Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #589

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #589 is an inspired hour of visionary acoustic improvisational music played by the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, shruti box, mandolin, acoustic guitar and ukulele, Bob Sherwood on piano and bass guitar and Craig Harris on congas and Native drum and again featuring special guest, prominent Turkish folk artist Ludingirra Ozdemir on vocals and Saz, a guitar-like instrument that incorporates microtonal scales.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in early September of 2024, today’s show begins with the relaxed, mystical strains of “Oh Summer Day”, a beautiful improvisation characterized by a three-way dialogue between Mariam’s vocal and Native flute and Ludingirra’s Saz.  “Early In The Morning” is another staid, spacious piece with a gorgeous vocal from Mariam and imaginative, compelling piano from Bob and Ludingirra takes center stage on vocals with his exotic, deeply reverent “Ela Ciozlu Pirim Geldi”.  Mariam then picks up her chiming mandolin for the lush, magical “Slow Down”, a pretty ballad that increases up in energy until Bob’s gorgeous classical piano coda and “Youldum” is another powerful, meditative, unusual piece from Ludingirra featuring fine backup vocals and Native flute from Mariam.  “Here We Go All Over Again” is a pretty folk song from Mariam led by her lovely vocal and acoustic guitar and featuring Bob on bass guitar and “Reborn” from Mariam’s “Vision Quest” album is given a powerful reading with Craig’s driving congas, more bass guitar from Bob and a fine vocal from Mariam.  We conclude today’s show with Mariam’s powerful Goddess/environmental anthem “Queen Of Heaven” from the “Gaea Star Goddesses” album.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #588

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #588 is an hour of dynamic, visionary acoustic improvised music played by the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, 4- and 8-string ukulele, shruti box, mandolin and dulcimer, Bob Sherwood on piano and Craig Harris on Native drum and congas and featuring today’s special guest, Turkish singer and folk musician Ludimirra Ozdemir on vocals and playing his richly resonant Saz, a stringed instrument similar to a guitar.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in late August of 2024, today’s show begins with the varied, imaginative “Raise My Voice In Praise”, a rich, evocative song featuring fine instrumental contributions from the whole combo supporting a beautiful, sweeping vocal from Mariam.  “Transform” is a steady, powerful gospel-like song built on a two-chord motif from the piano and “Star Ray” begins as a delicate, tonally floating whisper and builds gracefully into a beautiful cathedral of sound with a lush, emotional ballet between Mariam’s vocal and her Native flute.  “Make New Friends” appropriates a children’s song to spin a musically rich, mysterious tale about rescuing a stuck deer in the deep winter before spinning into a powerful, gospel-pitched coda of rich vocal and stately piano.  The band slips seamlessly into a mysterious, swirling minor and a mirror-image of the previous piece emerges, a night to the day that has passed, lit with moonlight, plaintive and formal.  “Let’s Realign” is an energetic, powerful folk reel led by Mariam’s chiming mandolin that grows in power until settling into a beautiful piano coda supporting a hushed, whispered vocal from Mariam.  Ludimirra’s arresting, powerful song “My Soul’s Deepest Longing” rises unhurried from a beautiful mesh of Saz and Native flute, his powerful vocal performance arriving as if from a great distance.  This piece travels from the Turkish steppes to the frozen north as Bob’s Prokofiev-sourced piano parts push and pull at the eastern modes.  Mariam floats in to close today’s show with the solemn, powerful “Honor Your Spirit”, a concluding prayer that stretches and pulls the music in intriguing Afro-Cuban directions. 
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #587

