In late April 2010 Canyon Records recording artist Opie Day-Bedeau (Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewas) entered the studio to work on his debut solo recording.  The recording titled “One Love” will be comprised of Round Dance songs and is set to be released through Canyon Records this summer. Opie is best known as head singer for the championship Pow-Wow group Midnite Express as well having sat with some of the best drum groups of the last two decades including Eyabay and The Boyz.  Recently, Opie has been sharing his excellent Round Dance songs with fans all over Pow-Wow country and in 2009 he released a Round Dance album with good friend and respected singer Mike Sullivan, Sr. (Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe) entitled “Love, Lies & Lullabies.” During the session for the new solo album, Opie and the Canyon Records studio were visited by Terry St. John and Gee Yellowbird members of the legendary drum group Eyabay (Red Lake Chippewa Nation)

All of us at Canyon Records would like to congratulate composer James DeMars for receiving the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award.

When R. Carlos Nakai began working with Canyon in the early 1980s, he told us that one of his major goals was to perform with symphonies and to bring the Native American flute to the classical world.  In 1986, Canyon commissioned for Nakai the first concerto for Native American flute and orchestra, Spirit Horses.  The commission was awarded to James DeMars who would go on to write extensively for Nakai, including Two World Concerto which Nakai has performed with over twenty-five symphonies including the Philadelphia Orchestra.  In the 1990s Canyon would release three albums (Spirit Horses, Native Tapestry, Two World Concerto) featuring Nakai performing DeMars’ compositions.  The latest release for DeMars and Nakai is Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Roses, a concert opera based on the story of Juan Diego’s encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe.  DeMars composed the Native American flute part as if it was a vocal soloist, scoring the flute to interact with the lead vocalista.  This technique required a performer like Nakai with extensive orchestral experience.

The Governor’s Arts Award was bestowed on DeMars for Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Roses making him the first composer to receive this honor in Arizona history.  Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Roses is also available as a DVD of the premiere concert.

The music of Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai plays a prominent part in a new short movie Dust Request directed by Kevin K. Shah and premiering at the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles this weekend.  Dust Request is the story of Surya Chandra, widow of political writer, Arjun Chandra, and her journey to fulfill Arjun’s last will and testament two years after his assassination.  Nakai’s tracks include Red Streaking Into Water (from the album Emergence),  Whippoorwill (Fourth World) and Dreamscapes (Canyon Trilogy).  For more information about Dust Request and other films by Sabi Pictures please visit, sabipictures.com.

Gabriel Ayala is one of the hardest working guitarists in Native American music today.  Gabe performs a wide variety of music from classical to Spanish to jazz to his own original compositions.  Remembrance is Gabe’s follow up album to Portraits, his first album for Canyon in which he displayed his skills as a classical guitarist.  Remembrance shows Gabe’s facility with other musical styles and features flamenco, Spanish tunes and original songs.  Remembrance and Portraits together shows the wide range of music that Gabe shares with his fans.  A member of the Yaqui people, Gabe performs not only to make music, but to serve as a role model for Native youth, showing them what they can accomplish with hard work and discipline.

It is always a pleasure to work with Gabe in the studio.  He is such a great talent with a wicked sense of humor.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be his engineer on both Portraits and Remembrance and every moment in the studio was filled with great music and laughter.  I look forward to recording more with Gabe!

~Alexis Santos (Canyon Recording Engineer)

At the recent Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market, Canyon presented its First Annual Showcase featuring Canyon artists in an intimate setting.

On Saturday afternoon Hopi singer Clark Tenakhongva was spontaneously joined by a very young collaborator, his grandson Suyma Cody Maho, son of Clark’s daughter Si’Mana. At first the audience couldn’t place where the accompanying voice was coming from until they saw Suyma (seen below with Cynthia Maho, his paternal grandmother) moving his arms as if he held a rattle and swaying his small body in remarkably good sync with the music. He followed the melodic line closely even if he didn’t quite have the pitch. Everyone was captivated by this young singer who is all of eighteen months old!

I’ve never seen or heard a child as young as Suyma pick up the beat and the melody so well, but then he is constantly immersed in the sounds and experience of traditional Hopi song and dance. Clark told me that Suyma will interrupt Clark’s carving of katsinas to insist that his grandfather sing with him.

Undoubtedly, this rising star will ask Canyon Records for a contract sometime around his fifth birthday.

My videographer, Molly Murphy, didn’t quite have the video angle to capture all of Suyma’s singing, but you can watch a brief clip of his remarkable rhythmic sense and hear him follow the melody. Canyon has always been proud of the longveity of its relationships with its artists and their families, several times covering three generations as shown here with Clark, Si’Mana and Suyma.

Watch here.

Canyon artists R. Carlos Nakai, William Eaton and Will Clipman headlined the 52nd Annual Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market. The artists presented music from their newest release Dancing into Silence for a rapt audience and signed CDs for one hour following the concerts on Saturday and Sunday. Nakai reminisced about getting his start at the 1983 Market when he was allowed to set up a table near the restrooms to sell cassettes of his first recording, Changes. He acknowledged the late Peggy Fairchild for giving him the opportunity to begin a career lasting over twenty-seven years and resulting in thirty-nine Canyon albums and two gold records. Nakai and Eaton’s first album together was Carry the Gift which they released in 1988. Will Clipman joined them for Feather, Stone & Light in 1995.

Listen to “Horses in the Rain” from Dancing into Silence.

Canyon Records has been a corporate sponsor of the Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market since 2002. This year we decided to host a Canyon Records Showcase to present Canyon artists away from the Heard’s main stage. The more intimate setting of the Ben-Horin Garden allowed people to get close to our artists and to take a break from their adventures around the Market. Our first Showcase featured Louie Gonnie, Anthony Wakeman, Clark Tenakhongva (who also presents as an artist), Gabriel Ayala, and Aaron White (who gallantly performed guitar and flute music on Sunday during a rainstorm). Gabriel was joined by Will Clipman  who had appeared with R. Carlos Nakai and William Eaton on the main stage. Will, who performs with Gabe as Duo Sonora (Canyon will release the pair’s newest release next summer), is seen here playing a cajon. However, all Canyon artists were upstaged by a surprise performer (watch this blog).

Guitarist Gabriel Ayala represented Canyon Records on the new internet show, Locals Only Phoenix. Gabriel discussed his career as a classically trained guitarist with hosts Jen Maggiore and Jenn Burgess as well as his appearance at the First Canyon Showcase at the 52nd Annual Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market on March 6 and 7 in Phoenix. Also appearing at the Showcase will be Louie Gonnie, Anthony Wakeman, Clark Tenakhongva and Aaron White. R. Carlos Nakai, William Eaton and Will Clipman will appear on the Heard Fair main stage at 12:15 p.m.on both Saturday and Sunday performing music from their new album Dancing into Silence.



Photography by Robert Doyle. Copyright Canyon Records. All rights reserved.