- original music and arrangements -

Big Sky

"It is written on the arched blue sky; it looks out from every star. It is the poetry of Nature; it is that which uplifts the spirit within us."
 -John Ruskin

"A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky"
 - Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux (circa 1840-1877)


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Big Sky

Have you ever been out west and experienced the vastness of the open sky? Seeing the expansive vistas of the empty prairies of North Dakota or looking east across the miles of flatlands from the foothills of the Rockies in Colorado is overwhelming. The stark seemingly endless panorama of emptiness is mind-boggling and reminds you that you are merely just an insignificant speck in an infinite universe.

The Music
This is more of a jazz fusion tune than Native American but that's the uniqueness of it! Heavy on the echo and reverb, the Native American Bass Flute really takes on a whole new persona. Moogish bass, electric piano, a really cool D-50 patch ("Energy") as well as a smattering of frame drums give jazz fusion a distinctive new flavor.

John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (1819-1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era. He ws known as a philosopher, prominent social thinker and philanthropist. In all of his writing, he emphasized the connections between nature, art and society. Today, his ideas and concerns are widely recognized as having anticipated interest in environmentalism, sustainability and craft. John Ruskin
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (1840- 1877) was a Lakota war leader in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory. His participation in several famous battles of the Black Hills War—especially the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 in which he led a war party to victory—earned him great respect from both his enemies and his own people. Crazy Horse