A little less based in funk and hip-hop than the many works credited to her birth name,
Georgia Anne Muldrow's recordings as
Jyoti have emphasized soul-jazz and experimental electronic music, two other forms instilled in her since childhood. All three albums
Muldrow has released under the name -- Ocotea (2010), Denderah (2013), and Mama, You Can Bet! (2020) -- have been issued through SomeOthaShip, the independent label operated by the Grammy-nominated musician and her partner,
Dudley Perkins.
Muldrow's discography was already deep by the time singer, rapper, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer debuted
Jyoti, a name given to her by family friend
Alice Coltrane. Ocotea introduced
Jyoti in June 2010 with
Muldrow the composer and performer of each element. The album won Jazz Album of the Year at BBC DJ
Gilles Peterson's annual Worldwide Awards ceremony the following January. Amid
Muldrow's constant stream of new recordings, Denderah arrived as the second
Jyoti album in September 2013, and was likewise instrumental but came across more like an avant-jazz beat tape.
After another series of
Georgia Anne Muldrow releases highlighted by the Grammy-nominated
Overload,
Muldrow dusted off
Jyoti in 2020 and released Mama, You Can Bet! that August. The LP broke from
Jyoti tradition by incorporating
Muldrow's vocals and input from another musician, namely saxophonist
Lakecia Benjamin, who was featured on "Ra's Noise (Thukumbado)." Also included were remixes of two
Charles Mingus tracks originally commissioned by
Jason Moran and the Kennedy Center. ~ Andy Kellman