Customer Reviews

Holy Ghost

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Like many fans of Albert Ayler, I had been waiting for this set to be released ever since I initially heard about it a year ago. Well, it was certainly worth the wait. This is finally the tribute that Mr. Ayler has deserved for years. Although most of the titans of `50s-`60s avant-jazz have been well documented (e.g., Coltrane, C. Taylor, O. Coleman, Sun Ra), this unfortunately has not been the case with Albert Ayler--until now.

This set, comprised of seven full discs of music, two discs of interviews, and a "bonus disc" (early Ayler recordings when he was in the Army), is a magnificent tribute to one of the major forces in jazz history. Although I had already owned the ESP recordings and the one Hat Hut release, this set by Revenant by far fills in the gaps of his creative history, documents his remarkable evolution (especially from 1962-1964), and features sessions that many people have talked about but have never been able to hear until now. Some of these rare gems include the following: his performance of "Four" with Cecil Taylor and the legendary Jimmy Lyons in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1962; his performance with Pharoah Sanders in Jan 1968 in NYC; and his performance with Sam Rivers, among others, at Town Hall in 1969. That such historical works have finally been released after so many decades is reason to rejoice.

As for the packaging, the set features a nice plastic "spirit box" which holds all the goodies, including a 208 page hardback book that is the most comprehensive look into the career of Albert Ayler to date. It is filled with insightful commentary from people who had performed with him or knew him. Inside the box are paper reproductions of concert flyers, a magazine, a hand-written note, and a photo of young Albert. For some reason, there are also some pressed flowers included in the set, which actually flaked apart and made a bit of a mess in my box. I'm not really sure what to do with the flowers (i.e., hang them on the wall, smoke them, use them as incense, decorative potpourri), but eventually they will find a purpose. The only problem I have at all with the set is how the discs themselves do not come in standard (or even slim) jewel cases, but paper inserts. I really think that Revenant really made a horrible choice with this one, because when I opened my brand new set, at least half of the discs had minor scuffs on the data sides of the discs. I called a few friends who also had the set and they mentioned the same thing. I would have sent the set back if I did not believe this was likely the case with most, if not all, of the sets out there. I would suggest making backup copies of the discs for your personal use (which is perfectly legal) as soon as you can. The paper inserts were a horrible, horrible choice.

While they will probably not bear repeated listening as with the musical portions of the set, the interviews with Albert Ayler are fascinating. Before delving into the musical portions of the set, I first read the book and then listened to the interviews, to get a better sense of Ayler as a person. The interview from 1970, just a few months before his death, is enlightening and, in places, rather odd. He seemed to recognize that poverty is the consequence of playing avant-jazz, but he genuinely seemed to believe that it was only a matter of time before he became mainstream like major rock acts. Perhaps even stranger is his claim that The Beatles, Tom Jones, and Frank Sinatra had borrowed from him musically. (Well, ok, Albert, if you say so.) I think some of this musical/professional/financial tension he was experiencing helps everyone to understand how a bizarre album like "New Grass" reached the pressing plant. But the interviews also reveal his love for Coltrane, Ornette, and Rollins, and his desire to move avant-jazz from the clubs to the concert halls. He even discusses Miles' foray into fusion, which is pretty neat to hear.

Although the interviews are nice and the box is pretty, this set is ultimately about the music. The sound quality on most of the tracks is surprisingly good, considering the origin of the sources. And let's be honest: most of the sources sound no worse than the ESP recordings, which sound pretty "bootleg" themselves (e.g., "Slugs" and "Spirits Rejoice"). Given the age of the recordings, and how long they have been sitting "in the can," I think Revenant should be applauded for the great job they have done to assemble, restore, and present this powerful music to the rest of humanity to experience and enjoy. Thank you, Revenant, and thank you, Albert Ayler.

An undertaking of epic proportions, "Holy Ghost" seeks to fill the holes in Albert Ayler's legacy. In many ways, it's really quite unfortunate this wasn't released as a series of indepedent albums, as this would have likely gone further towards exposing Ayler to a wider audience. Still, the whole package is so lovely, and the amount of superb music in here is so high that for any Ayler fan who doesn't have this, let me offer this up front: go out and get it, you won't regret. The set itself consists of nine CDs (seven of music, two of interviews), a large (200+ pages) hardback book, and several additional pieces (including a "bonus" CD), all of which I'll discuss in detail below.

