Native American Stories in Classical Flute Music

“Native American flute music is a beautiful art form which is seldom recorded by anyone except performers trying to preserve their own Native American heritage. Once those recordings are made, they are generally purchased by tourists looking for a reminder of their vacation. Thus it is a musical art form that has little exposure or innovation. Generally when non-traditional instruments are used for Native American flute music, the attempt is made because a producer wants to create a relatively cheap album for consumers of New Age music. It is far too rare to find an album such as this, where someone who was not raised listening to this music gives it serious consideration and finds ways to express the music to a new audience. Ms. Zucker is an exquisite performer with a long resume, more than twenty successful albums to her credit, and wonderful technique. Thus it is with great interest that one can approach this album. There are few virtuoso flautists with a more adventurous spirit or a more varied collection of recordings to their credit.

“Laurel Zucker gives a splendid performance of the John Thow’s To Invoke the Clouds…This music is worth getting to know and these performances are very good indeed.”

“The recent NFA convention in Arizona made many of us more aware of the beauty of Native American flute music. This recording features works inspired by that tradition and interpreted by composers James Demars, Katherine Hoover, John Thow and Victor Frost.These selections truly evoke the spirit of the wooden flute and mood of the tales of the Southwest. Here is another fine example of how a self-produced and distributed recording can yield results as good as any major label or mass market distributor. The playing by Zucker and three of her students on the duet and flute ensemble pieces is a further testament to her teaching and artistry.”