Johnny Whitehorse Riders of the Healing Road produced by 2008
GRAMMY-winning team of Mirabal and Larry Mitchell

TAOS, NM (December, 2009) — Two-time GRAMMY Award winner Robert Mirabal has been nominated for the third time in five years for his newest CD Johnny Whitehorse Riders of the Healing Road on Silverwave Records. Johnny Whitehorse is a character creation of Robert Mirabal, and the album was co-produced with Larry Mitchell, who is nominated for the second time.

As a follow-up to their 2008 GRAMMY Award-winning Totemic Flute Chants, Riders of the Healing Road celebrates healing practitioner from around the world. In equal parts soothing and meditative, rhythmic and joyful, Riders of the Healing Road takes Mirabal’s message of connectedness to the earth to a new level of international collaboration—focusing on gifted healers and those who seek healing.

Arrangements and instrumentation follow the successful formulae of the first two Johnny Whitehorse CDs with an array of Native flutes, tribal percussion, guitar, keyboards, digeridoo and select vocals. The album also features many world music influences—gongs, bowls, exotic string instruments and Sufi singers—and flows seamlessly from one musical moment to the next.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the medicine men and women I’ve met on my travels,” says Mirabal. “In ceremony they have taught me the healing of one is the healing of all, and encouraged me to collaborate with my music. Ultimately, music is my healer.”

The Native American Music category was initiated in 2001 and Mirabal won his first GRAMMY in 2006 as part of an ensemble recording Sacred Ground. Mitchell won his GRAMMY in 2008 for Totemic Flute Chants. The 52nd GRAMMY Awards will be telecast January 31, 2010 on CBS.

NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Andrew Flack, Buzz, Inc. 575-758-8900; flack@buzzinc.net

Format: Paperback, 258 pages
Publisher: Red Willow Press
On Sale: November 14, 2008
Price: $19.95 retail
ISBN: 978-0-615-23033-7

Two-time GRAMMY Award Winner, Robert Mirabal, Celebrates the Publication of his First Novel, "Running Alone in Photographs"

Book hailed as "The Catcher in the Rye" meets "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

TAOS, NM (November 10, 2008)—For the past ten years, recording artist Robert Mirabal has dominated the Native American music category like none other.

In that time he has created a dozen traditional flute albums, rock, and spoken word CDs that have earned him most every honor awarded in the genre, including two GRAMMY Awards for best Native American Albums of the Year (2006, 2008). His 2001 PBS Special "Music From a Painted Cave" remains one of public television’s most popular fundraisers of all time.

But using music to connect with his audience is only one of Mirabal’s many gifts, and his poetic new novel, "Running Alone in Photographs," (Red Willow Press, ISBN 978-0-615-23033-7) promises to open a window onto contemporary American Indian life not seen before.

Writing in a style that blends memoir and historical fiction, Mirabal’s tale is set in Saint Teresa Pueblo in northern New Mexico, and is the coming-of-age story of Reyes Wind, a young musician who returns to her ancestral home for the funeral of her grandmother.

Dealing with themes of personal responsibility and empowerment, the novel focuses on worlds in transition—the struggle between tribal identity and life in modern society—and the courage and grace required of her to live fully in each. The book is being hailed as a female, contemporary "The Catcher in the Rye" meets "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

“Reyes has faith in the power of the unknown,” says author Robert Mirabal, “and in her journey of self-discovery. Ultimately that journey leads back to her source, to that place of memory, revealing the hidden power and wisdom of ancestry, family and home.”

The novel also features eight pages of black & white photographs—a mix of archival and contemporary—that parallel and illustrate Reyes’ journey.

Four years in the making, "Running Alone in Photographs" was first supported by a grant from the Sally R. Wagner Fellowship of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe where Mirabal was a Wagner Fellow during 2004-2005.

Mirabal published a book of poetry and short stories, "Skeleton of a Bridge," in 1994.

Click here to visit www.mirabal.com to order

TAOS PUEBLO, NM (February 12, 2008) — On Sunday February 10th, The 50th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS presented its Native American Album of the Year to Robert Mirabal of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico.

The winning album, “Johnny Whitehorse Totemic Flute Chants” on Silver Wave Records, captures a full-fledged Southwest tribal vibe in addition to blending full-on world music influences. The record was co-produced by Mirabal and Larry Mitchell.

