"It has a good beat and you can dance to it." Whether or not you are old enough to remember Dick Clark's mantra in its original incarnation, most everyone likes to move to music (including those of us who are also doing deep relaxation, meditation, yoga, etc). It's also true that some music gets you moving better than others. I noticed this at an early age and wondered why this was so.

So began one of my areas of research. Beginning in 1965, I created independent study classes in college and started my career as a concert reviewer so that I could interview some of the major artists who performed at the University of Buffalo. (In fact, I volunteered to be on the concert booking committee to invite specific bands, but that's another story). In addition to the fairly standard interview questions, I also brought up the issue of the power of rhythm, and got a sense of the level of their interest and awareness. In a future column, I will be sharing some of the thoughts of major blues singers like James Cotton, icons like Frank Zappa, and surprising thoughts from pop stars like BJ Thomas and Rick Derringer (then of the McCoys and "Hang On Sloopy" fame).

I mention this as prologue to this month's installment, because a number of people have emailed me recently, having been blown away (in a decidedly positive sense) by my latest release, Cruise Control. Like many listeners, they were unaware of my "previous incarnation" -- before I began composing and recording meditative, relaxing healing music -- as a jazz-rock musician, playing trumpet, guitar and bass.

In fact, I have always enjoyed and recommended the pleasures of rhythmic music in my writings and workshops. It has, however, also been a source of frustration that certain authors and critics have deliberately misquoted me as saying that "all rhythms are bad". So let me make myself perfectly clear (imagine my finger wagging at you): I have never said that, and I have never felt that. What I have said, is that some rhythms are more helpful and healing than others. I have also said that trying to relax while listening to fast rhythms is counterproductive.

Taking a Look at the Record

No matter what music you listen to, the internal rhythms of your body -- your heartbeat, your breath -- are strongly affected by the rhythms of the music. We call this "rhythm entrainment." For instance, you'll notice that your heartbeat will synchronize with the pulse of the music. It's not something you have to learn or work at -- it's automatic.

Entrainment will also occur if you are in proximity to a grandfather clock. If you have ever been in a room with one, consider this: In my observations, there are three kinds of people: those who like grandfather clocks, those who don't notice them at all, and those who hate them. I am a charter member of this last group. Long before I knew what "entrainment" was as a scientific concept, I knew that I felt distinctly uncomfortable if I visited someone who owned one.

I took care of myself, however, and honored my body's wisdom. When my friend left the room, I would seize the pendulum to stop it -- and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. That tick-tick no longer was controlling my heartbeat against my will, at a tempo that was not in harmony with what my body wanted.

Years later, the epiphany was explained by the landmark book by Itzhak Bentov, Stalking the Wild Pendulum, which I highly recommend.

I share this background with you as a way of explaining "intuitive wisdom" and the genesis of the rhythm tracks that are featured on Cruise Control. Over the past several years, I've been cataloging and recording drum beats and patterns that get my creative juices flowing, as well as get my body moving.

In my home studio, I explored adding ethereal filigrees of sound, floating on top of these powerful rhythmic foundations. I found the juxtaposition quite elevating and pleasurable.

When I shared these sketches with some friends, they had the same reaction. I wasn't planning to release an entire album in this genre, although I have several rhythmically-propelled albums in my discography, including Afro-Desia, Connections and Deja-Blues)

But then I met a phenomenal guitarist, and all that changed. When magic happens in the studio, one accepts the gift. It's not necessarily important to know why or how. In one extraordinary hour of recording, an album manifested itself. Clearly, this was music being born -- and wanted to be shared.

But how to describe it? And how did it fit into the general oeuvre of healing music?

To find out, I lived with this music for several months. I listened while working, walking, driving. Serendipitously, I discovered it was wonderful for romantic moments as well. Indeed, there 's something about the combination of the rhythms, the layers of atmospheric sounds, and the soaring guitar that resonates with and seems to open the heart chakra in a very healing manner.

So that was my answer. One of the first people who heard it described it as "a delicious aura-gasm of sound". It definitely transports you to a different space. It's like it grabs hold of you and helps you shift gears into "cruise mode." And that was how the title was chosen.

As a musicologist, I can tell you that the rhythmic foundation combines elements of world, Afro-Cuban, old school R&B with a taste of mellow hip-hop (not all on the same track, however). The result gets your body moving and your kundalini rising.

I am honored to be joined by an array of master percussionists, Geoffrey Gordon, Kim Atkinson and Ian Dogole. Marc van Wageningen 's bass provides the bottom, and I'm proud to introduce the phenomenal talent of guitarist Jim Surles.

Guitar aficionados and music lovers of many persuasions will be treated to what I believe is an archetypal solo that builds and builds to an exquisite climax, on a level of classic Pink Floyd and Hendrix solos. But judge for yourself. We have samples up on our website, and by the time you read this, copies should be in your local stores.

I invite you to help describe this music -- and its effects -- in words. Please email at AskDrSound@innerpeacemusic.com. We'll be acknowledging the best submissions and awarding complimentary copies as well.

Enjoy the journey.

Wishing you happy cruising (musically speaking),

Steven Halpern