Archived Arts & Entertainment

A voyage beyond new age

By Chris Cooper

Sometimes your ears want something different. Maybe they need to hear that which steps beyond traditional form into something at once simpler and more complex; where pure, unadulterated melody and soulfulness carry the music to places unfamiliar but undeniably inviting. Or maybe you’re just getting sick to death of guitars and drums and three-minute pop ditties that are about as filling as a handful of stale Cheetos.

Native American flautist R. Carlos Nakai and Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David have packed 14 mesmerizing vignettes of just such music into the recent CD Voyagers, released on Canyon records last March. Though the print on the back of the CD indicates the music should be filed under “new age,” it seems that this music could find a comfortable home in many more categories than such a maligned and over-used descriptor. Elements of classical and Native American music, the flowing ragas of India, chamber and gospel are sprinkled heavily though the course of the album.

The free rhythmic nature of the duo’s improvisations and compositions certainly adds to the ethereal, often cinematic feel of the music, but it’s their attentiveness and awareness of each other, as on “Prayer From Jewish Life” that’s downright startling. Here, even the pace of their vibrato finds itself united, and the thoughtful layering of Bar-David’s cello and Nakai’s flute result in some haunting and utterly glorious incidental harmony. In the title track (part 12 in a series of improvised duets) Nakai bends, trills and flutters the notes with an uncanny tonefulness and precision, drawing mournful blue notes into the melody until the cello swoops in with a response that draws equally from Gershwin and traditional Jewish harmony. This is one of the most contemplative and hypnotic pieces on Voyagers, and it’s endowed with that magical ingredient that provides something new upon each listen- and this one warrants many.

“Lech Lamidbar (Go to the Desert)” demonstrates the other side of these artists in its sense of structure and energy, but retains the overall feeling of musical and cultural wanderlust in the percolating percussion of Will Clipman. “Crow Wing” is another notable demonstration of the duo’s sensitivity to one another, each delving deep into their instruments and unearthing new shades of expressiveness and phrasing. Their timing is remarkable here, too, a reminder that it’s not always what notes you play; it’s often how and when you play them that’s just as powerful. Consider too that the Native American flute is traditionally a solo instrument, but through a complete dedication and mastery Nakai has helped transcend its perceived boundaries, letting it veer into the ensemble territories of jazz and classical, as well as traditional Japanese music with the Wind Traveling Band.

So let’s just put this whole “new age” thing to bed, at least in regards to this particular album. Voyagers may have the look of yet another value-priced, pseudo-world music snoozer you’d probably never think about listening to, but if you crack it open and give it a shot you’re rewarded with some beautiful sounds that owe their genesis to a broad cross-section of musical disciplines and cultural traditions. In fact, it’s less that you actively “listen” to Voyagers than you merely spend some time with it in the air, letting it wander off to a handful of stunning places in the span of a mere hour.

(Chris Cooper can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.