Johnny Whitehorse is a character created by Mirabal... an iconic vision of the lone Indian on horseback roaming the desert Southwest. Robert's brother, Patrick Shendo Mirabal, is also featured on the album.

From the liner notes: "All over the world, man has relied on the mystery and power of animals to guide him. Crafted from an array of Native American flutes, keyboards, tribal drums and world music instruments, "Totemic Flute Chants" interprets these animal spirits that have the power to transform lives."

This is Mirabal’s second GRAMMY in three years. In 2006 he won as part of a ensemble recording, “Sacred Ground,” also on Silver Wave Records.

The GRAMMY’S Native American category was initiated in 2000 and category is “for recordings of a more traditional nature, but allowing contemporary recordings containing substantial traditional elements.”

Mirabal's other 2007 release, "In the Blood" has won multiple awards including "Best International Album" at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

Robert was also voted "Best Male Artist" of the Year at the 2007 Native American Music Awards where his "Pueblo Christmas" release was nominated for "Record of the Year."

Mirabal's first novel, "Running Alone in Photographs" will be published this Spring.

In a surprising and happy turn-of-events, Public Television stations from coast-to-cost are being offered "Music From a Painted Cave" to add to their fundraising lineup of shows for June. The show is being offered through Long Island's PBS station, WLIW.

"Music From a Painted Cave" was the surprise hit of the 2001-2002 pledge season and to see this re-airing be as successful as possible you can help us by doing the following things:

1) Find the phone number of your local PBS station

2) Call and ask for the "Programmer" or "Program Director"

3) Request that they choose Robert Mirabal's "Music From a Painted Cave" as one of their upcoming fundraising pledge events through WLIW's program..

This would be a great service to Robert and thanks so much for your help with this!

TAOS PUEBLO, NM (October 9, 2007) — Star Road Records recording artist, Robert Mirabal, has been named “Best Male Artist” for 2007 at the ninth annual Native American Music Awards held October 6th in Seneca Falls, New York.

This is the sixth NAMMY Mr. Mirabal has won since 2001 when his breakthrough Music From a Painted Cave earned him “Record of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” and “Songwriter of the Year.”

Mr. Mirabal was selected for this year’s award on the strength of his Pueblo Christmas CD, the first title released on his on label, Star Road Records. Recorded at Taos Pueblo, the disk features a dozen classic Christmas Carols arranged for an array of Native flutes, tribal percussion and cello. The recording was also nominated for “Record of the Year.”

“People ask me why I’ve made a Christmas album after all the struggles between Indigenous Peoples and Christianity,” says Mirabal. “My answer is I needed to address the contradictions. Our Native religion is based on Nature, and is a 24/7, 365-day spiritual concept, but then there’s a Catholic Church on the corner. For many Americans, Christmas is a time when they become conscious of their spirituality, and I wanted to connect our cultures at this special time.” “No matter what the politics were like when these songs were first heard, the music was created to fill the listener with love, hope and joy. They show that beauty can go beyond conflict to a place where music is the hero.”

Mirabal says that music so traditionally rooted in a non-Native expression sets up a kind of radical confrontation in his soul, but that this project has given him the room to explore those feelings and find some common ground.

“After all,” he says, “this wasn’t the music of governments and armies, but the popular music of the people— beautiful, uplifting and inspiring.” A leading proponent of world music, Robert has merged his Native American sound with those of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, tapping into a planetary pulse with a style that defies categorization.

His nine albums of traditional music, rock and roll, and spoken word present a contemporary view of American Indian life that is unequaled. His 2001 PBS special, Music From a Painted Cave remains a benchmark of Native American musical expression, and in 2006 he won a Grammy Award for his contributions to Sacred Ground, Best Native American Album of the Year. His newest CD, In the Blood, blends scenes from the American experience—past, present and future—with themes from contemporary Native life. Sung both in English and Tiwa, Mirabal’s native tongue, love songs merge with ghost songs that roll into Americana ballads and full-on tribal rockers. It’s this CD, In the Blood, which has earned Mirabal “Artist of the Month” honors from the New Mexico Music Commission. The feature appears on the organization’s web site at http://www.newmexicomusic.org/artistofthemonth.php?select=10 and is accompanied by a sterling review written by Emily Drabanski of New Mexico Magazine.

