| Mali Obomsawin | |
| Birth Date: | 19 July 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Stratford, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Genre: | Jazz, Free Jazz, Folk music, Roots, Rock, Contemporary Indigenous |
| Instrument: | Double Bass, Electric Bass, Voice, Guitar |
| Years Active: | 2014-present |
| Label: | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Out Of Your Head Records |
| Website: | maliobomsawin.com |
Mali Obomsawin is an Indigenous musician from Abenaki First Nation at Odanak specializing in free-jazz, rock, and American roots music.
Obomsawin was born in Stratford, New Hampshire.[1] She is an enrolled member of Abenaki First Nation at Odanak in Quebec, and of Sephardic Jewish Descent on her mother's side. She is the granddaughter of writer/activist Paul Goodman,[2] and cousin of renowned Abenaki musician, filmmaker and activist Alanis Obomsawin.[3] Obomsawin grew up in Farmington, Maine,[4] and began playing double bass at age ten.[5]
In 2013, Obomsawin enrolled at Berklee College of Music where she completed three semesters[6] before transferring to Dartmouth College, graduating in 2018.[7]
While at Berklee, Obomsawin joined folk-rock trio Lula Wiles in 2014,[8] who would go on to tour extensively in the US, Canada, and Germany, and sign with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 2018[9] . Lula Wiles released three well-received recordings before disbanding in 2021.[10]
Obomsawin's debut solo album, "Sweet Tooth," was released October 28, 2022 on Out Of Your Head Records[11] to international acclaim, receiving praise from Jazz Times "album of the day"[12] Financial Times “Critic’s Choice,”[13] and The Guardian’s "Folk Album of the Month" for November 2022.[14]
As Mali Obomsawin Sextet
With Lula Wiles| Title | Details | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lula Wiles (2016) |
| Studio Album | |
| What Will We Do (2019) |
| Studio Album | |
| It's Cool (2019) |
| Single | |
| Shame and Sedition (2021) |
| Studio Album |
| Title | Details | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| We Are the Warriors (Forthcoming) |
| Original Soundtrack | |
| Jake Blount - The New Faith (2022) |
| Studio Album | |
| Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble - Margaret and Katie (2022) |
| Live Album | |
| Aurora Birch - Brightness (2017) |
| Studio Album |