The sublimity of Inside Monument Valley isn't in the lovely flute music created by jazz musician Paul Horn and Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, or in the informative, clear liner notes and crisp photos, but rather in the exquisite interplay between Arizona's Monument Valley (the birds, insects, rain, thunder, and echoing canyon walls) and the highly inspired, all-improv music created by two immensely talented artists. The 1998 release Mythic Dreamer was special for the lyrical, spiritual music Nakai created on his first solo flute album after several years, and Inside Monument Valley picks up where Nakai's inspiration left off, like the inhalation of one breath after the exhalation of the last. Horn adds an interesting texture playing European-style transverse flutes and soprano sax. He complements Nakai's Native American flutes perfectly too, never overwhelming the listener with busy or distracting notes. The two musicians wandered into Monument Valley ready to record whatever their muses gave them, and the field-recording aspect of this CD worked wonderfully--probably because in some instinctual way the two artists knew it would. The power of bubbling thunder makes itself heard on "Rain God"; a fly makes a sizzling cameo past the mic on "Alhambra"; even Horn's doggy has something (quite comical) to say. But the recurring playful duels between the ravens' assertive calls and Nakai's flute are the best highlights--and well typify the beautiful essence of this album: living beings speaking to one another through song. --Karen Karleski
