Robert Mirabal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Mirabal
Background information
Origin	Taos Pueblo, New Mexico
Genres	Native American music, New Mexico music, World music
Labels	Warner Western

Robert Mirabal (born October 6, 1966) is a talented Pueblo musician. He is famous for playing and making Native American flutes. Robert comes from Taos Pueblo, a Native American community in New Mexico.

His handmade flutes are known around the world. They have even been shown at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian. Robert is an award-winning artist and a leader in world music. He travels globally, sharing his flute songs, tribal rock music, dance, and traditional stories.

Robert Mirabal has been named the Native American Music Awards' Artist of the Year twice. He also won the Songwriter of the Year award three times. In 2006, he was featured on the Grammy Award-winning album, Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth. This album won for Best Native American Music Album.

Besides music, Robert Mirabal is also a writer. He published a book of poetry and stories called Skeletons of a Bridge in 1994. He is currently writing another book. Robert is also a father and a farmer. He lives in Taos Pueblo and follows the traditional ways of his people.

Robert Mirabal's Musical Journey

Robert Mirabal was born in 1966. He grew up in Taos Pueblo, raised by his mother and grandparents. At home, he spoke Tiwa, a traditional language. He started making flutes when he was 19 years old. In school, he learned to play many instruments like the clarinet, saxophone, piano, and drums. But he found his true passion in the traditional Native American flute. When he was young, he met the famous Native American flute player R. Carlos Nakai, who greatly inspired him.

Early Career and New Sounds

Later, Robert moved to New York City. There, he played in a band with musicians from different cultures. This included a guitarist from Senegal, a drummer from Cape Verde, and a keyboardist from Haiti. In New York, he learned about hip-hop, funk, and R&B. These new sounds would later influence his unique music style.

He released his first independent album in 1988. After that, he signed contracts with record labels like Warner Western and Silver Wave Records. His first projects mainly focused on traditional music. This music featured the Native American flute and percussion instruments.

Land Album and Dance

One of his early albums was called Land. He created this music for two Japanese avant-garde dancers, Eiko and Koma. They made a dance show inspired by the land around Taos. The album used flutes made of cedar and clay, along with percussion, rattles, and traditional singing. Reynaldo Lujan, a percussionist, played on this album. Each song told a different story about the land near Taos Mountain. The dance show toured Japan, Europe, and the U.S. In 1992, Robert won New York's Dance and Performance Bessie Award for his music score.

In 1996, Robert worked with Grammy Award-winning Native American singer-songwriter Bill Miller. They created an album called Native Suite-Chants: Dances and the Remembered Earth. This project mixed traditional and experimental sounds. It featured flute, percussion, and Mohican pow-wow singing.

Forming the Band Mirabal

All these different experiences led Robert to form his own band, Mirabal, in 1995. Bassist Mark Andes, who played in famous bands like Spirit and Heart, joined Robert and Reynaldo Lujan. In 1997, they released a special album simply called Mirabal. This album combined rock, funk, and other modern music styles with traditional Native American music. It created a unique sound that helped Robert Mirabal become more widely known.

PBS Shows and Mainstream Success

Robert Mirabal became more famous across the country after performing in a PBS musical dance show in 1998. The show was called Spirit: A Journey in Dance, Drum, and Song. He composed the music for this show using traditional flute and percussion. Because the show was so popular, PBS created another music and dance program in 2002. This show, called Music from a Painted Cave, focused entirely on Robert and his mix of traditional and rock music. The program and its CD were very popular with audiences and became a landmark world music album. He also worked with John Tesh for the PBS One World TV special in 2000, which celebrated music from around the world.

Robert's 2007 CD, In the Blood, was featured in New Mexico Magazine. The magazine praised its "lively danceable rhythms" and called Robert "one of the trailblazers of tribal rock." He was also featured in other New Mexico Magazine stories in 2008 and 2014, highlighting his music and art.

In 2011, Robert Mirabal teamed up with the string quartet ETHEL for a tour called Music of the Sun. This was their second time working together. They had also performed at the BAM's Next Wave Festival in 2008.

Robert Mirabal's Music Albums

• Nomad (1994) with Nomad and Mor Thiam
• Song Carrier (1995)
• Land (1995)
• Warrior Magician (1996)
• Native Suite (1996, with Bill Miller)
• Mirabal (1997)
• Native American Lullabies: Under The Green Corn Moon (1998)
• Taos Tales (1999)
• Music from a Painted Cave (2001)
• Indians, Indians (2003)
• Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth (2005, compilation)
• Johnny Whitehorse (2005)
• Pueblo Christmas (2007, with Patrick Mirabal)
• In the Blood (2007)
• Johnny Whitehorse: Totemic Flute Chants (2007)
• Johnny Whitehorse: Riders of the Healing Road (2007)
• The River (2016, with Ethel)