R. Carlos Nakai

Canyon Trilogy: Native American Flute Music

Canyon Records

Using digital technology, R. Carlos Nakai creates the sound of the cedar flute echoing in the canyons and valleys of the vast Southwest. His seventeen free flowing compositions soothe the spirit and carry the listener to the far realms of the imagination. Awarded a certified Gold Records in 1998 ~ the first ever awarded for a Native American music album.

R. Carlos Nakai

Earth Spirit

Canyon Records

This album best captures the timeless serenity of the solo Native American flute. R. Carlos Nakai's music speaks to the spirit with a simplicity that transcends place and time. Includes original compositions, traditional Athabascan and Omaha melodies.

R. Carlos Nakai

Talisman

Canyon Records

Talisman celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of R. Carlos Nakai's first release, Changes, and returns to the pure, haunting sound of the Native American flute unaccompanied by other instruments. Talisman is a continuous soundscape as Nakai alternates songs for one flute and songs for two flutes in a rich tapestry of music so soothing, it unwrinkles mind and soul...

R. Carlos Nakai

Inner Voices

Canyon Records

Inner Voices presents the haunting flute melodies of R. Carlos Nakai with the richness of a string ensemble in new arrangements of Nakai's melodies. The evocative power of the traditional flute is enhanced by the lush harmonies of violin, viola, cell and double bass in arrangement by two-time Grammy Award winner, Billy Williams. Williams' arrangements create a tranquil soundscape for the mellow tone of Nakai's flute that takes the listener on a meditative and peaceful journey into the inner world of memory and dreams. The ten songs include eight melodies drawn from earlier albums plus a luminescent rendition of the eternally popular Amazing Grace. A haunting solo for bass traditional flute rounds out the album.

R. Carlos Nakai

R. Carlos Nakai

R. Carlos Nakai

Dancing Into Silence

Canyon Records

Dancing Into Silence interweaves individual songs to create a continuous music-scape featuring the haunting sound of Native American flute, the rich harmonies and timbres of harp guitar, and subtle textures of world ethnic percussion.

R. Carlos Nakai

In Beauty, We Return

Canyon Records

In 1983, R. Carlos Nakai (Dine/Ute) introduced the haunting and soothing sound of the Native American flute to the world and began an exploration of the musical possibilities of this traditional instrument. This collection of songs draws from the best of Nakai's recordings and shows the range and versatility of his artistry and musical imagination.

R. Carlos Nakai

Emergence

Canyon Records

The best representation of R. Carlos Nakai's concert performance for the solo cedar flute beginning with renditions of traditional melodies from the Plains and Nakai's own works in the traditional style. Closes with an ethereal rendition of Amazing Grace.

R. Carlos Nakai

Desert Dance

Celestial Harmonies

Desert Dance is R. Carlos Nakai's musical interpretation of his experiences in the sacred place of his ancestors, Colorado's San Luis Valley. Like his critically acclaimed 1988 release, Sundance Season, the Navajo-Ute musician's latest album was recorded in the Lindisfarne chapel, a uniquely resonant structure situated within this dramatic expanse of holy ground. Many tribes, from the early pueblo dwellers to the Kiowa, Arapaho, and Comanche, have inhabited this alpine valley over time. Near Alamosa, Colorado, where the Great Sand Dunes lie, is the site of the Navajo's eastern sacred mountain, Blanca Peak, and the center of the Ute world. Nakai weaves his improvisations on the native American wooden flute, nose flute, drums, rattle, and voice into poetic meditations on the land and its history. During Ancient Voices, he delicately plays a Southern Plains war dance drum with finger taps and brushes to reveal a hidden palette of sound, much like the whisper of spirits within the valley. The joyful spectacle of desert birds frolicking upon waves of transparent air currents is depicted on Turquoise Swallows Dance, while the wind's daily moods are choreographed in temperate summer breezes, dust devils, and cloud formations on Wind Dance. Other selections deftly combine the plaintive, yet, potent sounds of Nakai's heritage to explore the mystery and unique beauty of this sacred territory.

R. Carlos Nakai

Mythic Dreamer: Music For Native American Flute

Canyon Records

This collection of traditional and new melodies for solo Native American flute continues R. Carlos Nakai's exploration of this expressive instrument. Returning to traditional roots, he presents eleven arrangements of Zuni, Lakota, Kiowa and Cheyenne melodies along with seven original compositions and a work by composer by James DeMars. Nakai beautifully demonstrates the haunting simplicity and evocative magic of the traditional flute.

R. Carlos Nakai

R. Carlos Nakai

Ancestral Voices

Canyon Records

1994 GRAMMY AWARD Finalist in Best Traditional Folk Music. R.Carlos Nakai and guitarist William Eaton create a diverse music that celebrates the rich traditions of the peoples of the Americas. With the Black Lodge Singers.