The Life Connection • Music Reviews

Sweet, subtle, light on the heart…such are the sounds that emerge from the collaboration of these two modern masters of Native American music. The airy tremolo of Eagle Child’s flute lifts the spirit from the very beginning, and Wallace’s keyboards provide the perfect balance and grounding.

You may recall my review of their other joint album, Meeting at the Heart, from last August’s issue of The Light Connection. Though a product of the same two musicians, Spirit Echoes is a bird of a different feather. Where Meeting at the Heart was robust and teeming with passion, I find Spirit Echoes a gentler expression of the beauty of nature.

We have here two accomplished artists. Born a child of Saddle Lake First Nation (Cree) in Alberta, Canada, Eagle Child has recorded two albums of his own: All My Relations and Balancing the Heart. Rob Wallace is a multiple NAMI (Native American Music Award) winner and Grammy nominee known for his own recordings and for recordings with Robert Tree Cody and other renowned Native American musicians.

If healing is on your radar, your body and soul will delight in the synergistic dialog that comes through on every track of this CD. Traditional in many respects, it nonetheless offers a fresh perspective, a healing blend of traditional and progressive sounds. I enjoy Spirit Echoes most in the morning, as a refreshing start for a peaceful day. Or in the evening, to soothe my mind after a busy day.

—Chiwah