establish
a really good sense of time. Also, a student drawing inspiration for their composition from dance
will gain an understanding of how music and physical motion interact. When students learn
about a heroic deed of their grandfather, a sense of pride in who they are can become instilled in
a student. If a family decides to have a composition written by one of their younger members
(the music student) played at family unions, this younger family member will start to see how
family traditions are formed. Students who have a personal connection to the information that
they are learning, will learn more effectively. This information will have greater significance in
their lives, and other doors of insight will be opened. Students will become excited and engaged,
in music, and also the world.
Importance of Personal Identity in Education
Jim Pepper’s choice to incorporate his family heritage into his composition brings to light
another matter that is important to recognize in music education. People have a need to create
and express their personal identity in their lives, and this includes the classroom. Jim Pepper’s
composition model exhibits, through the incorporation of a person's family heritage, a way for
students to learn about and express personal identity through composition. Students who are
studying music will be more engaged when “their personal cultures, experiences and
perspectives” are a part of their curriculum (Clemons, 289). When students have the opportunity
to explore new musical concepts or skills from a perspective that allows them to include a sense

16. 14
of personal identity, what they are learning will be of greater significate to them and they will
intrinsically have a deeper understanding. Students will also be more motivated in learning new
musical concepts or skills because they will be able to share with others who they are and what is
unique about them. Through music, students will have the opportunity to tell their story.
As music educators look to Jim Pepper’s composition model as a way to engage their
students, it is important for them to understand the historical importance of Jim Pepper’s Witchi
Tai To as it relates to understanding Jim Pepper as a Native American composer and
saxophonist. The historical importance of Jim Pepper is also significant as music educators
approach teaching diverse populations of students. Different demographics of students may have
unique circumstances that influence how those students interact and view the world. They may
also have unique challenges to overcome in school and in life.
Native American Identity
In some respect, Jim Pepper’s decision to incorporate the Kaw chant “Witchi Tai To”
into what is essential a new modern musical work was a bold move because this is a chant used
in ceremonies by the Native American church. Normally, a chant such as “Witchi Tai To” is
used in ritual and prayer, not in performance. A few assumptions to Jim Pepper’s reasoning for
incorporating his family heritage into his music are: (1) a way to preserve his family heritage and
ensure future generations could hear this chant, (2) a way to acknowledge his ancestors, (3) a
way to share, with mainstream America, a part of the spirituality of his people.
Jim Pepper’s choice in doing this can only be known by him. However, what Witchi Tai
To did do, was represent Jim Pepper as a Native American jazz musician and composer living
and interacting in contemporary society and making his family heritage apart of his work. Witchi

17. 15
Tai To represents a Native American musician, who was raised in both contemporary American
culture and in his tribal culture(s), expressing how he wanted to be seen in the world through
music, visible to both cultures and globally. When one takes into account the struggle for Native
Americans to preserve their culture(s) and their individual identities, in music and in society, Jim
Pepper’s Witchi Tai To holds even more gravity.
On the album Pepper’s Pow Wow the song “Drum” expresses a satirical, but serious,
statement about Native Americans and the attempt to cultural assimilate them into mainstream
America. Set in a country western style, Pepper makes a statement about what Native families
and their children experienced when they were made to attend boarding schools by the United
States government. Jim Pepper’s lyrics talk about being put on reservation and then being put in
government schools. He talks about learning to be ashamed of Indian heritage, and children
having to answer to an English name at school and cut their hair. The title “Drums” is referring
to hearing Indian drums in the distance while at school. Below is a historical account of Jim
Pepper’s songs.
Indian Schools
In 1879 Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
(Perea, Intertribal Native American Music in the United States, 2014). Pratt’s agenda was to
completely integrate Native American’s into white society. Common tactics used in this and
other boarding schools at this time were “forbidding the students to speak their tribal language or
forcibly cutting their hair (Perea, INAMUS, 96). According to historian John W. Troutman
“music was used in the boarding school context as part of [the] assimilation educational agenda
of Pratt and the United States (Perea, INAMUS, 96). They wanted to give Native students