Today on Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #587 we present an hour of visionary acoustic improvisation music featuring the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, acoustic guitar, ukulele, mandolin, Native flute and shruti box, Bob Sherwood on piano and drums and Ludimirra Ozdemir on vocals and Saz.  Recorded live at Singing Bridge Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts, today’s dynamic show begins with the driving, syncopated “Know Yourself”, a varied groove with a fine vocal from Mariam.  “Alive In The Beauty” is another driving, swinging piece that finds a powerful confluence between western and eastern modalities and “Find Your Rhythm” features dynamic saz figurations decorated with soaring Native flute from Mariam and driving, unrelenting drums rhythms from Bob.  “Tall Trees” is a gorgeous, languid, reverent tone poem built around Bob’s modernist, minimalist piano work that ascribes interesting variations to Mariam’s fine vocal and lyrical Native flute and “I Found You” is a fantastical, Dyonisian celebration with Mariam’s mystical lyric, circling, diving Native flute, Ludimirra’s winding string work and Bob’s driving, surprising hand drum grooves.  “Tall Trees” is a gorgeous, minimalist folk song with a pretty, repetitive harmonic framework set up by Mariam’s chiming mandolin and Bob’s stately piano that is repeatedly, seductively pulled into the minor with Ludimirra’s eastern modes on the saz.  “I Found You” is a triumphantly successful hybrid of western 12 tone modes and eastern modal drone driven by Ludimirra’s questing, questioning Saz with Gershwinesque piano comments from Bob supporting a powerful, unwinding lyric from Mariam.  One of today’s standouts is Mariam’s “Calling Us Home” from the “Release” album, presented powerfully and imaginatively by the band and supporting a fine vocal from Mariam.   We conclude today’s show with a languid, rich coda of “Calling Us Home” that showcases beautiful Native flute from Mariam and virtuosically rendered Saz from Ludimirra.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #586

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #586 is an hour of visionary acoustic improvised music played by The Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, marimba, mandolin, 8-string ukulele and harmonica, Bob Sherwood on piano and percussion and this week’s special guests Dan Morningstar on acoustic guitar and vocals and Ludimirra Ozdemir on vocals and Oud.  Recorded live at Singing Bridge Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in August of 2024, today’s show begins with the intensely rhythmic, hypnotic “Oh, May The Music Flow”, a powerful piece built around Mariam’s insistent, tight marimba figures braiding with Bob’s sinuous percussion and ornate, intricate lines from Ludimirra.  “Leyllm Ley” is a Turkish song from Lou, a beautiful, striking drone with propulsive percussion from Bob and Mariam.  “To Reach The Moment” begins with a dramatic, expressive vocal from Mariam above a bed of mandolin and Oud and unfurls into a gorgeous song of steppes and rainbows above a shifting, mind-bending modern classical setting of piano, Oud and mandolin.  “Ten” is a formal structure that features a complex, soaring conversation between Native flute and Oud and Mariam’s sparse, dramatic “I’m Walking” swells from a whisper, building a powerful, psychedelic journey as Mariam leads us through the caves of our souls.   “Youldum”, another rich journey into Turkish folk from Ludimirra, is a rich, powerful exercise with tight, interlocking rhythms from Mariam’s dance of Native flute and marimba.  A tight ensemble and fine vocals from Mariam and Bob create a mesmerizing tapestry on the dancing, racing “Solare” and the lovely, spacious, unhurried “Bring It All Home” wanders and returns, featuring fine contributions from the whole ensemble and lush vocals from Mariam and Ludimirra.
 
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #585

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #585 is an hour of visionary acoustic improvised music played by The Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, 12-string acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Celtic harp and ukulele, Bob Sherwood on piano and percussion, Craig Harris on Native drum and congas and special guest, prominent Turkish folk musician Ludimirra Ozdemir on vocals and oud.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts, in mid-August of 2024, today’s show begins with the swirling, mystical “It’s Just That Way”, an evocative ode to inevitability driven by Mariam’s chiming mandolin and Bob’s circular piano figures.  “Tell Me Your Story” is a beautiful minor key folk ballad featuring a fine vocal from Mariam and upbeat, driving congas from Craig and “Like The River” is a staid, open gospel ballad with a fine vocal from Mariam above Bob’s reverent gospel piano.  Ludimirra joins us on his mournful, expressive oud for the droning, mystical “Nectar”, a beautiful nature prayer from Mariam underpinned by her alternate-tuned Martin 12-string guitar.  “Dum Gedje Se Irimde” introduces the gorgeous, otherworldly music of Ludimirra to today’s show.  The piece is a beautifully overcast ballad placed in an Eastern drone with a fine, poetic vocal.  The ensemble again enriches one of Ludimirra’s mystical original pieces, this one entitled “To Practam O Sirimush, Sirimush”.  This piece expands and intensifies immeasurably with powerful work from piano, harmonica, congas, 12-string and Native flute.  “Let’s All Circle Around The World In Piece” stretches and draws the eastern D drone of the preceding extended modal workout with western harmonic touches and suggestions from Bob’s piano supporting Mariam’s reverent poetry.  The ensemble eases into Mariam’s extended coda “To The Oak, Standing So Tall”, a lush, expressive poem carried on light, stretching touches of gossamer from the instrumentalists.  We conclude today’s show with the powerful, affecting, piano-led “Yemanja”, a piece that sums up today’s threads and directions using Mariam’s evocative song from her “Gaea Star Goddesses” album.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #584

