For over 35 years, 11-time Grammy® nominee and Platinum Record recipient R. Carlos Nakai has been at the forefront of the musical development of the Native American flute, introducing the traditional flute to the genres of jazz, new age as well as classical music, perhaps the most challenging of all for the traditional flute. From Graceful Fields is Nakai’s fifth classical album and features the ethereal and playful From Graceful Fields (for flute and a cappella women’s voices), by Giuli Doyle, a new Nakai composition, Passages (for flute with Luis Engelke on trumpet, William Eaton on harp guitar, Will Clipman on drums), and Souvenirs by James DeMars (for flute with DeMars on piano). Full tracks can be heard at https://canyonrecords.com/product/from-graceful-fields-cr-7103/. I. From Graceful Fields (for Native American Flute & Women’s Voices) Composed by Giuli Doyle. Track 1. Angelica (6:35) [US8642271031] Track 2. Impatiens (7:14) [US8642271032] Track 3. Morning Glory (6:50) [US8642271033] Performed by: R. Carlos Nakai – Native American flute Tom Peterson – conductor Canyon Women’s Choir – Kira Rugen (solo), Lindsay Decoste, Courtney Evans, Cassandra Ewer, Lies’l Hill, Rita Litchfield-Good, Cara Loveless-Faulkner, Nina Makston, Claire Penneau, Gina Purri, Sarah Smith II. Passages – La’igoo tádiíya’h (for Trumpet, Native American Flute, Harp Guitar & Drums) Composed by R. Carlos Nakai with William Eaton & Will Clipman. Track 4. The Sun – Jóhonaa’éi (4:20) [US8642271034] Track 5. We All Dance – T’áá altso daniidli ’alzhish (5:24) [US8642271035] Performed by: Luis Engelke – trumpet R. Carlos Nakai – Native American flute William Eaton – harp guitar with synth patch Will Clipman – Taos drums, ride cymbal, caxixis & udu III. Evensongs – Souvenirs d’été (Native American Flute & Piano) Composed by James DeMars. Track 6. Silence of Past Days – Silence des jours passés (5:20) [US8642271036] Track 7. A Child’s Game – Jeu d’enfant (5:48) [US8642271037] Performed by: R. Carlos Nakai – Native American flute James DeMars – piano Artist Statement I’ve long been interested in performing the Native American flute in a classical setting, whether with only one or two other players or a full symphony orchestra. I suppose my desire comes from my ensemble experience as a trumpet player with the Navajo Nation Band and my pleasure in working with other musicians. When I began working with Canyon Records in the mid-1980s, I mentioned to my producer, Robert Doyle, that I wanted to perform classical music. Canyon then commissioned composer James DeMars to write the first concerto for Native American flute and chamber orchestra, Spirit Horses, to mark Canyon’s 45th anniversary in 1986. Jim would go on to create many other compositions for Native American flute in many settings, including the Two World Concerto (commissioned by the Phoenix Symphony) that I would perform more than thirty times. It’s fitting that Evensongs, a duet for flute and piano, composed by Jim is premiered here. My interest in classical music goes beyond performing as for many years I’ve composed my own works for the traditional flute. I’m proud to include on this recording, Passages, a commission from the International Trumpet Guild. My long-time collaborators William Eaton and Will Clipman, worked with me to create the accompaniment for the trumpet and record it for the backing track required by the commission. Luis Engelke, who negotiated the commission and then guided me through the process of realizing the commission, also edited, performed, and recorded the trumpet part. Composing this work was made more pleasurable because it was for my first instrument, the trumpet. Giuli Doyle, wife of producer Robert Doyle, created something not done before in setting the flute with unaccompanied women’s voices. This recording saw many challenges as it developed, but Giuli always worked closely with me to make sure that her writing would bring out the best of the flute. I very much liked working with the sound of women’s voices unaccompanied, perhaps because I come from matriarchal society, the Navajo. My favorite movement is the second, Impatiens, because it uses the high-C flute, which no one has composed for. I also liked the sections of faster, dancing rhythms, which reminded me of dancing in the pow-wow circle. Focus Track: Impatiens (Track 2) is the second movement of From Graceful Fields, the first composition for Native American flute and unaccompanied women’s voices. The three movements of From Graceful Fields explore the challenges and possibilities of blending the famously evocative, haunting tone of the standard Native American flute (usually based on F, F# or G minor) with ethereal women’s voices enunciating vowel-only vocables to best echo the flute’s voicing. Moving away from flowing, placid harmonies of the first and third movements, Impatiens is centered around a lively and playful dance for the rarely used high-C flute, which can easily sound more like a whistle than flute if not performed with control and precision. To better aid the singers in mirroring the quick moving flute melody, syllables of the scientific names of the impatiens flower (noli tangere pallida, aurella biflora, ecalcarata, aurela capensis) are used instead of vocables. The opening dance section is offset with slower, contemplative, and even melancholic choral harmonies before returning to the dance and ending in a brilliant finish. About the Artist: R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute) began playing the Native American flute in 1980 when he received one as a gift and was challenged to see what he could do with it. In the decades since then, Nakai released forty albums (4.5 million sold) with Canyon Records (plus albums for other labels), earned two Gold Records (Earth Spirit and Canyon Trilogy) and a Platinum Record (Canyon Trilogy), and received 11 Grammy nominations. Nakai has worked with Grammy-winning artists Paul Horn and Billy Williams as well as guitarist/luthier William Eaton, and composer James DeMars among many others. Nakai introduced the traditional flute into New Age, jazz, and classical genres and authored the best-selling book, “The Art of the Native American Flute.”