18. 16
something besides their own tribal music. The “introduction to the music super culture was
viewed as facilitating the students” ability to better and faster assimilate into the role of
American rather than remain a member of a specific tribe or nation. Pratt felt that these types of
performance opportunities provided Native students “the discipline, refinement, and cultural
attributes necessary for them to eventually become proper American citizens” (Perea, INAMUS
96).
Sounding Native
Native American culture and identity has been challenged by the circumstances of Indian
Schools and colonialism. Another issue arises in terms of Native American culture and music.
Hegemonic society has preconceived ideas of what Native American musicians sound like. Most
people stereo typically think of wood flutes, a steady beating drum, and tranquil chanting when it
comes to Native American music. While this is one reality of Native American music, it tends to
discount Native American musicians who do not fall under this category of “Sounding Native.”
Also, surrounding this expectation of “Sounding Native,” there is the idea that Native
American’s create music that is unsophisticated and primitive. It encourages musicians like Jim
Pepper to be viewed as anomalies because they do not fit the mold for Native musicians (Perea,
“The Unexpectedness of Jim Pepper,” 2014). It has “inform[ed] the ways Native music is-or is
not –performed, heard, and circulated” (Perea, “The Unexpectedness of Jim Pepper,” 72). The
main stream hegemonic culture in American and around the world tends to want to place Native
Americans in a 19th century historic construct, rather than seeing them and their culture(s) as a
living and breathing reality that adapts and evolves over time.

19. 17
Forced assimilation of Native Americans into main stream American society and stereo-
typing what a Native American musician sounds like, makes Jim Pepper stand out. Jim Pepper,
through the composition of Witchi Tai To, found a way to form and exercise his voice as a
Native American musician in contemporary society. He found a way to exist in two cultures,
possible more as Witchi Tai To was globally successful. He also preserved a piece of his family
heritage on a global scale.
Acoustemology
A perspective that gives insight to why educators should pay attention to their students’
ability to form a personal connection to what they are learning in the music classroom and ability
to find a sense of personal identity in music is illustrated by the term “acoustemology” used by
anthropologist Steven Feld. In Feld’s article, “Waterfalls of Song,” acoustemology is defined as
“local conditions of acoustic sensation, knowledge, and imagination embodied in the culturally
particular sense of place” (Feld, 91). Steven Feld explores the term acoustemology in his
research of the Kaluli tribe of Papua New Guinea, and how they make sense of their world
through sound. This term is also explored by Native American musician, scholar and performer
John-Carlos Perea in “Witchi Tai To: An Historical Acousticology” where he examines how
“selected musicians have over time sounded themselves through their performance of the song”
Witchi Tai To (Perea, “Witchi Tai To”, 7).
The basic idea represented by acoustemology is that by listening to sounds and making
sounds, humans experience and interact with their world and themselves; and that through sound,
they experience a sense of knowing and existing in the world. This concept helps explain the
importance of having a way to anchor students into what they are learning in the music

20. 18
classroom. If the acoustic dimension or sound is central to how one experiences and interacts
with the world, students need to identify with the acoustic space they are interacting with. This
acoustic space needs to be culturally and personally relevant to students. Jim Pepper’s
composition model is a method that can be this anchor for students, as it allows them to find
personal connections with what they are learning and provides an opportunity for them to
express their personal identity. Jim Pepper’s composition model will engage students because it
allows them to create a sonic space that can resonate with who they are and how they interact in
the world.
Educational Propriety of Jim Pepper’s Composition Method
The incorporation of family heritage into curriculum is proven to have positive impacts
on student’s learning and their life. This affirms the importance of Jim Pepper’s composition
model in engaging students and creating other positive outcomes. In “Developing Multicultural
Awareness through Designs Based on Family Heritage: Application and Implications” Clemons
presented research explaining the positive impacts that a rug design project, calling for students
to incorporate their family heritage, had on students.
For many students, Clemons’ rug design project was the first time they were encouraged
to dig into their family heritage and learn about their roots (Clemons, 2005). One student
explained that she had learned that her whole Watters family had to live on an Island by
themselves because they were outcast in the British Isles. Another student found greater
appreciation for her family when she learned about struggles they faced as they emigrated from
Sweden. This student explained that her ability to go through hard times was because she had
“tough genes from their relatives” (Clemons, 294). One student said that he did not know