December 3, 2007

On November 30th at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, Robert Mirabal's "In the Blood" was named "Best International Album of the Year."

This is the 9th annual such award (Robert's first) and adds to his recent "Best Male Artist" for 2007 by the NAMMY's.

Photo: Jack Spratt

"In the Blood" on Star Road Records has nabbed 10 finalist nominations for the NM Music Awards to be held May 18th at the Marriott in ABQ.

Nominated categories include...

Best Native American Traditional: Butterfly Song

Best Native American Contemporary: Medicine Man

Best Rock Mainstream Song: Indian Johnny

Best World Beat Song: Ee-You-oo

Best Arrangement: Brave New World

Best Engineers: Jon Gold and Andy Byrd

Best Package Design: Star Road Records and Digerati Design

Best Pop CD: In the Blood

Best Producer: Andy Byrd

Best of the Year: In the Blood

Concert blends Americana roots with world music, jazz, classical, and poignant storytelling for unique theatrical experience

2008 GRAMMY winner for Best Native American Album of the Year

TAOS, NM (February 2008) — Whenever Grammy Award-winner Robert Mirabal takes to the concert stage he uses the opportunity to engage the audience in making ceremony—to heal, honor, and bring blessings for a brighter day.

Adding a visual element to this singular mix of Americana roots, world music, jazz, classical and storytelling, a special video presentation, “Spirits in the Blood,” features sweeping, timeless natural vistas with 21st century cityscapes and a heart-racing, mind-altering high-tech lightshow. Using exquisite time-lapse photography, thunderheads build, lightning strikes, and clouds change the subtle light on a canyon wall. In a matter of seconds we see the sun’s year-long dance on the Eastern horizon, a rushing trout stream becomes a kaleidoscopic tapestry, and the stars pulse out their cosmic message… all set to the music of Robert Mirabal.

On this heroic video canvas, directed by Academy Award-winner Bill Mitchell, are painted the strong and sometimes fragile faces of the people of Taos Pueblo, who after a thousand years still practice the ceremonial life passed on to them by their ancestors. Using rare archival photographs, many seen here for the first time, “Spirits in the Blood” juxtaposes the ancient and modern worlds in an unforgettable way.

Joining Mirabal on stage will be keyboardist extraordinaire (and Boulder resident), Paul Fowler. A classically trained vocalist and composer, Fowler’s compositions have been performed around the world including at the Borealis Festival of Norway, Japan’s Suntory Hall, the Belgium International Marimba Festival, the Kennedy Center, and NYC’s MATA festival. 2007 brought premieres by the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall and Taiwan’s Ju Percussion Group.

“This collection of songs, stories and video reflect the traditional life I live at Taos Pueblo, and also the experiences of a man fortunate enough to travel the world,” says Robert Mirabal. “If you live a traditional life, you see things differently—spiritually and musically. My music is informed by the ceremonial music I’ve heard all my life. What I create comes out of my body and soul in a desire to take care of the spirits of the earth.”

Mirabal has won many honors, including two-time Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year, and a 2006 Grammy Award for "Sacred Ground," Best Native American Album of the Year. His 2001 breakthrough PBS musical production, Music From a Painted Cave, remains a benchmark of Native American musical expression.

On February 10, 2008, Mirabal won his second GRAMMY Award for “Johnny Whitehorse Totemic Flute Chants,” Best Native American Album of the Year.

The Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder, CO 80303

303-786-7030

Big News from The Grammy's!!!

Announced 12/6/07

Robert Mirabal's newest Johnny Whitehorse CD "Totemic Flute Chants" (on Silver Wave Records) has been nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Native American Album!!!

Johnny Whitehorse is a persona or alter-ego of Robert; a character of his own creation.

"Totemic Flute Chants" was produced by Robert Mirabal and Larry Mitchell.

This is Mirabal's second Grammy nomination. In 2005, Robert won a Grammy for his work on "Sacred Ground," also on Silver Wave Records.

The Grammy Award Show, this year celebrating its 50th Anniversary, will be broadcast on CBS February 10th at 8 pm EST.

Robert Mirabal, a Grammy Award-winning musician and composer best known for presenting a contemporary view of American Indian life through his work, will give a talk at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 19.

