R. CARLOS NAKAI

 

 

 

Music Anthology

 

 

Big Medicine

Players

R. Carlos Nakai

 

 

 

 

Selections



Mythic Dreamer:Music For Native American Flute

Players

R. Carlos Nakai



Review

"Nakai's most recent outing finds him returning once again to the simple under-produced style that he pioneered on Changes. This program includes 10 traditional tunes from the Kiowa, Lakota, Dakota, Zuni, and Cheyenne; seven of his own compositions; and "Lake That Speaks," from the second movement of James DeMars's "Two World Concerto."

"On this album the Native melodies sound forceful, almost triumphant, partially due to the short, staccato bursts that Nakai often uses to begin a melodic line--sounds that bring to mind a child's laughter or the contented chirping of a dawn bird. For the Cheyenne "Victory Song" and the Dakota/Lakota melody "The Great Mystery Hears Me" Nakai uses more sustained notes than usual, and the clear, piercing tone of his flute illuminates the heart like a ray of midday sunshine."

Dirty Linen

"On his first solo recording since 1992, Nakai presents 60 minutes of solo flute with 11 arrangements of Zuni, Lakota, Kiowa and Cheyenne melodies and seven of his own. Quiet and reflective, no one performs this style better or with more authority than Nakai."

Jim Lee

 

 

 

 

Selections



Red Wind

Players

William Eaton, R. Carlos Nakai, Will Clipman



Review

"Nakai continues on his eclectic path in this collaboration with guitarist/composer/instrument-maker William Eaton and multi-percussionist Will Clipman, who has an impressive resume in the jazz, reggae, rock, and world music fields. Each of the three players are impressive musicians, and although the tunes are all based on spontaneous group interactions, there's seldom if ever any grandstanding. Each instrument floats comfortably in the sea created by the group's improvisations. Eaton's playing on the harp-guitar produces bass and sitar like tones by running the instrument through a synthesizer, and Clipman's work on tabla and talking drum is particularly impressive, while Nakai's flute flutters in an out of the mix like a hummingbird drunk on the nectar of a thousand wildflowers." --j. poet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selections



Song For Humanity....1988-1998

Players

R. Carlos Nakai



 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Selections



Winds of Devotion

Players

R. Carlos Nakai,Nawang Khechong, David Darling, Geoffrey Gordon, Jai Uttal, Pagan Love, Wade Matthews, Peter Kater



 

"On this recording Nakai is joined by Nawang Khechong, a master of the Tibetan flute, and a practitioner of traditional healing techniques.

"They are joined by David Darling on cello; Geoffrey Gordon, percussionist from Jai Uttal's Pagan Love Orchestra; bass player Wade Mathews; and keyboardist-producer Peter Kater to produce a suite of music that bends the healing traditions of Native America and Tibet. Nakai and Khechong have an obvious rapport, and fit their traditions together in a seamless manner. The background vocals and synthesizer washes sound a bit clichéd at times, but the playing and chanting of the principals ultimately overcome this minor limitation."

j. poet

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Selections



Inside Monument Valley

Players

R. Carlos Nakai, Paul Horn



Review

"The sublimity of Inside Monument Valley isn't in the lovely flute music created by jazz musician Paul Horn and Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, or in the informative, clear liner notes and crisp photos, but rather in the exquisite interplay between Arizona's Monument Valley (the birds, insects, rain, thunder, and echoing canyon walls) and the highly inspired, all-improv music created by two immensely talented artists. The 1998 release Mythic Dreamer was special for the lyrical,spiritual music Nakai created on his first solo flute album after several years, and Inside Monument Valley picks up where Nakai's inspiration left off, like the inhalation of one breath after the exhalation of the last. Horn adds an interesting texture playing European-style transverse flutes and soprano sax. He complements Nakai's Native American flutes perfectly too, never overwhelming the listener with busy or distracting notes. The two musicians wandered into Monument Valley ready to record whatever their muses gave them, and the field-recording aspect of this CD worked wonderfully--probably because in some instinctual way the two artists knew it would. The power of bubbling thunder makes itself heard on "Rain God"; a fly makes a sizzling cameo past the mic on "Alhambra"; even Horn's doggy has something (quite comical) to say. But the recurring playful duels between the ravens' assertive calls and Nakai's flute are the best highlights--and well typify the beautiful essence of this album: living beings speaking to one another through song."

Karen Karleski

 

 

 

 

Selections


 

 



 

 

 


 

 




R. CARLOS NAKAI PART VI



PHOENIX