Universal Togetherness Band -

The Universal Togetherness Band was an American soul-funk band from Chicago that was active between 1979 and 1982, recording an album’s worth of material that was ultimately released more than three decades after the fact by archivists Numero.

Background

Universal Togetherness Band formed in Chicago in 1979 when keyboardist-singer Andre Gibson brought bassist Fred Misher, guitarist Leslie Misher, drummer Arnold Gibson, and key-harpist Paul Hanover into a Columbia College recording project.

Gibson was born on January 24, 1956, in Chicago and grew up on the South Side, where he heard neighborhood bands around Washington Park Homes. At Chicago Vocational School, Gibson played organ in the jazz band, mallet percussion in the marching band, cello in the orchestra, and flute in the concert band. He later studied music therapy at Illinois State University, where he joined the Black Art Jazz Performers and met the Misher twins, two Chicago natives who became his off-campus bandmates.

Gibson returned to Chicago in fall 1976 and assembled Colorvision with earlier Blue Flame players and bassist Fred Misher. Arnold Gibson, Andre’s younger brother, developed on bass and French horn during high school and entered the new group as drummer. Leslie Misher left Illinois State for work at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor but continued to commute for rehearsals and engagements. Hanover met Gibson at Columbia College, where he studied alongside Gibson and worked as a harmonica player and pianist with the Chicago Latin Ensemble and poet-performer David Hernandez.

Gibson enrolled at Columbia College in fall 1978 through a CBS Musical Instruments tuition program after work in the company research-and-development shop. In spring 1979, he saw a campus notice from the audio engineering department, which needed bands for student recording sessions. Universal Togetherness Band auditioned for instructor Malcolm Chisholm and began recording through Columbia’s program at Universal Recording and Zenith/dB. Percussionist Louis Sanford, an Illinois State associate, joined the sessions on timbales, tambourine, and cowbell, while singer Dawn Maxine Brooks appeared on the early 1979 recordings “Ain’t Gonna Cry” and “Taken By Love.”

Classmate Antoinette Rose Stern heard Gibson demo cassettes during a Columbia critique and offered to manage the band. Stern arranged an Audio Technics session and booked Universal Togetherness Band at Sauer’s, Gaspar’s, the Wild Hare, the Cubby Bear, Mother’s, Redford’s, the Steel Worker’s Union Hall, Columbia College’s Showcase 1980, and Chicago Fest. She also pursued Mercury Records contacts, but the label’s 1981 consolidation closed the Chicago office before the band secured a release. Gibson left Columbia in spring 1982, and the group’s five-semester reel archive remained with him after the college sessions ended.

Universal Togetherness Band

Numero Group issued Universal Togetherness Band, the self-titled archival album by Universal Togetherness Band, in January 2015 on Numero Group. The label selected eight recordings from the band’s 1979–82 reel archive at Columbia College.

The album draws from 1979–82 recordings by the five-member band of keyboardist-singer Andre Gibson, bassist-vocalist Fred Misher, guitarist Leslie Misher, drummer-bassist Arnold Gibson, and keyboardist/harmonica player Paul Hanover, with percussionist Louis Sanford added during the sessions. Singer Dawn Brooks, bassist Art Love, drummer Frank Alexander, guitarist Allan Burroughs, and reedist Mike Young appear on selected tracks.

“Ain’t Gonna Cry” rides lean percussion, then opens into guitar/piano call-and-response during the breakdown. “Real Thrill” snaps through a taut backbeat with serrated fretwork. “My Sentiment” bounces on ivory, clipped percussion, and collective harmony. “Once in a Lifetime” circles a repeated chorus pattern with cross-accented rhythm. “Try Try Try” drifts through a spacier keyboard setting, while “Call for Love” billows flute with moderato romantic leads. “I Want You” closes with a steadier vocal line and smoother ensemble surface.

A1. “Ain’t Gonna Cry” (5:32) – Andre Gibson, Paul Hanover
A2. “Real Thrill” (4:52) – Andre Gibson
A3. “Try Try Try” (5:16) – Miriam Solon, Paul Hanover
A4. “My Sentiment” (4:25) – Andre Gibson

B1. “Once in a Lifetime” (5:03) – Paul Hanover
B2. “Taken by Love” (6:37) – Andre Gibson
B3. “Call for Love” (5:14) – Andre Gibson
B4. “I Want You” (3:41) – Andre Gibson

The band recorded the material between 1979 and 1982 at Universal Recording and Zenith/dB in Chicago through Columbia College’s audio engineering program. Mixers Sean Marquand and Eber Pinheiro prepared the album from the original multitrack sessions. Mastering engineers Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice mastered the release at Peerless Mastering in Boston.

The LP package features design by Leland Meiners and photography by Steven E. Gross, whose black-and-white image shows the band during a stage performance. Numero paired “My Sentiment” with “Missing You” on a June 2015 single.

Apart: 1980–1984

Andre Gibson & Universal Togetherness Band released the archival album Apart: 1980–1984 on May 1, 2020. The album contains eight demos and unreleased recordings from the post-Columbia College period. Gibson and Universal Togetherness Band recorded the material between 1980 and 1984 in Chicago basements and professional studios.

1. “Don’t It Feel Good” (4:14)
2. “Thankful For You” (3:12)
3. “Breakaway” (3:14)
4. “Valentine Lover” (1:50)
5. “Quickie” (0:32)
6. “Stuck On A Thrill” (2:46)
7. “Bring Me” (4:43)
8. “I’m Falling” (4:47)

Numero later expanded the program as Apart: Demos (1980–1984) in 2023. The expanded issue added “All My Pals,” “Love Changes Life’s Changes,” “Call Me,” “I Wanna Take You Away,” and “Say I Will,” and dropped “Quickie” from the 2020 sequence.

Discography: