Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #170

06-25-15   “Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #170 begins with the beautiful, circular folk air “Oh Spring Fragrancing All Around” featuring Mariam Massaro on vocals and baritone ukelele, Craig Harris on congas and Bob Sherwood on piano.  From this simple, dancing peace we move to a reflective song for Mother’s Day, “For The Mothers Of This World”.  This song of courage and love builds from a hypnotic, minimalist frame through a dramatic build and eases back to a soft lilt to make way for the beautiful and unusual “On Becoming”.  This improvisation again pulls back almost to extinction before a stealthy modal adjustment welcomes a lovely, driving native flute section from Mariam.  “On Becoming” s a stately, classically-inflected song providing a framework for Mariam’s celebration of simple joy.  Today’s showpiece follows the break and is an extended, musically-illustrated story about “Ezekiel With The Yellow Boots”, a fisherman with a compelling tale of chocolate, romance and the sea to tell.”