R. Carlos Nakai
Encyclopedia
Raymond Carlos “R.” Nakai (born April 16, 1946) is a Native American flautist
of Navajo
/Ute
heritage.
, Arizona
, he released his first album, Changes, in 1983. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and two of his records, Canyon Trilogy and Earth Spirit, have been RIAA certified Gold, two of the first Native American flute albums to go gold. In 2005 he was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. As well as having a large number of solo albums, Nakai has also worked with many other musicians, including Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog
, flutist Paul Horn, and American composer Philip Glass
. In 2005 he traveled to Hawaii to collaborate with slack key guitar master Keola Beamer
fusing two very different indigenous American cultural forms and producing the album, "Our Beloved Land." He lives in Tucson
, Arizona
. Nakai earned a Master’s Degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona. He was awarded the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award in 1992, and an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994.
Native American flute
The Native American flute has achieved some measure of fame for its distinctive sound, used in a variety of New Age and world music recordings. The instrument was originally very personal; its music was played without accompaniment in courtship, healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Now it...
of Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
/Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
heritage.
Biography
Born Ray Carlos Nakai, in FlagstaffFlagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, he released his first album, Changes, in 1983. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and two of his records, Canyon Trilogy and Earth Spirit, have been RIAA certified Gold, two of the first Native American flute albums to go gold. In 2005 he was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. As well as having a large number of solo albums, Nakai has also worked with many other musicians, including Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog
Nawang Khechog
Nawang Khechog is a Tibetan flute player and composer.Nawang was born in Tibet, but following the Chinese invasion of 1949/1950, his family moved to India, where Nawang studied meditation and Buddhist philosophy...
, flutist Paul Horn, and American composer Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
. In 2005 he traveled to Hawaii to collaborate with slack key guitar master Keola Beamer
Keola Beamer
Keola Beamer is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music.-Family:...
fusing two very different indigenous American cultural forms and producing the album, "Our Beloved Land." He lives in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Nakai earned a Master’s Degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona. He was awarded the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award in 1992, and an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994.
Films
- Songkeepers (1999, 48 min.). Directed by Bob Hercules and Bob Jackson. Produced by Dan King. Lake Forest, Illinois: America's Flute Productions. Five distinguished traditional flute artists - Tom Mauchahty-WareTom Mauchahty-WareTom Mauchahty-Ware is a Kiowa-Comanche musician. He is known for his work playing the Native American flute, and has been a successful Indian dancer, and has sung in a popular blues band. He is also a skilled traditional artist: painting, sculpting, making flutes, bead working, and feather working...
, Sonny NevaquayaSonny NevaquayaSonny Nevaquaya is a Comanche Native American flute player and maker from Oklahoma. He began his professional career in 1993 when he recorded an album entitled Spirit of the Flute. His second album, Viva Kokopelli was released in 1996. He has also released an album in honor of his father, Doc...
, R. Carlos Nakai, Hawk LittlejohnHawk LittlejohnHawk Littlejohn was perhaps the greatest contemporary Native American flute maker. At the time of his death, he was living in Old Fort, North Carolina, where he made his flutes and kept alive his native Cherokee traditions...
, Kevin Locke – talk about their instrument and their songs and the role of the flute and its music in their tribes.
Discography
R. Carlos Nakai Discography- Changes, 1983.
- Cycles, 1985.
- Journeys, 1986.
- Earth Spirit, 1987.
- Canyon Trilogy, 1989.
- Emergence, 1992.
- Mythic Dreamer, 1998.
- Island of Bows, 1994.
- Inner Voices, 1999.
- Enter >> Tribal, 2001.
- Fourth World, 2002.
- Sanctuary, 2003.
- In Beauty, We Return, 2004.
- Talisman, 2008.
Compilation appearances
- Narada Film and Television Music SamplerNarada Film and Television Music SamplerNarada Films and Television Music Sampler is a 2003 U.S. EMI Film & TV Music publishing 2CD sampler that represents an overview of the Narada catalog, demonstrating the breadth and diversity of the Narada roster.-Disc One:...
- VoyagesVoyagesVoyages is a company which operates resorts and tours in Australia.- History :The Ayers Rock Resort Company Limited was formed in 1992 and after a period of growth, acquired resorts at Alice Springs and Kings Canyon. In September 1997, General Property Trust purchased the company...
with Udi Bar-David, 2007.
Publications
- The Art of the Native American Flute, 1996. R. Carlos Nakai with James Demars, Ken Light and David P. McAllesterDavid P. McAllesterDavid Park McAllester , an ethnomusicologist, was Professor of Anthropology and Music at Wesleyan University, where he taught from 1947-1986. He made seminal contributions to the development of the field of ethnomusicology, and helped establish the ethnomusicology department and the World Music...
External links
- R. Carlos Nakai
- R. Carlos Nakai interviews from the Echoes public radio show
- World Music Central biography