Obsidian Butterfly

by Alice Gomez

OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY is Alice Gomez, Madalyn Blanchett, and Marilyn Rife. These three talented women have been recording Native music together since 1994. Together they weave the melodic sounds of ancient flutes with a multitude of exotic percussion instruments to evoke the mystery and lore of Native peoples of the Americas.

Percussion instruments used on Obsidian Butterfly include marimba, log drums, Peruvian bombo, Indian gourd cabasa, guiro, maracas, rattles, triange, rain stick, dance bells, wind chimes, bamboo chimes, suspended cymbals, gong, congas, bongos, and pow wow drums.

In the Aztec culture, Obsidian Butterfly is one of the many female deities associated with the earth and its fertility. The music on this recording was created in celebration of the various splendors of the earth including sceninc landscapes and ancient ruins.

Drawing on her mulit-cultural background, Alice Gomez is rapidly gaining international acclaim for her Latino, Mexican Indian, and Native American original compositions. She is an accomplished composer and arranger, four time winner of the ASCAP Composer's award, and Composer in Residence with the San Antonio, Texas Symphony.

58:51 minutes — ©1999