Jeff Ball

Growing up in Rockville, Maryland, wood flute artist Jeff Ball absorbed pop, smooth jazz, and a wide range of instrumental and film-score recordings during his formative years. An initial attraction to the harmonica gave way to a deeper fascination after he attended a powwow and encountered the Native American wood flute. Although his lineage traces primarily to Scots-Irish forebears rather than indigenous roots, he maintains that “according to family legend, a few drops of Indian blood, just enough to help me play wood flute.” He obtained his first wood flute in 1992 and soon drew inspiration from Douglas Spotted Eagle, R. Carlos Nakai, and Tsane Dose. Two years later he issued the instructional volume Trailhead of the American Indian Courting Flute, which came packaged with an accompanying recording.

His debut proper release, the solo effort Dancing in the Wind, circulated only in the Maryland region. The follow-up Mixed Blood achieved wider national availability and incorporated bass contributions from his brother Randy Ball alongside additional instrumental support. Reverence appeared in 1999; the solo album Windtamer followed in 2000. Also in 2000, Cedar Moon earned a Native American Music Award in the “Native Heart” category. To expand the traditional wood-flute palette, Ball enlisted guitarist Sennen Quigley and percussionist Ted Natale. Prairie Runner, released in 2002, featured vocal appearances by the group Walela and included a rendition of Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” The seasonal collection Songs of Winter arrived the next year. Selected earlier material plus two newly recorded pieces formed the soundtrack for the 2005 documentary Return to Balance: A Climber’s Journey, issued as the album Return to Balance that same year. On the 2007 release The Shape of Light, Ball’s ensemble—now featuring the recently introduced hang, performed by Natale and Ron Kravitz—shaped a contemporary ensemble sound.