Customer Reviews

Hilversum Session

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The Hilversum Session is a real gem! Albert w/ Don Cherry deliver one of their best records in a very full year (1964). The quartet powered through similiar material in the wonderful live Vibrations---one of my favorites. Here the quartet hones their studio sound. Albert's tenor brilliance in high fidelity is something to behold. Check out Don's cornet magic as well as Peacock's bass and the incredible Sunny Murray. Ayler live was always amazing, but here in the studio the group flows through the material at a different pace w/ Don & Albert playing a tighter sound. I love hearing Albert in this small setting, meshing his unreal full tenor w/ a master like Don Cherry. Soon the quartet disbanded and the 2 players moved on to other settings. But I've always cherished this work, and I want to thank ESP for reissuing this very very fine session. 100 stars for Albert!

Two short months after the landmark recording "Vibrations", Albert Ayler brought his working quartet of trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray into the studio for another session. This would be the last recording by this band, and is by and large an extension of the previous work. Cherry decided to stay on in Europe, and in the course of 1965, both Peacock and Murray would leave Ayler's band. This lends a historical importance to the recording.

Unfortunately, the historical importance is not quite matched by the music itself-- it's not bad, necessarily, but compared to "Vibrations", its a bit of a letdown. The musicians play well enough, and they certainly have a tight synergy, but nothing really jumps out except the jarring "Angels" (a nice enough piece with a humanistic sax line but a somewhat haphazard improv) and the delicate and unique "No Name", which finds Ayler and Cherry repeatedly stating a crying, lovely theme. But then it's got "Infant Happiness", which is pretty sludgey and kind of lifeless.

Still, for anyone who loved "Vibrations" and is craving more of the Ayler/Cherry/Peacock/Murray quartet, this is a worthwhile find. My rating truthfully might be a bit harsh, but I am considering it comparatively. One nice thing is that the ESP reissue sounds absolutely fantastic-- sonically the music is up front, crisp and clear. Listening with headphones, I was shocked-- Ayler sounds like he's blowing his horn right next me. Certainly, it's a great upgrade. Now, if only they'd get the rights to "Vibrations"...