Dance With the Wind
Native American musical icon Mary Youngblood can make her wooden flutes express every possible shade of emotion while never losing sight of the larger cosmic epic we are all part of. Of Aleut (Alaskan) and Seminole (Floridian) ancestry, she was named "Flautist Of The Year" at the Native American Music Awards two years in row and won a Grammy forBeneath The Raven Moon(2003.) A classically trained multi-instrumentalist and composer, she was one of the first tribal women to play an instrument that not only has ancient religious connotations but was formerly confined, amid a few centuries-worth of stiff taboos, exclusively to male performers. But she also has few peers as a singer; her vocals on "Play With Me" are transparently lovely. Meanwhile, "Dance With Me" sounds almost Celtic, with Eric Levine’s lilting fiddle leaping amid the other instruments like a trout in the sunshine. As a musician and a human being, Youngblood continues to personify all that is strong, spiritual, womanly and fine; her music is at once easily accessible and miles deep. She has something important to share with people of all backgrounds and deserves to reach a mainstream audience. --Christina Roden