21. 19
anything about his culture prior to the project, and that learning about his father’s people from
the Philippines gave him the pride he needed to stand up against bullying. He had “discovered
architectural elements and a crumbled fifteenth-century chateau that had [his] father’s name over
the gate.” He explained his finding as “an honor thing to [him] and gave [him] a great sense of
pride” (Clemons, 294).
While the incorporation of family heritage into music curriculum can serve as a means to
more effectively engage them in music, it also impacts students in other ways. Students can be
given the opportunity to learn about their family and gain insight to themselves through this
experience. A sense of strength and pride can come from learning about their family heritage. It
also makes a student’s music educational experience richer as the music curriculum creates an
opportunity for the student’s identity to be reflected in the educational process.
The rug design project also challenged students to “communicate their personal history
through graphic representation” and “develop more intricate and sophisticated designs.” Jim
Pepper’s composition model will challenge students to communicate musically. Students will be
inspired to find ways to use their skills in music in a sophisticated manner to communicate what
they are wanting to express to others about themselves in an intelligent way.
Music Education and Creativity
While the primary goal of Jim Pepper’s composition is to engage students in music, one
of the goals of education in a broad spectrum should be to engage students in life and who they
are. Jim Pepper’s composition model provides an opportunity to get students excited about who
they are and the world they live in. His model engages students in life by allowing them to be
creative.

22. 20
Giving students the opportunity to be creative is important. According to “Could Art,
Creativity Stave Indian Youth Suicide Epidemic ?” through creativity students “develop a
passion for life and an excitement for their future that cannot be diminished by anything outside
of themselves” (Manning, 2015). When students are creative, they become aware that they have
power to create and shape the world around them and their lives. They also realize that they have
something unique to offer the world (Manning, 2015).
Music education in itself has many benefits. Music employs different parts of the brain,
giving students increased cognitive abilities in other areas of their life. It is a social experience
that gives students an opportunity to build social skills. It also provides students with more tools
to express themselves. Most importantly, making music is a part of life and gives students a way
to participate, engage and create the world around them. Jim Pepper’s compositional model
acknowledges who students are as unique individuals who have something valuable to offer the
world. When students are taught from this mind set, they are more likely to treat others as the
same and their interactions in the world will be more inclusive, kind and respectful.
How to Build from Jim Pepper’s Model to Serve Your Classroom Goals
The most basic component of Jim Pepper’s composition model is that he takes a piece of
his family heritage, in the case of Witchi Tai To a traditional chant from the Native American
Church is used, and he embeds it into a modern musical format. Music educators can have
students extract a piece of their family heritage that is meaningful to them, and have them embed
it in to a modern musical structure. For example Desert Medicine, I composed using Jim
Pepper’s composition model. The work has four aspects that are inspired by my family heritage:
• A drum rhythm that is inspired by a traditional Aztec dance called Venado (Deer)

23. 21
• The composition is in narrative form and follows the story line of a story I was told growing
up about the Apache warrior women Lozen (c.1840-1890).
• There is an improvisational section of the composition that was inspired by a musical
tradition of the Apache Nation. According to Peter Aleshire in Lozen, before singers would
present traditional songs they would improvise freely to express themselves.
• I grew up as a traditional Aztec dancer (and continue to be) and the first dance that I learned
was “Apache” which was dedicated to the Apache Nation as a symbol of friendship. In
remembrance of this tribal bond, I composed Desert Medicine as dedicated to the Apache
Nation.
Using Jim Pepper’s compositional model not only gives students (and myself, as a
composer) compositional material from their own lives. It can also inspire students to do
historical research, interview family members, learn a folk song or dance, or visit a history site.
In preparation for Desert Medicine, I read Lozen by Peter Aleshire to learn about Lozen and the
Apache Nation. I also visited the Ojo Caliente hot springs in New Mexico, which is considered
the birth place of the Apache Nation.
The next step in building from Jim Pepper’s compositional model is deciding what musical
concepts will be explored and represented in the composition. These musical skills or concepts
can be used as parameters that enable the music educator to teach their curriculum. Examples of
parameters are as follows; compositional forms, compositional devices, harmonic progressions,
use of counterpoint, use of specific rhythmic concepts or meters, use of specific instruments, use
of specific articulations and dynamics, and using contrasting. Parameters are to be fit to the

