Sayani

Jorie and Christie West, make up this mother/daughter duo and are known for their unique blend of rich, beautiful harmonies. After working for many years as studio musicians and backup vocalists on the mainland and in Hawaii, they began singing together as Sayani (Cherokee word meaning Zion).  The Nvda Sunalei album was written to share their family stories, both past and present, of life as a Cherokee through language and music.  
Sayani is the Native American arm of Aloha Ke Akua Ministries,  a ministry to Indigenous peoples all over the world, and they also sing with the Hawaiian group, Na Kahu.
 
Jorie has two more daughters, Rachelle and Carrie-Anna.
 
Rachelle, Jorie's firstborn, is the inspiration for the title song of the album, Nvda Sunalei (Morning Sun), and is pictured below with her husband, Aaron Wilson, and children, Hayley and Tristan. Rachelle could have been the third harmony voice in Sayani, but chose to answer a greater calling....... that of wife and mother. Nevertheless, she remains in their hearts everyday and is a vital part of  who they  are.

Carrie-Anna is Sayani's products manager. Stop by the record table and say hello.....or osiyo if you are Tsalagi.

Jorie was raised in a musical home. Jorie's father, E.V. Medley was born in Catoosa, Oklahoma but moved to the Marshall, Arkansas area where he met and married her mother, MaryAnn Ford. Mary, a Cherokee, had moved around quite a bit in her life because of the difficulties her family encountered from folks that did not want an Indian family in the community.  After they married, they moved on to California where Mary gave birth to JoAnn, TurtleBear, and Jorie.  She raised her little family in Riverside and  San Bernardino Counties and spent the rest of her life there.  The Medley family sang in local churches for many years and Jorie's first singing "gig", at the age of three, was standing on top of an orange crate box at a radio station (KPRO) in Riverside, California.  Her brother, John Medley aka TurtleBear, now resides in Moreno Valley, California and is also still singing.  They sing together, ocassionally, when their schedules allow.

 Jorie moved to Hawaii with her father and daughter, Carrie, in 1995 while Christie was attending college in California.  Christie, who developed an exceptional ear for harmony at a very early age, moved to Hawaii in 1997 and joined her mother as a studio musician.  They began singing together in Hawaiian bands and worship teams and traveled as Ambassadors of the Aloha Spirit to Australia, New Zealand and the West Coast of Mainland, USA.   In August of 2006, they moved to Texas to begin their fulltime ministry.
 

http://www.facebook.com/4sayani

http://www.myspace.com/sayani1
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Sayani