A Higher Fusion

Founded in 1978, and still going in 2018, Astral Project has been "New Orleans' best-kept secret" - a world-class modern-jazz group comprised of the city's finest players. Beneath its funky Big Easy style the group has a spiritual agenda: to put the audience on the astral plane. In "A Higher Fusion," drawing on interviews with group members and some 40 other New Orleans musicians along with an inconceivable quantity of other research, David Lasocki paints a lively picture of Astral Project and its history. He looks at the group's spiritual agenda and considers why it has never become world famous. He also examines Astral Project's recordings, studio and live, in illuminating detail. A comprehensive discography and an equally comprehensive bibliography are thrown in for good measure. The book is a must-read for fans of Astral Project, its members, and New Orleans music, not to mention people curious about how on earth jazz can be "spiritual."