Albert Ayler Music

One disc,45 min. approximately. Remastered sound. A portion of this music was used for an experimental film in the sixties. Without seeing the film itself,its difficult to determine the music's effectiveness in that context. What we're left with is avant-garde music which sounds very much of it's time and place. New York in the sixties was where a lot of these sounds eminated,and this is no exception. The first track is short(1:05)and serves as an introduction for whats to come. The second track is a bit over twenty minutes,which gives the players time to explore the tension and release,the quiet and harsher passages and the combined sound of their instruments. The final track,also over twenty minutes,is a bit more disjointed sounding(even for this music),with portions holding together over longer stretches of atonal dissonance. All compositions are by Albert Ayler and if you're familiar with his style of writing,these will come as no surprise. A look at the list of players tells a lot about what to expect-everyone is well-known as an "outside" player. However,Ayler doesn't play so much as a soloist,more an ensemble player. As with a lot of this music,repeated listenings are rewarded with an understanding and appreciation of totally "free" music. There is a constant intermingling of instruments as they weave in and out,slow down,and then accelerate through the compositions. If you're appreciation of music runs in this area,this is something you should pick up. Ayler,Cherry,Tchicai,Rudd,Peacock,and the great drummer Sunny Murray have recorded these fine tracks which,at the time,and in the present,should be much more well-known. In this day and age of cookie-cutter,bland music,its nice to see a label like ESP re-release this and other albums in their catalogue,as a presciption for some of what passes for jazz and music in general. This music needs to be heard and paid attention to,if for no other reason than to keep us from sinking under the weight of bland,short attention span listening. Also look for NEW YORK ART QUARTET on ESP RECORDS for more good music of this type.

One disc,45 min. approximately. Remastered sound. A portion of this music was used for an experimental film in the sixties. Without seeing the film itself,its difficult to determine the music's effectiveness in that context. What we're left with is avant-garde music which sounds very much of it's time and place. New York in the sixties was where a lot of these sounds eminated,and this is no exception. The first track is short(1:05)and serves as an introduction for whats to come. The second track is a bit over twenty minutes,which gives the players time to explore the tension and release,the quiet and harsher passages and the combined sound of their instruments. The final track,also over twenty minutes,is a bit more disjointed sounding(even for this music),with portions holding together over longer stretches of atonal dissonance. All compositions are by Albert Ayler and if you're familiar with his style of writing,these will come as no surprise. A look at the list of players tells a lot about what to expect-everyone is well-known as an "outside" player. However,Ayler doesn't play so much as a soloist,more an ensemble player. As with a lot of this music,repeated listenings are rewarded with an understanding and appreciation of totally "free" music. There is a constant intermingling of instruments as they weave in and out,slow down,and then accelerate through the compositions. If you're appreciation of music runs in this area,this is something you should pick up. Ayler,Cherry,Tchicai,Rudd,Peacock,and the great drummer Sunny Murray have recorded these fine tracks which,at the time,and in the present,should be much more well-known. In this day and age of cookie-cutter,bland music,its nice to see a label like ESP re-release this and other albums in their catalogue,as a presciption for some of what passes for jazz and music in general. This music needs to be heard and paid attention to,if for no other reason than to keep us from sinking under the weight of bland,short attention span listening. Also look for NEW YORK ART QUARTET on ESP RECORDS for more good music of this type.

One disc,45 min. approximately. Remastered sound. A portion of this music was used for an experimental film in the sixties. Without seeing the film itself,its difficult to determine the music's effectiveness in that context. What we're left with is avant-garde music which sounds very much of it's time and place. New York in the sixties was where a lot of these sounds eminated,and this is no exception. The first track is short(1:05)and serves as an introduction for whats to come. The second track is a bit over twenty minutes,which gives the players time to explore the tension and release,the quiet and harsher passages and the combined sound of their instruments. The final track,also over twenty minutes,is a bit more disjointed sounding(even for this music),with portions holding together over longer stretches of atonal dissonance. All compositions are by Albert Ayler and if you're familiar with his style of writing,these will come as no surprise. A look at the list of players tells a lot about what to expect-everyone is well-known as an "outside" player. However,Ayler doesn't play so much as a soloist,more an ensemble player. As with a lot of this music,repeated listenings are rewarded with an understanding and appreciation of totally "free" music. There is a constant intermingling of instruments as they weave in and out,slow down,and then accelerate through the compositions. If you're appreciation of music runs in this area,this is something you should pick up. Ayler,Cherry,Tchicai,Rudd,Peacock,and the great drummer Sunny Murray have recorded these fine tracks which,at the time,and in the present,should be much more well-known. In this day and age of cookie-cutter,bland music,its nice to see a label like ESP re-release this and other albums in their catalogue,as a presciption for some of what passes for jazz and music in general. This music needs to be heard and paid attention to,if for no other reason than to keep us from sinking under the weight of bland,short attention span listening. Also look for NEW YORK ART QUARTET on ESP RECORDS for more good music of this type.

This is some really out in the ozone free jazz improv. Not for the faint of heart at all. Albert Ayler makes Ornette Coleman look tame in comparison. I have a minor complaint with the recording, and that is the miking of it. Everything kind of bleeds to one side a bit. In 1964 when this was recorded there were better miking techniques in use. The overall effect is similar to a bootleg recording. But, that doesn't take away the sheer power of Ayler's ability to blow to the point where you think he may pass out. He was a force to be reckoned with for sure. I wouldn't recommend this at all to those just beginning to dip into the water of free jazz or avant garde. I would recommend starting with something like John Coltrane's Ascension, and maybe moving into Ornette Coleman's Shape of Jazz To Come first and test the waters. If you like those, you may dig this but be warned, even the audience presnt during this recording sounds a bit indifferent to it.