NATIVE SONG BIRD CHUCKI BEGAY, KEEPS THE MUSIC MOVING!

Variety of performers

The Aztec-based band, Chucki Begay and the Mother Earth Blues Band, is the real deal. Begay, who like nearly all of the performers was Native American, sang dark and earthly versions of songs about Native pride and unrequited love.

A song called “Geronimo” paid homage to the folk-lore Apache warrior.

Begay, dressed in black and with an alluring stage presence, captured long notes with focused meticulousness, casting a soulful pall around El Morro that would have made acclaimed singers Amy Whitehouse, Annie Lennox, and Sade envious.

“I’m trying desperately to get you off my mind, but you keep coming back to me,” went one of the songs sung by Begay and backed on guitar by Begay’s husband, Richi Anderson, and the versatile Merlin Yazzie, who performed at last month’s “Open Mic.” Begay said that it was Yazzie who told her about the event.

Begay and the band returned later to center stage to close out the show. The band’s aura had a dramatic effect on the audience.

“They are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen,” said Knifewing Segura, production coordinator for “Open Mic.” “They are big time.”

Gallup Independent-January 2009