11-23-23 Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #552 is an hour of improvised visionary acoustic music recorded live every Monday at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts and features The Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, acoustic guitar, mandolin, ukulele and harmonica, Bob Sherwood on piano and Craig Harris on Native drum and congas. Today’s show, recorded in mid-November of 2023, begins with the upbeat folk workout “In The Dark Of The Night” featuring a fine, narrative vocal from Mariam and “You Are At Peace” is a gorgeous, stately, gospel-tinged song with a fine vocal and sensitive, filigreed piano work. “Let’s Be One” is a gorgeous, shaded piece, spacious and evocative, driven by Mariam’s tight ukulele work against Craig’s fundamental congas and braided through with sophisticated chord journeys from the piano. Following various movements, “Let’s Be One” settles into a powerful, hypnotic drone as a feature for Mariam’s outstanding voice and flute conversations. Today’s blues “Every Day Count Your Blessings” carries a Ray Charles influence in rhythm and structure and showcases rocking, astringent blues harp and vocals from Mariam. “Step On The Button To Change The World” comes in hushed and sweet with Craig’s earth groove a perfect support for Mariam’s chiming mandolin and Bob’s rich, active piano. “Thistle In The Wind” comes from Mariam’s children’s album and is a charming, naïve folk blues adorned with Mariam’s gorgeous vocal above a soundstage of churning congas, airtight ukulele and spidery Delta blues piano. “Flowers Of Delight” is a psychedelic, heavy-with-summer devotional song from Mariam’s “Release” album, an intoxicating cloud of August dusk and “Filling My Heart With Peace” closes today’s show as a driving, Dionysian apex coda to the drifting “Flowers Of Delight”.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com
