Carlos Núñez comes from Galicia, in northern Spain, and he's the undisputed master of Galicia’s signature musical instrument, the gaita, or Galician bagpipes. “What the flamenco guitar is to the south, the gaita is to the north,” he explains. “The pipes have been here for over a thousand years. Everyone knows Scottish bagpipes and Irish uillean pipes, but now they are supposed to be the descendants of the Galician pipes.” The gaita is arguably musically more flexible than its Irish and Scottish relations, and in the hands of Carlos–who also plays pennywhistle, ocarina, Jew’s harp, tin whistle and flute–an exciting and funky 21st century instrument. “People say I play the pipes like the electric guitar!” he says. Carlos is well known in Irish music circles thanks to his early adoption by The Chieftains (he's been dubbed “The Seventh Chieftain”), and he played on many of the Irish group’s CDs including "Treasure Island," "The Long Black Veil," the Grammy-winning "Santiago" (inspired by Galician music), the Irish-Mexican project "San Patricio," and the Chieftains' latest release, "Voice of Ages."