The music first-- that's after all why we're here. The set follows Ayler's career chronologically, containing some essential early recordings that really help with understanding his development, some reissuing of extremely rare material, and some great material that augments what's already available. As the set moves in chronological order, I will too in this context.

Ayler's early development, prior to the release of this set, was virtually unknown-- certainly the differences between "The First Recordings" (where Ayler was an aggressive free jazz tenor) and the essential "My Name is Albert Ayler" (where he was positively fierce) were hard to understand. This set traces Ayler's development from before any of these recordings-- the bonus CD contains two tracks from the Army band that Ayler performed in (recorded in 1960)-- his playing is advanced, but with nothing to lead one to believe the sort of playing that was to come was in him, I expect. A session as a sideman for bebop guitarist Herb Katz in 1962 (three months prior to "The First Recordings") paints a similar picture to its contemporary-- Ayler is advanced and out, but more in the way Ornette Coleman is, and the other musicians struggle to find a way to fit him in. His commanding presence is already obvious though-- this may be Katz's date, but Ayler clearly is the focal point.

But it's the next set that's critical-- Ayler met and played with Cecil Taylor's trio (then Taylor at the piano, Jimmy Lyons on alto and Sunny Murray on drums). In this framework, less than a month after "The First Recordings", Ayler cuts loose. His playing is explosive and powerful, he's driven to new heights by Taylor and Murray, and in his element, he excels. The 20 minutes here leaves you begging for more, and certainly one gets the feeling that working with a musician as uncompromising as Taylor led to Ayler choosing not to compromise himself. As such, his music began walking a straight path.

The set resumes in 1964, when Ayler had a trio of sympathetic muisicians (Gary Peacock on bass and Sunny Murray on drums) with whom he was able to perform explosive collective improv hinting at the theme-based work he'd do later. This trio would eventually be augmented by trumpeter Don Cherry for a European tour-- Cherry provided AYler something he never had-- a foil who would not be dominated by his presence. Both the trio and the quartet are represented by previously released recordings-- the rest of the music from the "Prophecy" ESP release (originally released as "Albert Smile With Sunny") and the lengthier of the two shows on "The Copenhagen Tapes". It's likely fans already have the latter, but the former is rather difficult to find, and either way, this material is well worth having.

Unfortunately, nothing from 1965, when Ayler worked with three horns, is included on this set. From 1966, after a brief collective improv piece under the leadership of pianist Burton Greene, four sets of material from mid-1966 are included. Featuring a quintet of Ayler and his brother Don (on trumpet), violinist Michel Samson, bassist Clyde Shy and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, these have value primarily due to Jackson's presence-- very little material documents the explosive drummer's work with Ayler, and in many ways, he was the best match for Ayler at the drum chair, able to be stately and march-like as Ayler needed but more inclined towards implied beats and rhythmic structures. Ayler's music was moving into it's martial, theme-based improv phase, where one of the three lead instruments would hold down the rhythmic theme, and Jackson's fit was natural.

Jackson did not stay in the band, and for the November "Newport Jazz Festival in Europe" tour, Ayler could not get Sunny Murray to come along either. His quintet used a rhythm section of Lewis Worrell (bass) and Beaver Harris (drums). Two sets of this band are included, including one previously released on the difficult to find "Live In Europe" and "The Berlin Concerts 1966". Ayler's band is in full flight, explosive and powerful, and while I find Harris' drumming a bit conventional, Worrell and Samson form a string section that counters the Ayler brothers' horns nicely.

Another drummer whose tenure with Ayler was woefully underdocumented was Milford Graves, who played with Ayler in 1967 and recorded "Love Cry". During his time, the quintet performed the Newport Jazz Festival-- Ayler's only festival appearance in the United States. Probably worth the cost of the set in itself, this 30 minute performance is probably the most powerful Ayler performance on record-- Graves is endlessly inventive, and bassist Bill Folwell similarly locks with Samson to provide a countering voice. The music is powerful, overwhelmingly so, a medley of themes and absolutely stunning. As a quartet (Samson resumed his classical career), the Ayler band performed at John Coltrane's funeral, a brief performance is included here.

After Coltrane's death, Ayler's performances became less frequent and at one point he attempted an r&b vein-- a sideman date with Pharoah Sanders (essential for Sanders fans, but less critical for Ayler fans) preceeds the change, marked here by rehearsals for "New Grass". Anyone who disliked this record will dislike these sessions, barring a blues jam where Ayler really digs in, they're really not worth having. What is worth having though is the 1969 session under Don Ayler's leadership, featuring Albert on alto and Sam Rivers on tenor. Albert's performance with his brother is somewhat odd, given that he had removed Don from his band, but the music here, about 20 minutes or so, is fantastic. Sitting somewhere between the idioms of the two reedmen on the session, the music is downright superb. The set closes with a very late summer 1970 show, as far as I know, the latest recording available of Ayler-- like "Music is the Healing Force in the Universe", it sounds closer to Coltrane's late material than any of Ayler's more recent material or previous work, and while neither bassist Steve Tintweiss nor drummer Allen Blairman have seemed altogether interested in playing what Ayler was doing at this time, this performance is remarkably far more energetic, upbeat, exciting, and powerful than any of the other released material from the summer French tour, and may cause some folks to reconsider any dismissal of Ayler's last recordings.

Sonically, the material ranges from barely listenable (the Coltrane funeral) to superb (the Newport session) and about everywhere in between-- this really is for dedicated fans.

Also included are two discs worth of interviews-- a little under two hours of interviews with Ayler and 15 minutes with Don Cherry-- these are certainly intereting and valuable (particularly the extended interview from France in 1970), but it's not the kind of thing you'll listen to over and over again. The set is accompanied by a huge book including lengthy essays including a biographical sketch by Valerie Wilmer (adapted from "As Serious As Your Life") and an odd reflection by poet Amiri Baraka, whose motivations seem a bit mixed and who dismisses Ayler's later work. It also includes details of Ayler's time in Europe in the early '60s, a series of rememberances from musicians and others who experienced Ayler's muisc, and a detailed track-by-track analysis. In addition, the set includes several addition reproductions-- inserts from LPs, a digest version of "The Cricket" with a letter Ayler wrote, a flyer from Slug's, etc. All this comes wrapped in a gigantic "spirit box"-- a plastic replica of a woodcut.

A word about the packaging-- each CD is housed in a plastic transluscent sleeve-- many folks have complained about CDs getting scratched-- the seam of the sleeve is on the back of the package, where the playing surface of the disc rests. These can cause the CDs to get scratched if they drape along the surface (I've had this happen with other CDs in similar envelopes). My advice-- carefully remove the CDs when you first get the set, making sure the playing surface does not contact the envelope seams and turn them around so that the printed (nonplaying) surface is facing the seams. This should prevent scratches-- I've had the set since its release (nearly a year now) and have listened to at least parts of it a couple dozen times none of my discs show any sign of scratching.

So in the end, is it worth it? It certainly looks impressive, and yeah, it is. There's a ton of essential music on here, from augmenting already well documented material (the '64 sessions) to additional material from underdocumented eras (the '66 sessions), some of those sort of "Holy Grail" recordings (the Tayler date, Don Ayler's work as a leader), and at least one unnervingly powerful performance (Newport Jazz Festival). If you're a fan, you'll want this. If you're new to Ayler, try "Live in Greenwich Village" for a good overview of his middle period work where his reputation was made, the converted should be getting this, I can't say enough good about it.

First of all the packaging is some of the best in history. It's a hard box. Inside are 10 CD's, a hardcover book, a photo of young Ayler, a facsimile of a note written on a notepad from Copenhagen, a partial reprint of LeRoi Jones' fanzine "Cricket", reprint of a concert poster from Slugs, a fascimile of a Paul Haines treatise on Ayler, and a dried flower (significance of this unknown). So although it's an expensive item, Revenant have gone out of their way to give value.

As far as the music is concerned, for those familiar with his available recorded work this is an exhaustive collection of previously unreleased material. It spans from his Army days to shortly before his death. The recording from John Coltrane's funeral, the Cecil Taylor track and a few others have already reached legendary status as bootlegs.

For those who have yet to experience Ayler's music this would be a good place to start because it covers the entire span of his recording career and is actually a pretty good sampling of his talent. Another interesting factor is that the recordings cover sessions where he was a leader, sideman, and as a collaborator.