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #584 is an hour of improvised, visionary acoustic music played by the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, 4- and 8-string ukuleles, acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar and Celtic harp, Bob Sherwood on piano and Craig Harris on congas and Native drum.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in August 2024, today’s show begins with the beautiful, staid love ballad “I’ll Cross The Sea” featuring a fine vocal from Mariam above a tight, precise rhythm track from the ensemble.  “Pretty And Pink” brings a playful energy after the dramatic “I’ll Cross The Seal” with dancing piano and ukulele and “Abundance” is a powerful rock song with an energized vocal from Mariam and driving congas from Craig.  “You Are At Peace” is a rich ballad that projects a deep longing through aching Native flute passages from Mariam above a delicate, classical structure.  “This Is The Way” is among Mariam’s more powerful songs and the band leans into it with power, supporting a deep, evocative, impassioned vocal from Mariam.  “My Love For You” is a swirling, impassioned love song built around the chords Mariam caresses from her nylon-string guitar and a wonder-filled piano ostinato from Bob over Craig’s surrounding heartbeat drum.  “The Stars Are Calling” is a sparse, formally structured aria for Mariam to express praise to Mother Nature and the starry night and we complete today’s show with the extended tale of “Sparkle The Starfish”, a children’s story from Mariam’s “For The Children” album that is massaged and developed into a progressive musical adventure with powerful contributions from all.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #583

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #583 is an hour of inspired, visionary acoustic improvised music featuring the Gaea Star Band and special guests with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, steel-string and nylon-string acoustic guitar, ukulele and shruti box, Bob Sherwood on piano and vocals, Craig Harris on Native drum and congas, Robin Rooney on vocals and djembe and Ludimirra Osdemir on Oud and vocals.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in mid-July of 2024, today’s show begins with the hypnotizing “Circle Of Light”, a rich, meditative and poetic piece with fine vocals from Mariam and Robin.  “Return” is a lush, spiritual raga based on Mariam’s droning shruti box and decorated with fine harmonic work from Ludimirra and Bob and solid, syncopating drumming from Robin and Craig.  “Enjoy Life” is a spirited, mystical, electronic piece with fine Native flute passages from Mariam and affecting Oud playing from Ludimirra.  Next we accompany Ludimirra as he presents his gorgeous “Ela Ciozlu Pirim Geldi”, a fantastic original Turkish folk song that seems to cascade languidly as The Gaea Star Band adds touches of flute, piano, percussion.  “Serving Eternally” is a powerful raga with a booming pulse and a gorgeous, sweeping melody passed back and forth between Mariam and Robin as Ludimirra improvises mystical melodies that braid craftily through the piece.  “Fire In My Belly” and “We Call In The Elements” are spiritual anthems from Mariam’s “Vision Quest” LP and the band presents energized, rich, expansive versions of each with adventurous instrumental features passed back and forth between the players.   The ensemble then creates a powerful, hypnotic groove with Bob’s original song “Coming Home”, a beautiful, languid conversation between Bob’s rich voice and Mariam’s soaring Native flute given depth from each player.  We complete today’s varied, compelling hour with a lush, mysterious take of Mariam’s “Water” that references the original formalist classical structure before being swept into a rich, eastern-flavored desert rain prayer ballad raga.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #582

