Michael Stearns – Morning Jewel

Description

1. Morning (2024 remaster) — 25:55
2. Jewel (2024 remaster) — 21:49

It’s been forty-five years since Michael Stearns released his third cassette, Morning Jewel. Quickly embraced in 1979 by the burgeoning New Age and meditative music market, the album stands as a classic from the early era of Californian ambient artists. It’s a sublime sonic monument with two long-form pieces integrating natural sounds and minimal electronics in long quiet movements.

Stearns says, “The creation of this album came about from my curiosity and exploration of recording organic sounds in nature as well as an interest in microtonal tunings. Capturing the environmental sounds became a meditation and inspiration. Intertwining those sources with my music contributed a literal ‘organic’ quality to ‘Morning.’ Working with a microtonal scale and instrument brought the mathematics inherent in the natural world to ‘Jewel,’ lending it a more ‘organic’ feeling.”

With the sounds of desert sunrise birds opening the album, soft electronic layers slowly emerge, later placed within village and jungle sounds, complemented by gentle wordless vocals from Marsha Lee and Stearns. On “Jewel,” Stearns plays muted bell tones. The two profound deep ambient movements reflect the art of building music as much meditative as melodious.

Stearns says, “Reworking the masters with today’s amazing advanced digital audio technology, both in my studio here in Santa Fe and with the help of mastering engineer Bob Ohlsson in Nashville, created this new incarnation of Morning Jewel. The original recording and mix took on an exciting new life through this process.”