Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe

Last updated
Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe
Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe.jpeg
Studio album by
Albert Ayler
Released1969
RecordedAugust 26–29, 1969
Genre Jazz
Label Impulse!
Producer Ken Druker
Albert Ayler chronology
New Grass
(1968)		Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe
(1969)		 The Last Album
(1971)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe is a 1969 album by Albert Ayler, written by Ayler's partner, Mary Maria Parks. Along with The Last Album , which contains outtakes from the same session, this was Ayler's last studio album recorded before his death in November 1970. [4]

Contents

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, Al Campbell called the album "a powerful and often ignored recording... a prophetic statement dealing with guilt, confusion, sorrow, and hopes of redemption..." and wrote: "Ayler's musical curtain was eerily closing the same way it started -- playing the blues of his high school summer vacations as a member of Little Walter's band. Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe, along with tracks that were released posthumously on the Last Album, were recorded at the same session. While not easy listening, they complete an important portrait of a man facing a life and death inner struggle beyond the boundaries of jazz." [1] A review for Jazzwise states: "Along with the equally outstanding and misunderstood New Grass album, Ayler here is taking jazz into a new dimension. Complete with a bagpipes solo, an intensely spiritual recitation from his wife Mary Maria and former Mothers Of Invention/Canned Heat guitarist Henry Vestine playing electric free blues, many jazz critics at the time found this, now groundbreaking album, too difficult to decipher." [5]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars, and commented: "Like New Grass, this is not quite the unreconstructed R&B album that some readers and listeners may have been led to expect. It... includes some wonderful playing from Albert and some of his most innovative use of sound... Music... is not the best Albert Ayler album, but it is not a laughable monstrosity either... This final studio statement touches on all the major themes of Ayler's life: sorrow, loss, guilt and, above all, redemption." [3]

Writing for All About Jazz, Jeff Levine stated: "Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe may not be one of his best moments... or even his oddest..., but it's still essential and rewarding listening for those with a hankering for the fire music. As soon as Albert Ayler's first earth-shattering deep tenor roar opens the album, shivers are running up and down my spine. Nobody else has made a sound from a horn quite like that - a truly holy bleat." While Levine praised Bobby Few's piano work and Muhammad Ali's drumming, he was less approving of Mary Maria Parks' vocals, stating that they "clog up the album", and he called the final track, "Drudgery", "a completely baffling, long, lame blues-rock jam thing, that doesn't fit with the rest of the album", commenting "I'm shaking my head, wondering what the hell were they thinking. It's so wrong it's actually somewhat interesting... To hear this free-jazz icon stuck over this track is simply and utterly bizarre." [6]

Track listing

  1. "Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe" – 8:41
  2. "Masonic Inborn, Pt. 1" – 12:11
  3. "A Man Is Like a Tree" – 4:35
  4. "Oh! Love of Life" – 3:50
  5. "Island Harvest" – 5:04
  6. "Drudgery" (James Folwell, Parks, Henry Vestine) – 8:08

All music and lyrics written by Mary Maria Parks, except where noted.

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Ayler</span> American jazz saxophonist (1936-1970)

Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Vestine</span> American musician (1944-1997)

Henry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player primarily known as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969. In later years he played in local bands but occasionally returned to Canned Heat for a few tours and recordings.

<i>Nuits de la Fondation Maeght</i> (Albert Ayler album) 1971 studio album by Albert Ayler

Nuits de La Fondation Maeght is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on July 27, 1970 at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, and originally released in 1971 in two volumes on the Shandar label. The album documents one of the last known performances by Ayler prior to his death in November of that year.

<i>New Grass</i> 1968 studio album by Albert Ayler

New Grass is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler released on Impulse! Records.

<i>Spiritual Unity</i> 1965 studio album by the Albert Ayler Trio

Spiritual Unity is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollman's ESP-Disk label, and it brought Ayler to international attention as it was so "shockingly different". At the same time, it transformed ESP-DISK into "a major source for avant-garde jazz". A 5-star review in AllMusic called it a "landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of free jazz", "the album that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde... really the first available document of Ayler's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians", and stated that "the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic."

<i>The Last Album</i> 1971 studio album by Albert Ayler

The Last Album is an album by Albert Ayler recorded a little over a year before his death in November 1970. Along with Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe, which was recorded at the same session, it was Ayler's last studio album. The Last Album consists of outtakes from that session, and was released posthumously in 1971 on Impulse! Records.

<i>Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village</i> 1967 live album by Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village is a 1967 live album by American saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was his first album for Impulse! Records, and is generally regarded as being his best for the label. Originally released on LP, the album has since been reissued on CD.

<i>Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)</i> 2004 compilation album by Albert Ayler

Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) is a compilation album by avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler released by Revenant Records in 2004.