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #582 is an hour of visionary acoustic musical improvisation featuring the versatile, multi-talented Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, acoustic guitar, Native flute, ukulele and percussion, Bob Sherwood on piano and Craig Harris on Native drums and congas.  Today’s show was recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in mid-July of 2024 and begins with the sedate, peaceful “Oh Mother Earth, We Love You”, built around Mariam’s ukulele and sinuous vocal and a Gershwinesque piano accompaniment from Bob.  “Oh, The Moon And The Stars” begins as a bittersweet folk ballad, spacious and mournful, a prayer to nature in each of Mariam’s elegant couplets and culminates with a gorgeous, languid conversation between Mariam’s vocal and her Native flute.  Stepping into a languid blues mode with the shuffling “Oh, The Rain” the band drifts into a Beatlesque groove as Mariam weaves 21st century melodies into the psychedelic brew.  “We Are Here Now, Inside Our Body Temple” is an unusual, haunting air with an airy, gossamer vocal from Mariam and “Bless Your Journey” spins an unusual, retro jazz R&B groove from a sparse Native flute and drum intro that culminates in a powerful series of gospel choruses.  The band gives Mariam’s “Isis” and “Sail To The Realms” a brisk, airy runthrough with a fine vocal and solid rhythm from all as we finish this week’s installment with the rich, gorgeous, burnished majesty of “Just Abandon All Longings”.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #581

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #581 is an hour of improvised visionary acoustic music featuring the Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, acoustic 6- and 12-string guitars, ukulele, dulcimer, shruti box and mandolin, Bob Sherwood on piano and tambourine, Craig Harris on Native drum and congas and today’s very special guest from Turkey, singer and Oud player Loudingirra Ozdemir.  Recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts in July 2024, today’s show begins with the peaceful, reverent “Open The Way”, a spacious piece featuring Loudingirra’s Oud and Mariam’s Native flute and vocals in beautiful conversation.  “Oya Mama Hey” is a dancing, folky tune featuring Mariam on vocals and mandolin with fine contributions from the ensemble, following which we conduct a fascinating interview with Loudingirra.  Next we feature his music with support from the Gaea Star Band, beginning with the powerful, deeply spiritual “Hayat Misin Olummnusin” which translates as “Are You Life Or Death?”  “Tum Diherde Gunahkar” is next, which translates as “I Am Placeless” and is a breathless, galloping, impassioned piece with Bob joining Craig on percussion and featuring a peerless vocal from Loudingirra.  “There’s A Fine Line” is a gorgeous raga underpinned by Mariam’s rich, sitar-like 12-string drone and beautiful Oud accompaniment and we conclude today’s compelling show with the mysterious, expanding “Sun Is Calling”, a compelling minor piece eased into Eastern spaces with Loudingirra’s modal instrumental work.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour with Mariam Massaro: #580

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #580 is a lush, relaxed midsummer reverie of improvised, visionary acoustic music played by The Gaea Star Band with Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, acoustic steel- and nylon-string guitars, ukulele and mandolin, Bob Sherwood on piano and Craig Harris on Native drum and congas.  Recorded live on an early July day in 2024 at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington, Massachusetts, today's show begins with the languid "Layers Upon Layers", a sparse, staid piece with a lovely vocal from Mariam above a relaxed rhythm section and "Celebrate Our Differences" is another languid, easeful piece led by Mariam',s ukulele and a fine, inspiring lyric from Mariam.  "Singing In The Wind" is a mysterious forest song with gorgeous Native flute and evocative, repeating piano themes from Bob and "Standing Ones Of Peace" is a prayer to the forest from Mariam's "Vision Quest" album led by Mariam's chiming mandolin, driving congas from Craig and Bob's blues piano figurations.  Eastern modes and scales define the mystical tone poem "Beneath The Arbor Of Flowers", a gorgeous, unhurried abstract with a fine vocal from Mariam that rises in tempo and energy into a beautiful pagan dance and "Goddess, Goddess" from the "Release" album is presented as a simple, pretty piece that floats elegantly in a two-chord framework with a gorgeous vocal from Mariam.  "Queen Of Love" from the "Gaea Star Goddesses" album and "Thunderbeings" from the "Vision Quest" album are both presented authoritatively, the former a deeply romantic flamenco, the latter a Native anthem to the old growth trees of the forest.  "Shamiyaya" is an upbeat island song, the lead single from Mariam's "Release" album and we close today's show with the beautiful lullabye "Night Is Near" from the "Vision Quest" album.
Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com