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Mary Youngblood First Lady of the Flute
Native American Mary Youngblood, half Seminole and half Aleut, is the first woman to professionally
record the Native American Flute, and the first woman to win not just one, but two Grammy Awards for "Best Native American
Music Album".
About her second Grammy Award, Silver Wave Records said, "...Mary Youngblood has
always had the talent to stand out above the crowd, and with this honor she stakes her claim as the number one star of Native
American music."
Mary's fifth and latest album “Dance with the Wind” won the 2007
Grammy Award for “Best Native American Music Album”. In an interview after accepting her award, Mary told the
media that "'Dance With the Wind' was created during the 2006 winter storms in Northern California. The storms brought
extremely high winds; a tall oak lost a few good sized limbs and the maples took a thrashing. Having an incredible affinity
to trees, Mary looked at them in her backyard, and thought it would be hard to be a tree right then. But as she watched
them, she noticed how the trees were almost moving with purposeful rhythm, and with something that resembled... JOY.
Mary related her own personal stormy times to the dancing trees and realized she could be like they were. She was not
going to give in to the elements either; she was going to learn to be more like the trees ... and "Dance With the Wind".
Mary’s fourth album “Feed the Fire” was nominated for the 2005 Grammy “Best Native American
Music Album”. Mary’s original melodies and lyrics spanned a variety of musical styles and instruments - her wood flutes, piano, alto flute and sweet
vocals. Special guest appearances by Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull), Bill Miller, and Joanne Shenandoah, all contributed to
Mary’s album full of energy, warmth and passion. The tribute song ‘Feed the Fire’ for her birth parents
and dedicated to her birth mother will melt your heart.
Mary’s third album 'Beneath the Raven Moon', won the
2003 Grammy Award for “Best Native American Music Album”. Silver Wave records considered this a poetic concept album - the title of each
track being from Mary’s thematic poetry reflecting the Human Journey. Mary’s beautiful voice harmonizing along
with her many flutes debuted with the instrumentation of award winning producer Tom Wasinger. Of Mary's exemplary flute playing
coupled with two of her favorite American music styles, Classical and Blues, Dirty Linen Magazine stated, "Mary Youngblood
brings a fresh perspective to original melodies."
Mary’s second album 'Heart of the World' found Mary weaving
her flute melodies with the lush accompaniment of guitar, percussion and the exquisite voice of Joanne Shenandoah. 'Heart of the World'
won “Best Native American Recording” by The Association for Independent Music (INDIE Award), the New Age Voice
(NAV) Award, and the 2000 Native American Music Awards (NAMMY) for “Best New Age Recording”. The track ‘Cold
Wind’ will blow right into your chest and thump you hard. It is amazing.
Mary’s debut album 'The Offering'
was a solo flute effort recorded live to DAT in the huge underground chamber of the Moaning Cavern in
California. The natural acoustics lent an amazing echo and organic quality to the distinctly memorable melodies that Mary created
with her flutes. The Monterey County Herald News wrote, "In addition to the haunting sounds of various handcrafted wooden
flutes, the listener can occasionally hear the drip of water in the cavern, which adds a surreal you-are-there feeling."
In
addition to Mary’s two Grammy Awards and three nominations, she was the first woman to win 'Flutist of the Year' in
both 1999 and 2000. She also won 'Best Female Artist' in 2000 at the Native American Music Awards (NAMMYS).
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