GREAT MYSTERY'S Here & Now NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE 2009 -"BEST PRODUCER"
Review by: Whispering Wind Magazine 9/9/2008
Audio Review: by Gene M. Bates
Great Mystery is: Milton Tso, Charles Button, Anthony Betoney, and Will Clipman
Category: Native American Flute/ Traditional Vocals/ Contemporary Instrumentation
Whoever came up with the brilliant idea to get these four gents together, should be given an award. A marvelous mixture of traditional vocals, Native flutes, pan-global percussion and contemporary sounds, this quartet captures the ear with their engaging sound. The music is inviting, the arrangements are seamless, and the playing is world-class. Tso and Betoney's singing and flute playing blend beautifully with the musical murals created by Button and Clipman.
The result is a magical melding of the traditional sounds in a contemporary context. Favorites include the overture, 'The Touch of Dawn", a marvelous track entitled, "A Song of Love" and the closer, "Warrior's Song". Just pick a track - it's all good. A dazzling debut from this compelling quartet, Great Mystery's "Here &Now" is mesmerizing!
The making of Great Mystery's "Here & Now:
Four very different men traveled four very different paths to meet in a one-room studio on a bluff overlooking the confluence of Oak Creek and the Verde River, near the geographical center of Arizona, where the northern Senora Desert cascades against the base of of the Mogollon Rim in miles of rolling chaparral and red rock escarpment.
With voices, flutes, strings, and drums, these four engaged the Great Mystery in a musical conversation so deceptively simple, so straightforward, that its depth and beauty are fully revealed only upon close listening. The result is "Here and Now": a fresh and timeless blend of Native American sound and spirit with the textures of contemporary instrumental music and rhythms of the world.
Great Mystery is:
Milton Tso- Dineh (Navajo) flutist and singer Milton Tso brings an important new voice to the landscape of Native American music. With a sound as clear as blue sky and as fresh as new fallen snow on red rock, Milton effortlessly interprets traditional tribal influences in a contemporary musical content. With an eye as keen as his ear, Milton is also a gifted visual artist whose photography graces the cover of Here & Now.
Charles Button- Multi-instrumentalist,singer/songwriter, arranger,producer,and engineer Charles Button brings a wealth of talent and thirty years experience to Great Mystery, creating hypnotic bass grooves and lush guitar and keyboard textures that tastefully embellish the interplay of flute, voice, and drum with subtle sophistication, then capturing the resulting sonic tapestry with pristine clarity and precision. Charles Button was a 2008 NAMMY (Native American Music Awards) winner in the catagory "BEST PRODUCER"
Anthony Betoney- Known principally as a singer of traditional Dineh(Navajo)round dance songs, Anthony stretches his chops on Here & Now, seamlessly weaving his evocative melody lines into the rich fabric of Native American flutes, strings, keyboards, and percussion, refreshing and enlivening ancient tradition with a contemporary cultural sensibility.
Will Clipman- A five-time Grammy Nominee and two-time Native American Music Award Winner, pan-global percussionist Will Clipman is perhaps best known for his work with Canyon Records, the worlds leading purveyor of Native American music, and with R.Carlos Nakai, the world's premiere performer of the Native American flute. On Here & Now, Will provides a heartbeat for the soaring melodies and ringing harmonies of Great Mystery with his unobtrusive yet irresistable polyrhythmic pulse.
With special guests:
Mark Thomas, guitar and Sunny Heartley, flute
Produced by Charles Button and Will Clipman
Mastered by Chris Hanzsek, Hanzsek Audio, Seattle WA.
Recorded by Charles Button at Sacred Mountain Studio, Cornville Az.
All songs@ 2008 Buttonhooks Music(BMI) and Bone Fire Music(ASCAP)
@2008 Sacred Mountain Records
Contact Great Mystery at: greatmystery1@msn.com
or at: charlesbutton59@msn.com
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