K. Mockingbird: Press/Reviews

Kelvin Mockingbird's solo release, Sacred Fire, revisits his roots and the pure joy of learning to play his first flute, given to him by his Uncle Irvin. The album offers eight beautifully simple Navajo flute solos accented only by subtle natural sound effects.
Mockingbird, of the Dineh/Navajo tribe, describes his music as "Buddha raised on fried bread," which fits the meditative, soulful moods of Sacred Fire well. His emotive soft woodwind notes ans breathy trills easily evoke the image of " The Dance of Butterfly, Badger Girl" gliding up and down between the flutter of wings, the long legatos of "Awakening of the Beauty Within" float above the sounds of birds in a morning meadow, and it's almost possible to picture the round, woody flute tones resonating between an elk's spreading rack in "A Call to Love."
Most of the 72-min CD's tracks are approximatenly 10 minutes long, each a peaceful short miditation on the purity of Native American flute. Play this quietly uplifting album in the morning to creat a centered, mindful feeling for your early customers. Mockingbird's five previous Canyon Record releases, in the multi-instrumental trio Burning Sky under the name Kelvin Bizahaloni, include the 2003 Grammy-nominated Spirits in the Wind with Doors drummer John Densmore.

Sacred Fire

(Canyon)

Mockingbird (Dine) is the flute player from the Native instrumental trio Burning Sky. He is known for the fluttering accents he adds to his melodic lines, grace notes that sound uncannily like the singing of wild birds. This album of solo flute music masterfully lives up to its subtitle, Meditation Songs for Native Flute, with eight extended improvisations full of profound feeling and haunting overtones.