FunkFreak75 Fresh out of his rotating apprenticeships with Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, and Stanley Turrentine (after cutting his milk teeth with Betty Carter, Roland Kirk, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), keyboard master Lonnie Liston Smith might be the all-time king of serious jazz-musicians who turned almost exclusively toward the creation of absolutely beautiful, positive, stress-reducing mood music.

A1. "Astral Traveling" (5:30) an awesomely soothing bass and percussion groove (using several classical Indian instruments) over which Lonnie plays an incredibly spacious echoing Fender Rhodes. The interplay of tabla, tambura, two congas, and drums is sublime! George Barron is invited in to introduce an absolutely to-the-core soothing melody on his soprano saxophone--and then he provides the finishing recapitulation in the final minute. But the most amazing sorcerer in this magical song is bass player Cecil McBee. What an amazing song! What vision! Sheer perfection or beyond! (11/10) A2. "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord" (6:30) a veritable shower of exotic percussion and electric piano within which George Barron soothes and woos us with his sublime saxophone play. (9.25/10)

A3. "Rejuvenation" (5:50) with piano and a more-traditional jazz combo core, this song sounds a lot like a joyful, whimsical Latinized take on some Vince Guaraldi Peanuts music. So eminently enjoyable and good-feeling! This is the kind of music you want playing in your kids environment: skating on the outdoor rink, playing nighttime basketball on the driveway beneath the floodlights, receiving them when they return from school each day. There's also quite a little borrowed in Lonnie's piano chord play from McCoy Tyner's piano play on John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things." How do you go better than that? (9.5/10)

B1. "I Mani (Faith)" (6:10) with its long, lingering opening intro, this one sounds very much like something from the John Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders/Alice Coltrane school of improvisational jazz. George really gets to stretch out on this one--entering some kind of free-jazz transcendental "zone" in the third minute--which he sustains over the next two minutes as the wind-on-the-lake cacophony of the introductory barrage continues. In the fifth minute, then, the surface of the lake begins to smooth and George follows suit, drifting inexorably back down to Earth like an autumn leaf. (9/10)

B2. "In Search Of Truth" (7:04) another soothing groove that conjures up cosmic connections even more than anything I've ever heard from Germany's Kosmische Musik musicians and songs. Once again the employment of Indian instruments (the droning tambura and tabla mixed in with the congas) secures the hypnotic portal required for pure transcendence. (15/15)

B3. "Aspirations" (4:20) an exploration of beauty through the pulsations of Lonnie's chorused electric piano, tout seul. Perhaps this was music that inspired VANGELIS for some of his beautiful soundtrack music for Blade Runner et al. Perhaps it even inspired Fred Rogers (or, more accurately, Fred's virtuoso pianist music director, Johnny Costa) to bring a Fender Rhodes (or Fender Rhodes-like sound) into his studio for his episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Lonnie's song here definitely conveys the life-affirming that seems to have become his adoptive message and raison d'être. (9/10)

Total time: 35:24

A/five stars; an absolute masterpiece of genre-expanding Jazz-Rock Fusion--one that proclaimed the fact that there is plenty of room in the Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion worlds for music that strives to effectively raise spiritual consciousness not just express the player(s)' cosmic ecstasy. Highly recommended to all music lovers--and especially to those who like to use music to reach higher states of spiritual receptivity.

Sean Trane Out of the Pharoah Sanders crowd (but also Leon Thomas and Rashaan Kirke) comes L L-S (LLS for short), who played piano on Pharoah’s most classic albums from the early-70’s. If LLS ‘s debut album mentions also The Cosmic Echoes moniker, it is the name of his backing band, which features other Alice and Pharoah-alumni McBee, Beck and Mtume as well as then rather-unknown (to moi, anyway) George Barron on sax. Recorded over only one session in April 73, this stupendous album’s musical identity lies between Pharoah (to some extent), but certainly more to Alice Coltrane or even to a lesser extent Carlos Santana. but Lonnie’s piano playing owes much to McCoy Tyner and Alice. Sounds intriguing and enticing enough?? Ya betcha! Originally released on the Flying Dutchman label in mid-73 (and produced by the legendary Thiele), Astral Travelling is a typical JR/F product that ogles in the world fusion direction (tamboura, tabla, congas) with the always superb Fender Rhodes’s orgasmic sound as its main ingredient. At times LLS’ finger runs on the piano’s keyboard can induce the soundscapes of Alice Coltrane’s harp.

Barron’s sax is somewhat Pharoah-nesque (notably on I Mani) but often cooler, Joe Beck’s guitar is fairly cosmic, and LLS’ compositions are above all happy and soothing at once, a perfect feel-good album without being corny or cheesy at all. Much the same way Carlos, Alice or Mahavishnu’s musics are. This doesn’t mean that we’re not dealing with some energetic and engaged moods though, but the mystical orientations of the tracks (well the title are inducing that idea) is more about spirituality than space cruising aboard some improbable spaceship, yet you won’t join a prayer group if you spin the album regularly.

The latest reissue (from 02) features a bunch of bonus tracks (all alternate takes) that are of little use to all but the unconditional fans. This is LLS’ only real jazz solo album in the 70’s, because he will jump on the cosmic-funk bandwagon with his next few albums, even if there will be still some (cheesy) jazzy influences. So coming back to the stupendous Astral Travelling, the closest thing coming to it sonically-speaking would be Carlos & Alice’s Illuminations collaboration. Definitely worth the detour if you want a good dose of positivism.