Distinctly Montana Magazine

At one time Turgeon counted over 40 flutes in his collection. But just like children, he says, each of them needs time afforded them and can become tempera- mental without adequate attention. “People say it’s just a piece of wood, but it’s a living thing that responds to the oil in your hands and to your breath,” he says. In a closet, they will only dry out, he warns, and will no longer have a voice. Ask Robert Turgeon anything about how he plays the flute and he’ll be quick to correct you: He doesn’t simply play the flute—he prays the flute. Now living in a 150-year-old adobe outside of Taos, New Mexico, he weaves flute music into a fabric of nature calls, drums, rattles, and spiritual chants that create a kind of audio imagery. He calls them “sound paintings.” Like a photograph, he says, sound paintings “can be savored as artwork, yet never completely comprehended.” Eschewing the pursuit of commercial suc- cess for the purity of a more spiritual calling, he says he would much rather play flute in a sweat lodge ceremony with friends on a Saturday night, than pursue signage with a major recording label that would seek to make a machine of his talent. Breaks between four albums have run anywhere from two to five years, with catalogs emerging organically, as out- croppings of living life, and a drive to immortalize a collection of “voices that call from beyond,” he says. Robert Turgeon award nominations in recent years. Mu- sic featured in the films Sacajawea and Secrets of the Sleeping Giant won him ac- claim—the latter earning a Telly Award. Joseph FireCrow’s music is at once pri- meval and modern, and by all accounts, is “new age.” A mix of Native flute, ancient Cheyenne chants and spoken word, animal sounds and divergent instrumental tracks, the din is layered to create a mood, and a sense of time and place. Among a scant group of Native flutists to reach the Grammys, he earned a 2001 nomination for the album “Cheyenne Nation.” Shortly after, film director Ken Burns requested his music for the docu- mentary Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. In 2010, he was the Native American Music Association’s choice for both “Artist of the Year” and “Flutist of the Year.” Now living in Connecticut, Joseph FireCrow recently finished a flute track for a song featured on recording artist Natalie Merchant’s “Leave Your Sleep” two-disc album, lending his unique tribal signature to the song “Indian Names.” A guest artist on Peter Kater’s 2007 Grammy-nominated album “Faces of the Sun,” he has also been a major contributor to many a European release. Turgeon doesn’t perform in public all Joseph FireCrow building a flute “If you keep saying the same thing over and over, people don’t want to hear it,” Turgeon says. Taking time, and infusing music with one’s hopes and struggles—along with the heart—means music ends up more meaningful and relevant, he says. Turgeon likes to call his music “old age,” rather than “new age,” because its origins are rooted in ancient ceremonies, experiences with spiritual teachers and medicine people, and years playing the flute with an intense sense of purpose. Yet despite his earnest and relatively low profile, noto- riety found him anyway, and his independently produced recordings are heard by the masses and considered some of the best in the industry. His first album, “Voices From the Spirit World” was a letting go of long-held wounds, he says. Therapists and even sur- geons at the Helena Veteran’s Medical Center at Fort Harrison use the album as a healing backdrop in operating rooms. But his music has also had professional nods, with 34 that much, but enjoys select and unique collaborations with musicians from other lands. He is currently prepping for a trip to Narita, Japan, where he’ll collaborate with new-age elec- tronic musician, pianist and composer Kento Masuda. As different as they are, today both men ride the Native genre to ever-higher levels within the music industry, never forgetting the importance of preserving the authen- ticity, the heritage, and the spirituality of its origin. Find more on Joseph FireCrow at www.josephfirecrow.com. Find more on Robert Turgeon at www.standingbearmusic.com Lori Grannis is a freelance writer and food colum- nist living in Missoula. A 23-year veteran of magazine features, she has written for a host of national newsstand publications, including Muscle & Fitness and Shape, and is currently working on a story for the screen. Contact her at llgrannis@gmail.com. DISTINCTLY MONTANA • SPRING 2011

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