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Michael Brant DeMaria Starts The Day
Last Thursday I had a good day at Target quiet and peaceful and nobody knew the reason. It all started adter I had completed my pre-Target yoga routine. The soundtrack for my yoga routines usually comes from Spa on Sirius XM. That was the case on Thursday. When I was eating breakfast Spa was still playing. My ears perked up when I heard some Native America Flute. When I checked to see what the song was and the accompanying album, I saw it was Bindu by Michael Brandt DeMaria.
Now I have listened to and enjoyed several Michael Brant DeMaria albums previously including : The River his debut album, The Maiden of Stonehenge and Heart of Silence: Piano and Flute Meditations.
Anyway the flute and overall ambience of the track and subsequent tracks were great. So after I listened to the album throughout my short (15 minute) trip to Target. I left it playing in my hearings aids when I started work. Since the music was playing low and I could hear people planly with the music planning, I kept the music playing.
Suzanne Teng’s Flute and Others Completed My Work Day
After a while, I checked to see what was playing. I did that because it was still great flute music! Anyway the Bindu album had finished and a song from a different musician was playing. I believe it was a track from Enchanted Wind from Suzanne Teng. I thought the tracks were great.
Soon one came from Shimmer a 2022 release Shimmer Suzanne Teng and her husband Gilbert Levy. It was great too. I’m pretty sure that the album played to its conclusion and then a variety of Native American flute music played until the completion of my shift! Overall, it was a peaceful an quiet day.
The Ride Home and Songs for Leena
After My shift on the way home I continued to listen to the musical tracks that Spotify was still selecting for me. On the way I heard several great tracks including a couple from a favorite of mine Coyote Oldman.
I was almost home, when different and interesting track came on and it was Gary Stroutsos. A terrific flute player. I looked a the name of the track “Wupatki.” When I got home I found the album Songs for Leena : Contemporary Hopi Long Flute Music –
What caught my ear about “Wupatki” was the unique, breathy tone of the instrument. It turns out Gary was playing the Hopi long flute (or leena), a rim-blown flute that had been si
lent for nearly 500 years.Stroutsos was the first non-native musician invited by the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office to help bring this ancient sound back to life.
Listening to it again while writing this post, I connected with something much older and last Thursday may not have been a normal mornin
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is listening to SPA during and after my exercise routine lead me to: A Michael Brant DiMaria album that I had never heard, Bindu (Note to Self listen to the whole album). Then listening to the end of the album and the curated music after lead me to a new musician\ to explore Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy. Finally, I connected with the music of Gary Stroutsos and the Hopi Long Flute
Reflections on Gary Stroutsos: Learning of Gary’s passing in October 2024 made this reconnection bittersweet. His work with the Hopi Long Flute Preservation Project remains a masterclass in how music can act as a bridge between the ancient and the modern world.
Now I need to make a correction. While Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy as a duo and Suzanne as a solo artist. I have heard their music! While writing this post I discovered that Suzanne and Gilbert record under the name of Mystic Journey. I am listening to Mystic Journey’s album Kingdom of Mountains from my music library as I’ m typing! Oh, well it was agreat day!
The Playlist
The Musicians
Michael Brant DeMaria, Ph.D., is a four-time Grammy® nominated recording artist, psychologist, and author who has spent over 30 years exploring the healing power of sound. A multi-instrumentalist, His Healing Sound Project series, which includes acclaimed albums like Ocean, Siyotanka, and Bindu, has topped the New Age charts and is widely used by yoga practitioners and therapists worldwide for its ability to guide the listener toward a state of “peace within
As a world renowned flutist, recording artist and educator, Suzanne has released multiple critically acclaimed albums with her husband and music partner Gilbert Levy and their ensemble, Mystic Journey, that have won numerous international awards, including the Independent Music Awards, International Acoustic Music
Gary Stroutsos was an American flute player based in Seattle, Washington, who played a variety of genres of music. He made his mark by tapping into the Native American canon, and brought several forgotten songs to life. He played a variety of different flutes from all around the world, and in unusual settings. Wikipedia