|
In this, his umpteenth release on Canyon Records, Native flutist R. Carlos Nakai finally clicks in, melding his extended melodies with a contemporary ensemble. "Edge Of The Century," a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Amo Chip Dabney, is mellow, as you'd expect from Nakai—it flows seamlessly from song to song—but there's depth of quotation here: shades of Weather Report and Miles impinge beyond the cedar walls. Over storm sounds come metallic keyboards and bent flute notes in the opener, "American Mystery": suddenly, subtly, there's order in it, and we've got a repeating run of notes that Nakai stands upon to view the aural landscape. "Spirit Sharing" pulls in panpipe sounds, alluding to both Central African and Meso-American traditions. Dabney's throaty Shorter and Stitt-inspired sax work is a perfect counterpoint to the lofty sounds of Nakai. On the title cut, which closes the album, Nakai goes back to his original axe, the trumpet.
|
RSS Feeds
