A Grammy Award nominee and one of the founding fathers of new-age music (named by MTV the original new age artist). Began as a classically trained jazz-rock trumpeter playing with Bay Area psych-fusionists The Fourth Way before growing dissatisfied with performance-oriented music in the early 1970s and turning to what he calls anti-frantic alternative music, created purely for relaxation. His debut, Spectrum Suite (1976), is considered one of the first true new-age albums; its 1985 re-recording, Chakra Suite, has sold over 800,000 copies and was voted the most influential New Age/healing album ever made.

Representative albums: Chakra Suite, Spectrum Suite. Recommended starting album: Chakra Suite.

Mood and energy: Gentle, tonal, low energy. Recommended uses: Meditation, chakra-focused practice, relaxation.

Sacred Ground Confidence Score: 5 out of 5 stars   Final recommendation: Approved

Why this artist belongs in Sacred Sounds: A foundational figure whose Chakra Suite essentially defined tone-based meditation music as a genre – an essential anchor for the Chakra Frequencies collection.