New Age flutist/multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Gunn studied music at the Royal School of Music in his native Rochester, England; upon moving to California, his music began to increasingly reflect the spirit of the American Southwest, as evidenced by the title of his self-released 1993 debut LP Afternoon in Sedona. For its 1994 follow-up, The Sacred Fire, Gunn signed with the Real Music label; The Music of the Grand Canyon followed a year later, his second consecutive effort to reach the Top Ten on Billboard's contemporary instrumental charts. With 1996's Crossroads, Gunn began absorbing Latin influences into his sound; Passion in My Heart appeared two years later, followed in 1999 by Return to the Grand Vacation.