Island of Bows

R. Carlos Nakai | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 1994)
• Original Release Date: June 9, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Canyon Records
• ASIN: B00000138R
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,746 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded in Kyoto's Hounji Temple, Island of Bows brings together the world's leading performer of the Native American flute, R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute) with the Wind Travelin' Band, Shonosuke Ohkura and Oki Kano. Nakai's flute is matched by the delicate tranquillity of the traditional Japanese shakuhachi, shamizen and koto and gracefully blends traditional sounds from East and West.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Synthesis of East and (American) West, November 21, 2002

By 

Richard M. Affleck (Lake Hopatcong, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Island of Bows (Audio CD)

R. Carlos Nakai, master of the Native American flute (among a variety of other instruments), joins forces with Japanese musicians--the Wind Travelin' Band, Shonosuke Ohkura (kotsuzumi/drum), and Oki Kano (of Ainu, or Native Japanese, heritage, who plays the stringed kontori). Led, on most of the tracks on "Island of Bows", by Nakai's haunting flute, they produce a sinuous blend of sound with the various wind and stringed instruments twining around each other, Nakai acting almost like some sort of pied piper, pushing and pulling the music in subtly different directions. And all of this underlain and supported by the subtle rhythms of the percussionists. The sonic landscape that these musicians create is redolent of the Far East and the American Southwest, with a gauzy overlay of western classicism evident mainly in the structure of some of the pieces. On an excellent CD, one track, "Cloud Temple" stands out as compelling blend of all of these disparate influences. Althogther, this is "world music" at its best.

One other editorial comment is in order. While I am sure that "Island of Bows" has found its way into numerous spas, New Age crystal shops, and the like, this is not simply musical wallpaper. This is a cd that deserves careful listening.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars soothing music with dual cultural influences, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Island of Bows (Audio CD)

This is a very good CD. It's recorded in Kyoto, Japan at the Hounji Temple with Nakai on American flute and Japanese musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments. We took it with us camping at Yosemite and it felt amazing to hear such beautiful, soothing music with nature's amazing backdrop. It's slow rythmic music for relaxing times.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lovely music, November 5, 2006

By 

J. Mang "msaspen1" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Island of Bows (Audio CD)

I am always looking for soothing music to fall asleep to. This is one of the cd's that past the test.