Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #156

03-12-15  “Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #156 begins at the beginning, with the sun rising over the treetops in Mariam’s lovely prayer “A Little Ditty” accompanied her ukelele, Bob Sherwood’s evocative piano and Craig Harris’s steady, muscular congas.  It is the very sound of seeing the sun after so many weeks of challenging deep winter and extends through many movements and many layers of peaceful, winding improvisation.  We drift into the improvisation “Oh Hi Rada Ka Hey”, an extension of the first piece, an improvised song of devotion and wonder at the beauty of the world.  Again we morph, this time into “Everyone Feel Good”, a culmination and synthesis of the preceding ideas.  The wistful “Oh, The Ocean Is Calling” follows, a dream of the sea dreamt on a cold winter night.  Magically, we transform this trancelike improv into Mariam’s ocean paean “Yemanja” from 2011’s “Gaea Star Goddesses” album with harmony and variations to Mariam’s lead vocal provided by Bob.  After the break we return with the driving, tribal, drum-heavy “Authenticity Part 1”, featuring Mariam on vocals and 12-string acoustic guitar and Craig and Bob on congas and percussion.  “Authenticity Part 2” is an invitation to everyone to live by their own rules and pursue their own truths.  “Part 2” opens into an impressive, driving Afro-Cuban improv before yielding to today’s final song from Mariam, “Just Feeling You”, a peaceful, wistful, deep love song.”