Sometime in the late 90s, I discovered the music of Native American flute master R Carlos Nakai. Since that time many of his albums have made their way into my music library. Carlos flute, along with the vibes of Gary Burton keep me sane! Many times when I am stressed or worried at work, I say that it is TIME for some R Carlos Nakai and within minutes of the music’s start I am headed back to sanity!! Nakai has some wonderful musicians who work with him to create the music that I love and often need, including William Eaton on a variety of stringed instruments and Will Clipman on various percussion instruments. I particularly like the albums that Nakai has made with pianist Peter Kater. Their 1994 release Honorable Sky is one of my favorites.
Now the reason that I am writing this is that yesterday after listening to Javon Jackson’s latest release, I 
listened to Ritual the new album from Nakai and Kater.It is the first album that they’ve recorded together in over ten years, and it’s a good one!! This morning when I was looking for YouTube videos of tracks from the album, I found this video of an interview with Peter discussing the making of the album and it is really informative. I am amazed that the album was recorded with them playing in different rooms. Peter says in the interview that Carlos wanted to make an album about peace and I believe they’ve done that.
From New Age Music Reviews
Ritual is a walk into the heart of what instrumental music should be. Kater and Nakai, combined with McCandless, Morelenbaum and Bowden have crafted an album of transformative joy. Elemental in nature, it invokes peace no matter how busy you are. Take a moment. Just listen. Just be. From the haunting vocals to the ancestral chants and Native American flute rendered so artfully, it resonates. Side by side with piano sequences and multi-instrumentation, this is an album you will come to treasure. Make it your cup of tea after a long day and you find your center. Complete Review
So check out the album and these two great artists…..
Links
Peter Kater
R Carlos Nakai
The Album Show featuring Peter Kater discussing the making of Ritua
CDBaby
Here’s “Meeting at Twilight” the opening track of Ritual….
