R. Carlos Nakai is a flutist whose original compositions are inspired by traditional the Native American melodies of his Navajo and Ute heritage.Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces School of Music after a two-year period in the United States Navy. He began playing a traditional Native American cedar flute after an accident left him unable to play the trumpet. His first album, "Changes," was released in 1983. He has gone on to release more than forty subsequent albums, and has received 11 Grammy Award nominations.Nakai has also co-authored one book, "The Art of the Native American Flute," which was published in 1996.