perry silverbird

Perry Silverbird comes from a unique and exciting family background. His parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, before him were all professional entertainers. Therefore, it was not by coincidence that at age seven he was already expressing his love for music by adding vocal harmony lines when he sang with his two brothers.

Soon after moving East with his parents, he began taking drum and flute lessons at school and with a private tutor. As much as he desired to learn drums, perhaps because one brother played piano and the other guitar, he always leaned towards the serene sounds of the flute. Eventually he retired the drum sticks altogether to concentrate solely on the flute which seemed to allow him the freedom to voice the calm and gentleness that lives within him. He sang with his brothers on stage including In Concert with Connie Stevens and with his family on the Johnny Carson Show as well as recording several albums with them. His CD, The Blessing Way (13046-2), recorded live at one of the Navajo land's most sacred mountains, Canyon De Chelly, marks his first solo performance for Celestial Harmonies. His second release is entitled Spirit of Fire (13079-2).

Perry Silverbird is a peaceful, yet powerful, but quite young Navajo/Apache who prefers to speak through his instrument, except for few words which always come from his heart. Born in Fresno, California, he was only a few days old and already on the road to Beverly Hills, Albuquerque, and finally Teaneck, New Jersey where he graduated from nearby Bergenfield High School. He then went on to attend Fairley Dickenson College.

Although he studied music, he prefers to play what he calls, Free Spirit Music or the message of God by way of his instrument. Living in the East Coast exposed him to many different cultures which greatly influenced his diverse style of music. However, as you listen to him play, the repetitive phrases he uses, so often are representative of his own Native American culture, and used widely in poetry, speech, and religious ceremonies. In every sense of the word, he is a Gentle Flute Poet.

Die amerikanischen Ureinwohner wanderten vor etwa 10.000 Jahren über die Behringstrasse aus Zentralasien ein und verteilten sich dann über Nord-, Mittel- und Südamerika. Alle indianischen Völker bewahrten ihr schamanisches Erbe und entwickelten es je nach Klima und Landschaft. Trotz der europäischen Invasion und der Überlagerung durch andere Kulturen und Religionen sind viele der ursprünglichen Rituale mit der dazu gespielten Musik noch heute lebendig oder werden von engagierten indianischen Musikern zu neuem Leben erweckt. Es gibt in Amerika neben der „schwarzen“eine „rote“ Musik, die mit der Natur dieses Kontinents tief verbunden ist.

Der Navajo-Appache trat mit sieben Jahren das Erbe seiner musikalischen Familie an. Zunächst faszinierte ihn die Trommel, danach suchte sein eher stilles Temperament nach einer größeren Bandbreite des Gefühlsausdrucks. Die Flöte wurde sein Hauptinstrument. Sein Vater und Lehrer, Reuben Silverbird, gab ihm den Namen „Gentle Flute Poet“. Er selbst nennt seine Musik „Free Spirit Music“und versteht sich dabei als Instrument der göttlichen Natur. Da die Silverbird-Familie stets auf Reisen war, nahm Perry schon früh die unterschiedlichsten kulturellen Einflüsse in sich auf, lernte Musiker wie Steven Roach und damit die komplexe Welt des Tonstudios kennen. Kaum ein indianischer Musiker bringt seine Tradition so einfühlsam und meditativ mit elektronischen Klängen zusammen wie Perry Silverbird.

discography