24. 22
music educator’s curriculum so that the classroom objectives are met. Below the
parameters/objectives of Desert Medicine will be explained.
One parameter Desert Medicine needed to have was contrast throughout the duration of
the work. Contrast was used to create musical interest. It also helped illustrate the story of Lozen;
the battles that she fought in, the songs that she sang, the desert that she lived in, Ojo Caliente
(the birth place of her people), the sorrow that she felt as her world was destroyed, and her
supernatural ability to know the direction of the enemy.
Desert Medicine starts with percussion playing a rhythmic theme that will return throughout
the piece. This rhythm was inspired by a traditional Aztec dance called Venado (Deer), which to
me is symbolic of the desert because Mule deer live there. The cello enters with an ostinato
figure, and gradually the violin and alto saxophone join in. From measures 23-30, the first
contrasting section appears called “Healing Song” representing songs that Lozen used for healing
purposes. The composition also needed to use the piano in an interesting way. At the “Healing
Song” section, the piano plays in a high octave to create a surreal mystical sound. The alto
saxophone plays a sparse melody, while the violin and cello have longer note durations. The
piano has a repeated rhythmical part in the left hand. In the right hand, the piano plays the high
register notes with staccato and accents giving them an interesting percussive sound. Each
subsection of Desert Medicine is illustrating the story of Lozen and presents different thematic
material.
Another objective in Desert Medicine was to use counter melodic lines. In the “Super
Natural” section (measures 53-71) the alto saxophone has the melody; however, the violin and
cello have melodic and rhythmic lines that will intertwine with, or counter, the top melody. The

25. 23
intertwined melodies are used to illustrate the supernatural abilities of Lozen to locate the
enemies.
In the "Flying Birds" section (measure 76-91) contrast is used to depict the little birds,
like quails and roadrunners, that fly around the desert and were a part of Lozen's world. Also, the
"Flying Birds" enters after the improvisational section, symbolic of how nature's improvised
movements give birth to songs. "Sorrow" is the following section, the tempo is decreased and the
violin and cello have a mournful duet. Their mournful duet evokes the sadness that Lozen felt as
she saw the world she knew being destroyed by her enemies.
Prominent musical themes that the listener could leave singing after a performance were
another objective for this composition. The rhythmic theme described previously is one of the
main themes, and is found throughout the work. At measure 31, in the “Ojo Caliente” section a
melodic theme is presented that represents the Ojo Caliente hot springs in New Mexico. To give
the listener a sense of musical stability and conclusion, a variation on this theme concludes
Desert Medicine. The return to thematic material from the beginning was to help the listener
remember the melody for the “Ojo Caliente”. As Ojo Caliente, is said to be the birth place of the
Apache Nation, it gives the composition a sense of returning home. The last section of Desert
Medicine is called “Faith”. Measures 113-135 use melodic material from measure 31, which is
the thematic material representing Ojo Caliente. The Ojo Caliente melodic material is moved up
a whole step and generally follows the original melody, but exactly. At measure 31 the cello
waits to enter into the melodic material. At 124 it enters right away as a harmony, making the
end interesting and more dramatic.

26. 24
Another parameter of Desert Medicine was that it needed to mimic Schoenberg's Pierrot
ensemble’s instrumentation. The Pierrot instrumentation is flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
(it can also include percussion or a mezzo soprano). The Desert Medicine ensemble uses violin,
cello, piano, percussion and uses an alto saxophone instead of the flute or clarinet to create a
modern music ensemble from the Pierrot ensemble.
After the students have chosen what material from their family heritage they want to
incorporate and understand the parameters set by their teacher, they have the ingredients to build
their own compositions. The size and intricacy of the composition can be decided on according
to the musical level of the students. Once the composition is complete, students can be
encouraged to help each other rehearse and present each other’s compositions. This can
encourage students to learn about each other’s background and interact with each other in a
cooperative and inclusive way.
Conclusion
Jim Pepper was ahead of his time musically. He considered himself a traditional
bebop saxophonist and was inspired to compose music that incorporated his Native American
heritage. At the core of Jim Pepper was the belief that music was powerful, and had the ability to
heal (Siegle “Jim Pepper: Indian on the Jazz Path”). Pepper’s mother said the “intense
spirituality” was what she recognized most in his music. Through music Jim Pepper found a way
to combine the different cultures that he was a part of, a product of both colonial and post-
colonial Native American heritage. He considered himself an urban Indian, as he was raised in
an urban life style. However, he manifested his Native America heritage through his music. He

