94 Indian Gaming November 2007 F or the past 20 years, Robert Mirabal has been a leader of the Native American flute resurgence. Living a traditional life with his family at Taos Pueblo, his flutes are world- renowned and have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. Mirabal has twice been named the Native American Music Awards' Artist of the Year, and received the Songwriter of the Year award three times. He was featured in the 2006 Grammy Award-winning album, Sacred Ground - A Tribute to Mother Earth for Best Native American Music Album. In addition to his artistic accomplishments, he is a father, farmer and horseman participating in the traditional ways and rituals of the Taos Pueblo people. This year, after a four-year hiatus from touring, Robert is back with the strongest album of his career and a concert tour with an all-star band that is generating national atten- tion. The new CD, In the Blood, blends Native Roots with rock, jazz, Americana and even a touch of Electronica, making this a definitive, contemporary musical statement by a Native American artist. The live In the Blood concert experience features a multimedia component, “Spirits in the Blood,” incorporat- ing sweeping natural vistas with 21st century cityscapes and a heart-racing, mind-altering high-tech lightshow. Using exquisite time-lapse photography, thunderheads build, lightning strikes, and clouds change the subtle light on a canyon wall. In a matter of seconds we see the sun's year-long dance on the Eastern horizon, a rushing trout stream becomes a kaleidoscopic tapestry, and the stars in the heavens pulse out their cosmic message before streaking across the sky... all set to the music of Robert Mirabal. On this heroic video canvas are painted the strong and sometimes fragile faces of the people of Taos Pueblo, who after a thousand years still practice the ceremonial life passed on to them by their ancestors. Using rare archival photographs, many seen here for the first time, “Spirits in the Blood” juxtaposes the ancient and modern worlds in an unforgettable way. “This collection of songs and video reflect the traditional life I live at Taos Pueblo, and also the experiences of a man fortunate enough to travel the world,” says Mirabal. “Many of these songs are sung in Tiwa, my native tongue, which is not a written language, but passed orally from one genera- tion to the next. If you live a traditional life you see things differently-spiritually and musically. My music is informed by the ceremonial music I've heard all my life. What I create comes out of my body and soul in a desire to take care of the spirits of the earth.” WHO’S WHO Robert Mirabal Flute Maker,Composer and Award-Winning Performer
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94 Indian Gaming November 2007
For the past 20 years, Robert Mirabal has been a leader ofthe Native American flute resurgence. Living a traditional
life with his family at Taos Pueblo, his flutes are world-renowned and have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Mirabal has twice been named the Native American MusicAwards' Artist of the Year, and received the Songwriter of theYear award three times. He was featured in the 2006 GrammyAward-winning album, Sacred Ground - A Tribute to MotherEarth for Best Native American Music Album. In additionto his artistic accomplishments, he is a father, farmer andhorseman participating in the traditional ways and rituals ofthe Taos Pueblo people.
This year, after a four-year hiatus from touring, Robertis back with the strongest album of his career and a concerttour with an all-star band that is generating national atten-tion. The new CD, In the Blood, blends Native Roots withrock, jazz, Americana and even a touch of Electronica, making this a definitive, contemporary musical statement bya Native American artist.
The live In the Blood concert experience features a multimedia component, “Spirits in the Blood,” incorporat-ing sweeping natural vistas with 21st century cityscapes anda heart-racing, mind-altering high-tech lightshow. Using
exquisite time-lapse photography, thunderheads build, lightning strikes, and clouds change the subtle light on acanyon wall. In a matter of seconds we see the sun's year-longdance on the Eastern horizon, a rushing trout stream becomesa kaleidoscopic tapestry, and the stars in the heavens pulseout their cosmic message before streaking across the sky...all set to the music of Robert Mirabal.
On this heroic video canvas are painted the strong andsometimes fragile faces of the people of Taos Pueblo, whoafter a thousand years still practice the ceremonial life passedon to them by their ancestors. Using rare archival photographs, many seen here for the first time, “Spirits inthe Blood” juxtaposes the ancient and modern worlds in anunforgettable way.
“This collection of songs and video reflect the traditionallife I live at Taos Pueblo, and also the experiences of a manfortunate enough to travel the world,” says Mirabal. “Manyof these songs are sung in Tiwa, my native tongue, which isnot a written language, but passed orally from one genera-tion to the next. If you live a traditional life you see thingsdifferently-spiritually and musically. My music is informedby the ceremonial music I've heard all my life. What I create comes out of my body and soul in a desire to take careof the spirits of the earth.”
WHO’S WHO
Robert Mirabal Flute Maker, Composer and Award-Winning Performer
November 2007 Indian Gaming 95
Raised by his grandparents on Taos Pueblo, Mirabalbegan making flutes at the age of 19. In school he learnedto play clarinet, saxophone, piano, and drums, but found histrue musical voice in the traditional Native American flute.As a young man he met the renowned Native Americanflute player R. Carlos Nakai and was greatly inspired by him.
Mirabal moved to New York City in his early 20s, playing in a multicultural band made up of a Senegalese guitarist, a Cape Verdean drummer and Haitian keyboardist.There Mirabal immersed himself in the sound of hip-hop,funk and R&B that informs his music to this day.
In 1998 he recorded an independent debut album and wenton to land a contract with Warner Western, and later, Silver Wave Records. His first projects were generally focusedon traditional music consisting of Native American fluteand percussion.
Another of his early albums, Land, was composed forJapanese avant-garde modern dancers Eiko and Koma, whochoreographed a dance production inspired by their impres-sions of Northern New Mexico. The acclaimed performancetoured Europe and the U.S. and in 1992 Mirabal won NewYork's coveted “Bessie Award” for the score.
Mirabal came to greater national prominence during
his performance in the 1998 PBS musical dance production,Spirit: A Journey in Dance, Drum, and Song, for which hecomposed the soundtrack. Due to the popularity of the program, the network went on to produce a music/danceprogram centered entirely on Mirabal and his traditional/rock fusion music entitled Music from a Painted Cave. Theprogram and its corresponding CD release were enthusi-astically received by mainstream audiences and became abenchmark World Music album. He also collaborated withJohn Tesh for the acclaimed PBS One World TV special forthe millennium in 2000, which showcased music fromaround the world.
In 2006, Mirabal launched his own record label, Star RoadRecords, Inc., which has released two CDs in its first year; PuebloChristmas, a dozen classic Christmas Carols arranged for Nativeflute and cello; and In the Blood, a wholly unique mix of NativeRoots, rock and Americana. Both CDs are nominated in several categories for the 2007 Native American Music Awardsand the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. ¨
For more information about Robert Mirabal, visit www.mirabal.com and www.starroadrecords.com. For bookinginquiries call Mirabal Management at (800) 362-1273.
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