After being wholly enthralled by Ayler's Greenwich Village recordings (also fantastic), I couldn't resist splurging on this set. The sheer amount of information is at times overwhelming; much like the music itself. While the set itself is amazingly put together, it's success lies in the blissful glory of Ayler's music. The recordings in the set seem unreal (Ayler playing at Coltrane's funeral, Don Ayler's band with Albert, and live recordings from basically every point in his career). Again though, this just brings us back to the music itself: A mostly joyful and highly emotional listening experience. At times I find myself questioning the very existence of this music, and this person who once channeled such music. This is the closest you can come to an out-of-body experience in the comfort of your own body. Wild and powerful stuff!

Albert Ayler's music is, it must be said at once, "not everyone's cup of tea". It is extreme. A tenor saxophonist who played with keening, honking, sobbing emotion, wild and wide vibrato, frenetic energy. His compositions were largely made up of very simple melodies, hymn-like. Some saw his music as like Gospel music for a jazz quartet or quintet. Early on in his all-too-brief career Ayler's character changed dramatically, as if the Spirit had entered into him, and this was seen in his music as well. For many years detractors insisted that he didn't know what he was doing.He remained confident of his purpose. Towards the end of his life he moved towards more popular musical idioms like rock music. Then in 1970 he disappeared, and his body was found in New York's East River. Ayler was to the end a bit of a mystery man.
This 10 disc set of rare and unissued material is a survey of Ayler's music from start to finish.There are some amazing finds here, including sessions featuring Cecil Taylor's quartet and Pharoah Sanders. There are interviews with Ayler on two of the discs. The 200 page book included in the set is a fascinating read in it's own right. With a wide range of contributors, this will probably remain the definitive overview of Ayler and his place in American music.
So, if you know you like Ayler's music, buy this set now, don't delay! And if you don't know, try one of the recordings on ESP or Impulse first. Then, having found that you do, buy it!

Though the fidelity of the sound can sometimes be as raw as the music, but better than the original ESP efforts, there is nothing superfluous in this production. Mr Ayler speaks directly to many through his music and never played a false note. The production contains writings from Amiri Baraka and Val Wilmer, in and of themselves, icons of the period. A valuable document that I would not be without, and a great listening experience, not to mention, poetry, a flower etc

Other reviewer have commented on what Revenant has included in this first-rate box set, so let me comment on the 200+ page hardback book: it is excellent. The writing is uniformly crisp, accurate, passionate, and honest. All of Ayler's known gigs are documented - dates, places, musicians. The pictures offer new and fascinating glimpses into Ayler's enigmatic ghosts.

Albert Ayler was a genius. Jazz - music - has yet to catch up to him. When I listen to Albert today, I can't help but think I'm hearing "the next great thing!" Yet the notes are from the mid-'60s. Amazing. Wonderful. Revenant's box set does him justice, and that's high praise, indeed. Thank you for this gift.

Such projects come once in a lifetime. To hear these rarities with Ayler for the first time, to learn of his life, to listen to recorded interviews only re-enforce the unique achievement he contributed. The documentation, packaging, conception, and most of all, these precious recordings, are a cathedral to this master, hopefully a guide to those unaware of his legacy, as all gains a full context. I run two CD labels (Arbiter, World Arbiter) and well realize what it takes to create such a project and am writing this ON MY KNEES in GRATITUDE. Bless you Revenant!

12 discs are a lot of listening for any artist. listening to Albert Ayler is a challenging experience in small doses. So this is a monumental task. AA, or the Holy Ghost, as he refers to himself provides a wonderful experience with these discs. The music, usually recorded live, was not meant to be released so the freedom of expression that is his calling card is more unrestrained than his commercial releases - which on one can accuse of being conventional. His tunes careen wildly from spirituals or freaky atonal explorations. Never dull, always surprising, and never satisfied to mine the familiar.

Listen really closely to the Pharoah track. Near the end you'll hear someone soloing on tenor in the left channel. There is no information to account for this player; no one knows who it was, and none of the other musicians remember him. But LISTEN to him... I may have to listen a few more times to confirm this, but if I didn't know better, I'd say that was Coltrane. Of course, that's impossible; Trane died in '67 and this recording is from '68. So there's no way it could be Trane. But, to quote the liners, although they were actually referring to Ayler, I feel it applies here too... it could hardly be anyone else.