The Native American flute is not inherently versatile and R. Carlos Nakai, the Yo-Yo Ma of this instrument, knows it. That's why he's always looking for novel settings that range from Japanese ensembles to acoustic piano to global music groups. So to stand there naked with an instrument that has a one octave range takes a depth of resources that are both technical and spiritual. Nakai has both and he deploys them across this gently searing album of solo native flute works. Engineer Jack Miller gives Nakai just the right amount of reverb and delay to sheath his flute in an echoing glow without burying it in gimmick. It's like you would imagine a flute melody cast into a canyon to sound, only better. Serene, meditative, soothing; these are all easy adjectives for a CD that will become a staple of shiatsu massage parlors and yoga studios. But Nakai goes deeper than that, calling up the spirit of the desert southwest with every breath he exhales into his vibrato-tinged melodies. --John Diliberto
