Albert Ayler - Music is the Healing Force of the Universe

Released on the Impulse label in 1969, Albert Ayler’s album Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe was entirely 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 (he would die in November of 1970). According to AllMusic reviewer Al Campbell, this “is a powerful and often ignored recording from the Albert Ayler catalog. It is a prophetic statement dealing with guilt, confusion, sorrow, and hopes of redemption. While not easy listening, it provides an important portrait of a man facing a life and death inner struggle beyond the boundaries of jazz.”

Tracklist: 

SIDE ONE:

1. MUSIC IS THE HEALING FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE (Mary Parks) 8:40 
2. MASONIC INBORN, Part 1 (Mary Parks) 12:08

SIDE TWO:

1. A MAN IS LIKE A TREE (Mary Parks) 4:34 
2. OH! LOVE OF LIFE (Mary Parks) 3:48 
3. ISLAND HARVEST (Mary Parks) 4:55 
4. DRUDGERY (Mary Parks, Henry Vestine, Bill Folwell) 8:08

Personnel:

ALBERT AYLER, tenor saxophone, bagpipes, and vocals; MARY MARIA, vocals, BOBBY FEW, piano; HENRY VESTINE*, guitar; BILL FOLWELL, bass and Fender bass; STAFFORD JAMES, bass; MUHAMMAD ALI, drums. Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, August 26, 27, 28, and 29, 1969. (Throughout the album, Bill Folwell's bass is heard on the left channel, Stafford James' on the right. On Masonic Inborn, Albert Ayler plays two bagpipe parts employing overdubbing; Henry Vestine plays both guitar parts, employing overdubbing, on Drudgery.) 

Produced by: Ed Michel