Jonny Lipford’s “Flute Outside the Box”

by Christopher Manson
June 24, 2010 Issue

Jonny Lipford isn’t one of those guys you’ll find playing in bars and other nightspots, but at age 20 he’s managed to stay busy with his compelling, melodic Native American flute music. He performs at Fort Walton Beach’s Musical Echoes festival every April and is preparing for a tour of the Midwest in July.

“I went up there in 2008 and 2009,” he says. “I wasn’t going to do it this summer, but the International Native American Flute Association holds a convention with the top guys in the industry performing. This year it’s in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I didn’t want to go up there for just one thing.”

Lipford is a genuine talent—one listen to his latest CD, Turn the Page, confirms this—but finding local venues has been a challenge. “It’s hard for me to find stuff (here) where my music blends in,” he says.

The annual Musical Echoes gigs are always well received, though. “What I do is, I have tracks with everything but the flute, and I play the flute live. I wish I could play everything live myself, but I only have two hands. A lot of people frown upon it, but a lot of flute guys do that. It’s hard to travel with bands and coordinate on a budget.”

In addition to an arsenal of Native American flutes, Lipford plays keyboard, “a little guitar,” and percussion (“not a big drum set”). At one point, he had upwards of 80-90 flutes in his collection but has whittled the number down to around 30.

I meet Lipford at a local coffee shop, and he pulls out some flute bags made of fleece—it’s important to keep moisture out of the wooden instruments. “Each one is made of a different wood,” he explains. “Each is tuned to a different key.” The instruments are sometimes entirely handmade, but a lot of flute makers use power equipment.

Lipford has no preference. “Whether by hand or by machine, it all depends on the flute maker. I look for consistency, tonal quality. I don’t go for the ‘bling.’ You’ll see (some players) with leather and 14 karat gold—it looks good on stage, but for me, it’s the quality of sound.”

At age 13, Lipford stayed home from school one day and spotted a cartoon character on TV playing a wooden flute. Intrigued, he began searching for such an instrument, and that Christmas his mom gave him a bamboo flute. He took piano lessons as a child but “my teacher hated me because I couldn’t read music. For me, it’s about experimentation. That’s how I write my music. Melody is a big thing for me, too. I like it when people walk away whistling (my music).”

His CDs—Lipford has released three so far—consist entirely of original compositions with Lipford playing all the instruments. In his still-young career, he has traveled to 30 states to play at art shows, cultural events, and corporate functions. There are also plenty of gatherings and festivals for flute players. “The flute community as a whole is small, but it’s growing,” he says. “Ten years ago, hardly anyone knew about it, but now it’s popping up everywhere.”

Lipford is entirely self-taught but cites one important musical influence. “A lady named Mary Youngblood…when I started out, the very first album I owned was her debut album—all solo flute. I’d listen to it endlessly and try to mime it and (develop) my own style.”

He and Youngblood began communicating via email, and she invited Lipford to come to the 2005 Musical Echoes festival. “It’s the very first stage I was ever on,” says Lipford. “So every year is an anniversary. I really owe a lot to her. She’s been the biggest mentor.”

Over the years, Lipford has become fascinated by Native American culture in general. “I’ve recently discovered heritage on my mom’s side,” he notes happily. “The flute filled a void within—when I first heard it, chills went up and down me. I thought, ‘Maybe this is part of who I am.’” He’s now a member of the Perdido Bay tribe of Creek Indians, based in Pensacola.

Lipford and his fiancée just moved to Crestview, a bit closer to the Beachcomber area than his native Greenwood, where his parents still reside. “I’ve always liked the Fort Walton Beach area,” he says. “When I came to Musical Echoes in 2005, I said, ‘One day I’m going to live here.’”

Occasionally, Lipford travels to the family farm to help out, but music is his life’s work. He does promotion for his own music as well as fellow artists on the New York-based Spirit Winds label. This past winter, Lipford stepped up his own marketing efforts, notably on the Reverb Nation Web site, which is where I found out about him. “My fan base has built dramatically,” he says. “Reverb is the essential tool for independent musicians.”

He’s already planning the follow-up to Turn the Page. “I want to do a more ‘relaxed’ album aimed toward yoga and flute, very down tempo.” Lipford finds inspiration in every aspect of his life. “I remember mowing grass one day and coming in and writing a song. It’s a cliché, but my music is what my feelings sound like. You listen to my album, and you’ll find a range of different emotions.”

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