About Joseph Leal
Completely self taught, Joseph began playing Native American-style flute music about ten years ago. He was first mesmerized by the peaceful, haunting sound of the Native American flute as a boy of eight or nine, at a big Native American pow-wow called O'odahm Tash. He never forgot that sound.
"Why I was not guided to a guitar, or drums, or some other instrument, only God knows. I find that when I play the Native American flute, I find myself transcended to a place of calm and contentedness, without room for fear or negativity.
"One day after work on a Saturday, I went to the square in Prescott, Arizona where a large arts and crafts fair was happening. On that day, I heard that sound! Attracting me like a moth to a flame, I found a booth where a man named Saggio was playing this wonderful instrument. He handed me my first flute, a Butch Hall flute in the scale of #G minor and made out of walnut. I now own 23 flutes and the rest is history.
"Since that day, I have met many wonderful, wonderful people like my current flute maker Pat Haran out of Phoenix, Arizona. Pat's flutes also reflect closely who he is: a gentle, peaceful soul whose instruments are unique in that they are custom made for every single person who orders. Another is the late John Vames, a music professor who passed away in 2010 and left a legacy for all who knew him.
"My music has evolved, especially with the help of a gift from above, Boyd Sibley. Boyd is truly a kindred spirit and a phenomemal musician, producer, engineer and mixer in the music studio. I have recorded my last two albums with Boyd.
"I work as an RN in an Intensive Care Unit and have played for sick and dying patients. I've had remarkable experiences doing that, proving that our environment has such a huge impact on us spiritually and emotionally, and in a very positive way.
"My music is often about something I have lived or experienced. On my first album "Juniper Breeze", the track "Papa Wish I Had Known You" came to me in the forest one day when a thought of my grandfather, whom I never met. "Healing of the Heart" evolved as I became a single parent; "Bright Son-shine" came as I began to watch my son Mathew develop into a really fine young man. "Souls Journey" came as I cared for a man and played music at his home, at his dying bed. He was the great-great-grandson of Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, the Historic Lakota Sioux Chiefs, an experience that took years to talk about. And so it goes.
"In the grand scheme of things we are here but for a short time. My hope is that my music offers a place of spiritual comfort; for the moment, a refuge from this thing called the world, with the trials and tribulations we all face on any given day.
"Until our paths cross, I wish you peace."
— Joseph Leal
Joseph's live performances are played exclusively on Pat Haran Flutes.