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PHOENIX, AZ (January 6, 2000) - R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute) is the first Native American to receive Grammy Award nominations for two different albums in the same year. And in a rare occurrence, both fall into the same category, Best New Age Album.

Recognized as the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute, the Flagstaff, Arizona, native received the nominations for a solo effort, "Inner Voices", and "Inside Monument Valley", a collaboration with one of the pioneers of New Age music, flutist Paul Horn.

"Inner Voices" features Nakai’s traditional native flute accompanied by a 32-piece string orchestra. The recording features arrangements of Nakai’s most popular melodies by two-time Grammy Award-winner, Billy Williams, who produces Lyle Lovett’s recordings. Williams produced another of this year’s Grammy nominees, "That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)" by Lovett, for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Nakai collaborated with two-time Grammy Award-winner Paul Horn on "Inside Monument Valley". Nakai and Horn traveled to Monument Valley in the heart of Navajoland where they recorded flute solos and duets live in the canyons to the accompaniment of the sounds of nature.

This is Nakai’s third Grammy nomination. He garnered his first in 1994 in Best Traditional Folk Music category for "Ancestral Voices", a collaboration with William Eaton and the Black Lodge Singers. These multiple Grammy nominations signify a greater acceptance of Native American artists and their music in mainstream culture.

A resident of Tucson, Arizona, Nakai has released over 30 albums since beginning his career in 1983 with Canyon Records, an independent record company based in Phoenix. Canyon released both Inner Voices and Inside Monument Valley and has specialized in contemporary and traditional Native American music for 49 years.