Raymond Carlos Nakai (born April 16, 1946) is a Native American flutist of Navajo and Ute heritage.

Nakai has collaborated with musicians William Eaton, Peter Kater, Philip Glass, Nawang Khechog, Paul Horn, and Keola Beamer.

Raymond Carlos Nakai was born in Flagstaff, Arizona on April 16, 1946, to a family of Navajo and Ute descent.

[1] As a child he would audition tapes for a Navajo language radio show hosted by his parents; in doing so, he heard a recording of William Horn Cloud, a Lakota musician from the Pine Ridge Reservation, playing the flute.

[5] As a second-year student, he was drafted into the United States Navy, and spent two years studying communications and electronics in Hawai'i and the south Pacific.

After a period of little success, he played his music during an exhibition at the Heard Museum, where a representative of Canyon Records bought one of his cassettes.

[2][11] These recordings included several collaborations, including with the Japanese folk ensemble Wind Travelin' Band, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David,[6] guitarist William Eaton, American composer Philip Glass, Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog, flutist Paul Horn, and slack key guitar player Keola Beamer.

Although he occasionally plays arrangements of traditional melodies, most of his music attempts to "[create] original compositions that capture the essence of his heritage in highly personalized ways.

[9][10][11] Music review website AllMusic called Canyon Trilogy "[elegant] in its simplicity",[13] and referred to Earth Spirit as "an outstanding CD from a soulful man.

"[14] Nakai's 1995 collaboration with William Eaton, Feather, Stone, and Light, topped the New Age music album charts for 13 weeks, and was listed as a Billboard Critic's choice.

[9][21] He received an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994,[5] and the NAUAA Dwight Patterson (1934) Alumnus of the Year Award in 2001.