<i>Love Cry</i> 1968 studio album by Albert Ayler

Love Cry is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. It was originally reissued on CD by GRP with two previously unreleased alternate takes and one previously unreleased outtake. The cover claimed that "Universal Indians" is presented as a longer extended edit, but it is actually identical to the original LP. The later twofer CD edition discards the bonus tracks.

<i>The Legend of Ai Glatson</i> 1978 studio album by Leroy Jenkins

The Legend of Ai Glatson is an album by American jazz violinist Leroy Jenkins recorded in 1978 for the Italian Black Saint label.

<i>Communion</i> (Roy Campbell album) 1995 studio album by Roy Campbell

Communion is the third album by American jazz trumpeter Roy Campbell and the debut recording with his Pyramid Trio with bassist William Parker and Reggie Nicholson replacing original drummer Zen Matsuura. The album was recorded in 1994 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label. Roy pays tribute to avant-garde jazz musicians Don Cherry, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, and brothers Don & Albert Ayler.

<i>Tribute to Albert Ayler Live at the Dynamo</i> 2009 live album by Roy Campbell, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Warren Smith

Tribute to Albert Ayler Live at the Dynamo is an album by a free jazz quartet composed of trumpeter Roy Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, bassist William Parker and drummer Warren Smith.

<i>Spirits</i> (Albert Ayler album) 1966 studio album by Albert Ayler

Spirits is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1964 and first released on the Danish Debut label then later released on the Freedom label as Witches & Devils.

<i>Spirits Rejoice</i> 1965 live album by Albert Ayler

Spirits Rejoice is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1965 and first released on the ESP-Disk label. The recording session took place without an audience at Judson Hall, which had been rented solely for recording purposes.

<i>Lörrach / Paris 1966</i> 1982 live album by Albert Ayler

Lörrach / Paris 1966 is a live album by saxophonist and composer Albert Ayler, recorded in Europe in 1966 and first released on the Swiss hat MUSICS label in 1982. The album was remastered and rereleased on CD in 2002 with corrected track titles. The music was also reissued on a 2021 Hat Hut release titled Albert Ayler Quintet 1966: Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm. Revisited.

<i>The Hilversum Session</i> 1980 studio album by Albert Ayler

The Hilversum Session is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded at a radio studio in Hilversum, The Netherlands on November 9, 1964 and first released in 1980 on the now-defunct Dutch Osmosis label. It was later re-released on DIW, Coppens, ESP, and Modern Silence. In 2016, the tracks that appeared on The Hilversum Session were re-released by hatOLOGY on the European Radio Studio Recordings 1964.

<i>The Copenhagen Tapes</i> 2002 live album with studio recordings by Albert Ayler

The Copenhagen Tapes is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler consisting of six tracks recorded live at the Club Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 3, 1964 plus three tracks recorded in a studio by Danish Radio in Copenhagen on September 10 of the same year. The album was released in 2002 by Ayler Records. The live tracks were also included on disc two of the 2004 compilation album Holy Ghost released by Revenant Records, and were also reissued in 2017 on Copenhagen Live 1964, released by hatOLOGY. In 2016, the three studio tracks were included in the album European Radio Studio Recordings 1964 released by hatOLOGY.

<i>Live at Slugs Saloon</i> 1982 live album by Albert Ayler

Live at Slug's Saloon is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on May 1, 1966 at Slugs' Saloon in New York City. The music was originally released in 1982 as Albert Ayler Quintet Live at Slug's Saloon volumes 1 and 2 on Base Records (Italy), DIW Records (Japan), and ESP-Disk (U.S.), and, over the years, was reissued by a variety of small labels under different titles. A CD containing both volumes, plus an additional track recorded at the same concert, was released by ESP-Disk with the title Slugs' Saloon. On the album, Ayler plays tenor saxophone, and is accompanied by his brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, Lewis Worrell on bass, and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums.

<i>Stockholm, Berlin 1966</i> 2011 live album by Albert Ayler

Stockholm, Berlin 1966 is a live album by saxophonist and composer Albert Ayler, recorded in Europe in 1966 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label in 2011. The Berlin tracks were previously released on The Berlin Concerts - 1966, Albert Ayler Live In Europe 1964 - 1966, and the compilation Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) (Revenant). All of the tracks were reissued on a 2021 Hat Hut release titled Albert Ayler Quintet 1966: Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm. Revisited.

<i>Live on the Riviera</i> 2005 live album by Albert Ayler

Live on the Riviera is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on July 25, 1970 at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, and originally released in 2005 on the ESP-Disk label. The album, which was remastered and reissued by ESP-Disk in 2013, documents one of the last known performances by Ayler prior to his death in November of that year.

References

  1. 1 2 Campbell, Al. "Albert Ayler: Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe". AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 16. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  3. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 54. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
  4. ↑ Schwartz, Jeff. "Albert Ayler: His Life and Music: Chapter Five 1968-1970". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ten Essential Albert Ayler Albums". Jazzwise. July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ Levine, Jeff (May 14, 2003). "Albert Ayler: Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe". All About Jazz. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.