Heart of the World;

Flutist Mary Youngblood's CD brims with feminine beauty and Native American spirituality. With airy flute, hand drums, percussion, guitar, and the gorgeous vocals of Joanne Shenandoah, Heart of the World spins a wonderfully folkish, uplifting tribute to life on earth. "Loon Dance" sings with a light vibrancy, gracefully mixing the repetition of beautiful Native American melody and acoustic guitar. "Yuba" runs as slowly and sensually as the rivers it pays homage to. The precious value of this recording lies not only in its enchanting embrace of Native American culture, nature, and love, but the divine music it creates from simple, natural instruments. So much New Age music reaches for grandiose heights with electronic instrumentation that ends up sounding calculated, arrogant, and corny on CD. What a refreshing gift to receive music that's made by instruments grown from the land and played by an ensemble with a heart. Thank you, Mary Youngblood. --Karen Karleski