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R. Carlos Nakai is America's pre-eminent Native flutist. He tours with his long-time playing partner, percussionist Will Clipman. The Nakai & Clipman concert is a traditional show featuring Native American flute and eagle bone whistle, chanting, spoken word and Native philosophy along with an assortment of Native drums and shakers. R. Carlos also tours with the trio of Nakai Eaton & Clipman, which is a more contemporary group with William Eaton's ambient guitar.
To become the world’s premier Native American flutist, R. Carlos Nakai had to rely more on research and innovation and less on his Navajo-Ute heritage. While the Diné had a strong flute-playing tradition, it was lost when they migrated from the Northwest Plains of Canada to the Southwest over five centuries ago. While Nakai may not have been “born to the flute,” it was curiosity about his heritage that led him to it.
During the late 1960s while researching American Indian music and traditional instruments, the wooden flute piqued Nakai’s interest, but it wasn’t until 1972 that he took it up seriously. Prior to that Nakai had devoted his musical energies to classical training on the cornet and trumpet.
In his usual determination to have a thorough knowledge of the instrument, Nakai crafted his own. He later learned from a flute-making teacher that rather than the oak Nakai was using, cedar is the only wood that works well. He also discovered that when it comes to flute making, there are no standard dimensions. The finger holes and air column are based on hand and finger measurements and are never the same. As a result, each flute has a different sound and pitch, which makes the tonality of the instruments random. Nakai views each flute less as a musical instrument than “as a sound sculpture - a piece of art that also creates sound.”
Part of Nakai’s philosophy is to ensure that the native flute does not become a “museum piece” of a bygone culture. Through his original compositions and other musical collaborations, Nakai intends to show the instrument’s versatility and capabilities.
Over the past three decades, Nakai has melded his classical training with his expertise on the cedar flute to form a complex, sophisticated sound that not only reveals the flute’s uniqueness, but covers the spectrum of musical genres: from devotional meditations to jazz ensembles to full symphonic works. Additionally, Nakai creates new sounds for the flute using electronic technology such as synthesizers and digital delay.
A native Arizonan, Nakai’s southwestern surroundings as well as his culture, heavily influence his work. He points out “A lot of what I’ve been taught culturally, comes from an awareness of the environment... How I feel is based on my impressions of being in certain spaces at certain times. Thinking back...on personal tribal stories and the history of my culture figures into how I organize my music.”
Nakai has amassed unprecedented commercial honors, including 6 Grammy nominations and the first Gold and Platinum records awarded to a traditional Native American musician. A prolific musician and composer, he has 37 records in commercial distribution which have sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide.
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R. Carlos Nakai has open availability for the 2024-2025 season for both his duo and trio concerts. Weekends are preferred.
Now in his seventies, R. Carlos Nakai continues to tour nationally. He performs with his long-time playing partner, percussionist Will Clipman, and in a more contemporary trio wih Clipman and ambient guitarist William Eaton.
All are based in Tucson AZ.
