The Whole Music Experience

R. Carlos Nakai  I caught up with Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai by e-mail recently for this World Music Central interview: Alchemy of the Desert Flute

World / Native American   R. Carlos Nakai Will Clipman Awakening the Fire Canyon Records What happens when R. Carlos Nakai’s flowing flute weds Will Clipman’s tribal beats? In the liner notes for Awakening the Fire , this duo explores the contrasting realms of the Native American flute, a melodic instrument and structured percussion.  One instrument lives outside of time and space, while the other instruments mark time.  Here we have free flowing building a bridge with rhythmic structure and the musicians accomplish a virtually impossible fete where each instrument gives space to the other.  This could only happen with two musicians who have known and worked with each other for a long time.  This takes cooperation, compromise, and excellent listening skills, which Nakai and Clipman possess in abundance. When combined, the exotic percussion (Clipman has a special room full of global percussion and the intuition to always choose the right...

R. Carlos Nakai with Udi Bar-David Voyagers Canyon Records Although you don't hear about it in the evening news, alternative or otherwise, musicians play a key role in the peacemaking process across the planet. Navajo-Ute flutist R. Carlos Nakai pairs up with Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David in a cross cultural conversation that includes Middle Eastern modes and scales, classical and jazz music, as well as, Native American flute. In fact, the theme of the recording, Voyagers speaks a Universal language that reminds us that no matter our race, culture or religion, we are essentially all one people. R. Carlos sums it up in the liner notes, "Separate beings, separate voices, one mind, one dream--human. The social issues of race, color, culture, religion, etceteras all become meaningless defiles and encounters when the interpersonal communication is the language of music..." So I ask you, why do we not see or hear about peacemaking musicians in the news? Why do we only he...