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Internationally renowned folksinger Buffy Sainte-Marie will be joined by the Native American a cappella trio Ulali for "Ancestral Voices," a special one-night-only performance at Edison Theatre Feb. 26. The show begins at 8 p.m.
Born on a Cree reservation, Buffy Sainte-Marie first achieved international recognition in the early 1960s, while a student at the University of Massachusetts, where she earned a doctorate in fine arts. Over the years, her music has been recorded by Janis Joplin, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, the Highwaymen and many others. In 1982 her song "Up Where We Belong," recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for the film "An Officer and a Gentleman," won an Academy Award.
Sainte-Marie left recording in 1976 to begin a five-year stint on the PBS program "Sesame Street" with her son Dakota Wolfchild Starblanket. In 1993 she released the come-back album "Coincidence and Likely Stories"; later that year France named her "Best International Artist," and the United Nations chose her to announce the International Year of Indigenous People.
At once political, romantic and humorous, Ulali is known for its sweeping renditions of traditional and contemporary Native American song, as well as for energetic forays into gospel, jazz and blues. The group, which formed in 1987, takes its name from a legendary tribal singer whose beautiful voice caused her to be known as "ulali," or songbird.
Ulali consists of singers Pura Fé (of the Tuscarora people), Soni Moreno (Mayan, Apache and Yaqui) and Jennifer Elizabeth Kreisberg (Tuscarora) -- all of whom have enjoyed successful individual careers. Fé, who trained with Martha Graham and the American Ballet Theatre, has appeared in numerous Broadway productions. Moreno also has appeared on Broadway, notably as Chrissie in the original New York and San Francisco productions of "Hair." Kreisberg has recorded background vocals for numerous rock and jazz groups and regularly conducts vocal workshops for universities, schools and festivals.
Ulali has toured throughout the United States, Canada and Central and South America, and has performed at venues including Woodstock '94, Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Tickets are $25 and are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office, 935-6543, or through MetroTix, 534-1111. Call for discounts. For more information, call 935-6543.