27. 25
emulated a bicultural model in how he presented himself in the world, as a person and a
musician.
The significance of Jim Pepper to music education rests in the example that he has left for
younger musicians. Jim Pepper carved out his own path in music by being true to who he was.
He found a way to be original by being himself, and allowing his music to be a vehicle to help
him vocalize his sense of self. The compositional model that Witchi Tai To illustrates is one that
allows students to use the knowledge they are gaining at school and combine it with elements of
their family heritage that they want to communicate with others. In this process students become
engaged in music, and they are given an opportunity to learn about themselves through the
exploration of their family heritage. This model embraces the fact that students are coming into
the classroom with a vast well of knowledge, experiences, and understanding of the world. The
purpose of using Jim Pepper’s model, is to get students excited about music, the world they live
in, the people they come from, learning about who they are (or want to become) and making the
world a better place using music as the medium.

28. 26
Works Cited
Berry, J. "Comin' and Goin' - Memories of Jazzman Jim Pepper." Oregon Historical
Quarterly 107.1 (2006): 122-29. Web. 20 Apr. 2015
Camera, Jake. “Jim Pepper Story Part 1.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 June
2007.Web. 12 March 12, 2015.
Clemons, Stephanie. "Developing Multicultural Awareness through Designs Based on Family
Cultural Heritage: Application, Impact and Implications." International Journal of Art &
Design Education 24.3 (2005): 288-98. Web.
Feld, Steven. “Waterfalls of Song: An Acoustemology of Place Resounding in Bosavi Papua
New Guinea”, In Sense of Place, edited by K.H. Basso and S. Feld. Santa Fe School of
American Research Press, 1996. Print.
Marty Hughley. "Renowned Saxophonist Jim Pepper Dies After Long Worldwide Jazz Career:
FOURTH Edition." The Oregonian 1992: E.02. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Jim Pepper Bio | Jim Pepper Career." MTV Artists. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
"Jim Pepper." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015
"Jim PepperFest: Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival: Portland Oregon Music Festival." Jim
PepperFest: Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival: Portland Oregon Music Festival. Web.
13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.jimpepperfest.net/>.

29. 27
Heckman, Don. Pepper Talks to Don Heckman. Jazz and Pop Magazine (April 1968): 41-43.
print.
Manning, Sarah. "Manning: Could Art, Creativity Stave Indian Youth Suicide
Epidemic?" Indian Country Today Media Network.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Mbaegbu, Celestine Chukwuemeka. "The Effective Power of Music in Africa." Open Journal of
Philosophy 5.3 (2015): 176-83. Web.z
Perea, John Carlos. Intertribal Native American Music in the United States.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.
------------. "The Unexpectedness of Jim Pepper." MUSICultures: Journal of the Canadian
Society for Traditional Music/Revue De La Société Canadienne Pour Les Traditions
Musicales 39.1 (2012): 70-82. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
-------------. "Witchi Tai to: An Historical Acoustemology." Order No. 3411253
University of California, Berkeley, 2009. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Siegel, Bill. “The Jazz Legacy of Jim Pepper” Web blog post. Wordpress. 22 Feb. 2008.
Web. 13 March 2015.
----------------“Jim Pepper: Indian on the Jazz Path” (By Michael zwerin) Web blog post.
Wordpress. 9 March 2008. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Tiedt, Pamela. “Embracing Multicultural Education.” Insights on Diversity, Bloom, Carol.
West Lafayette: Kappa Delta PI, 1994.