Keola Beamer, the ki ho'alu wizard based on Maui, and R. Carlos Nakai, the premiere Native American flutist from Tucson, Ariz., have been experimenting with their collaborative sound, which blends two indigenous cultures.

The integration, first heard on a CD entitled "Our Beloved Land," has taken on a life on the road. The pair launched an Island concert tour last weekend on Kaua'i and the show pauses on O'ahu tonight at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College, before moving on to the Big Island tomorrow. Dates on the Mainland are also planned.

"It's just a terrific journey of exploration," Beamer said of the linkage with Nakai. "In my heart, Hawaiian music wants to go somewhere; I don't know where, or even if it has to, but it feels right to go and explore."

An initial concert was staged on Maui, followed by a brief East Coast engagement that included performances at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., "that went surprisingly well," Beamer said.

"We are establishing a musical vocabulary. R. Carlos is a very intuitive musician, with an almost mystical sensitivity that transcends explanation," Beamer added. "Our sound is a beautiful commonality of scenes and concerns that Native American cultures share with Native Hawaiians."

The union evolved a couple of years ago on the Big Island when both Beamer and Nakai, working separately, realized that much of what they do — about history, culture, environment — had parallels in each others' camp. The innovative "Our Beloved Land" was the result.

"Much of the reason it all works is that we have included song and story about who we are in our own culture," said Nakai, who is of Navajo-Ute heritage. "We're contemporaries, but we work together, fusing the guitar and the flute, which seem to yield an attractive sound.

"One of the appeals is that we're working with traditional instruments in the modern world, yet maintaining the sensitivity of how we became who we are."

The flute adds a soothing, new-age tranquility to the vocal and ki ho'alu sounds of Beamer. Their CD uses authentic instruments — ipu (gourds), pahu (drums) and 'ohe hano ihu, the Hawaiian nose flute. On some tunes, such as "Ke Ao Nani (The Beautiful World)," Beamer sings Hawaiian lyrics while Nakai recites translations in Diné (Navajo).

"Being a guitarist, I have to set up the musical structure; the flute is wonderfully melodic," Beamer said. "But I have to make the bed, so he sneaks in. But perhaps I should rephrase it another way; I set the stage and he moves in."

Beamer and Nakai are eminent musicians; Beamer has won a lion's share of Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and Nakai has garnered multiple Grammy Award nominations.

"Sharing the culture increases the interest, and ultimately preserves the art and culture," Nakai said. "This cross-tribal communication with Hawaiians and other native peoples is healthy; we all learn from each other."

Nakai wasn't always a flute player. "When I started in music, I wanted to be a brass technician," he said.

He was intent on playing cornet and trumpet, having studied the classics. But after an injury that changed his destiny, he focused on the flute. Although it is not an indigenous instrument, Nakai said the flute is commonly used in Native American communities.

"The flute primarily is a personal instrument," he said. "It's commonly used for personal expression and never used in sacred context."

It's a versatile instrument, at home in a variety of genres, including jazz, and works well in collaboration with piano and guitar.

Nakai often does lecture tours — "it sure beats teaching high school," he said — and he's often tapped to provide what he calls "sound music" for gallery openings, playing not only his flute, "but coffee cans, plastic cups and water bottles."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.