Part of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West's Modern Indian Identity Series, the talk will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St., in Boulder. The event is free and open to the public.

"When it comes to representing the vitality of Indian traditions and their adaptability to the 20th century, Robert Mirabal is a very important figure in the American West and, in truth, in the whole world," said history Professor Patricia Limerick, faculty director of the Center of the American West. "It is a real honor for the Center of the American West to host him in Boulder."

Known for his flute music, Mirabal often blends traditional American Indian music sounds with rock 'n' roll. Described by some as a "Native American Renaissance Man," Mirabal has traveled extensively and performed his music all over the world. He also is a composer, painter, master craftsman, poet, actor, screenwriter, horseman and farmer.

His recent honors include a Grammy Award in 2008 for the best Native American music album. In October 2007 he won the Best Male Artist and Record of the Year at the Native American Music Awards.

Mirabal was born and raised in Taos Pueblo, an American Indian community just north of Taos, N.M., where he currently lives with his wife and three daughters.

The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens. For more information visit the center's Web site at www.centerwest.org/ or call 303-492-4879.

Contact

Kurt Gutjahr, 303-492-4067
Greg Swenson, 303-492-3113

TAOS, NM (November 2007) — Whenever Native American recording artist and Grammy Award-winner Robert Mirabal takes to the concert stage, he uses the opportunity to engage the audience in making ceremony—ceremony to heal, honor, and bring blessings for a brighter day.

This holiday season, Robert will perform two completely different shows on two consecutive nights at the TCA. On December 14th, the Mirabal Trio will present Pueblo Christmas, an evening of classic Christmas carols arranged for Native flutes, tribal percussion and grand piano. This soulful and deeply satisfying show blends traditional Christian themes with a Native American point-of-view for a wholly unique concert experience. The Mirabal Trio includes Robert, his brother Patrick Shendo Mirabal, and keyboardist extraordinaire, Paul Fowler.

The following night, December 15th, Robert and the full-on Mirabal Band will rock the house with their multi-media In the Blood concert experience. This show, which is touring the country to rave reviews, blends scenes from the American experience—past, present and future—with themes from contemporary Native life. Sung in both English and Tiwa, Mirabal’s native tongue, love songs merge with ghost songs that roll into Americana ballads and full-on tribal rockers.

New renditions of all-time Mirabal favorites like Medicine Man and The Dance shimmer beside new works like Brave New World, Pottery Shard Man and Holding up the Sky. Guitar master Larry Mitchell provides the thunder and lightning for the quartet while Patrick Shendo Mirabal adds his voice, percussion and sweet flute music. Paul Fowler joins in on keyboards and all manner of electronic effects while Robert drums, sings and plays flute.

To accompany the performance, a feature-length video presentation, “Spirits in the Blood,” incorporates sweeping, timeless natural vistas with 21st century cityscapes and a heart-racing, mind-altering high-tech lightshow. Using exquisite time-lapse photography, thunderheads build, lightning strikes, and clouds change the subtle light on a canyon wall. In a matter of seconds we see the sun’s year-long dance on the Eastern horizon, a rushing trout stream becomes a kaleidoscopic tapestry, and the stars in the heavens pulse out their cosmic message before streaking across the sky… all set to the music of Robert Mirabal.

On this heroic video canvas, directed by Academy Award-winner Bill Mitchell, are painted the strong and sometimes fragile faces of the people of Taos Pueblo, who after a thousand years still practice the ceremonial life passed on to them by their ancestors. Using rare archival photographs, many seen here for the first time, “Spirits in the Blood” juxtaposes the ancient and modern worlds in an unforgettable way.

His ninth release overall and second on his own label, Star Road Records, Inc., (www.starroadrecords.com) In the Blood is Mirabal’s breakout, crossover CD. “This concert experience honors Robert’s songs in a new way,” says Andy Byrd, the record’s producer, “making ceremony of performance and taking us on a techno-tribal journey that returns us to family, hope and love. You’ve never seen anything like it.”

Robert Mirabal has won many honors, including two-time Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year, and a 2006 Grammy Award for "Sacred Ground," Best Native American Album of the Year. This year he has been named 2007 “Best Male Artist” by the Native American Music Awards. His 2001 breakthrough PBS musical production, Music From a Painted Cave, remains a benchmark for Native American musical expression.
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