Native musicians make concert debut Monday

It wasn’t his service in the Vietnam War that sidetracked R. Carlos Nakai’s fast track to a career in the symphony – it was a traffic accident, which damaged his mouth and cut short his career as a trumpeter.

But in many ways, Nakai’s career really started after the accident.

Disinclined to let his classical training go to waste, Nakai picked up the Native American flute. Thirty years later, he is one of the instrument’s most identifiable performers.

And the potentially career-ending accident proved to be quite the opposite.

“I ended up where I’m supposed to be, anyway,” Nakai said in a phone interview from his hometown, Tucson, Ariz. “I think (the accident) was fortunate in that manner. If I had finished all the schools of music and gotten into the symphony, I probably, 20 years later, would still be playing fourth chair trumpet.”

Instead, he preserves the legacy of an instrument that, according to Nakai, was on the verge of being resigned to a museum wall in the 1970s. Nakai – who is of Navajo-Ute heritage and considers himself indigenous, rather than Native American – saw the Native American flute being treated as a piece of art, not a musical instrument.

“I determined that this (instrument) will not end up in someone’s collection of indigenous artifacts,” he said. “I kind of view it as saving the instrument from obscurity.”

Nakai collaborated with slack key guitarist Keola Beamer of Hawaii last year to make “Our Beloved Land,” featuring primarily Hawaiian music with Nakai’s Native flavor. The two had been mutual admirers for years when Beamer approached Nakai about the album.

The duo’s concert debut and first stop on its “Native Voices” tour is at 7:30 p.m. Monday at The Met. The concert will be a combination of each artist’s music. Tickets are available for $20 and $30 through TicketsWest, (800) 325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com. Students and seniors can purchase two-for-one tickets at The Met’s box office. “Our Beloved Land” will be available for purchase at the show and later this month in retail outlets.

“We are going to be comparing notes about our perspectives within our culture using the language of music to demonstrate the universality of the human community,” Nakai said.

Nakai and a handful of other musicians are credited with perpetuating the current popularity of the instrument, which, aside from the nearly extinct Apache fiddle, is one of the only prominent melodic instruments in the Native American music scene.

“He and other people have pretty much caused a resurgence,” said Loran Olsen, Washington State University professor emeritus in music and Native American studies. “There are several active (Native American) flutists now. Many of them were taught by traditional people who did not seek publicity and whose names are still part of each of these living flutists’ heritage.”