Jazz Archives

Spiritual Unity was the album that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde, and the first jazz album ever released by Bernard Stollman's seminal ESP label. It was really the first available document of Ayler's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians, and the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic. Bassist Gary Peacock's full-toned, free-flowing ideas and drummer Sunny Murray's shifting, stream-of-consciousness rhythms (which rely heavily on shimmering cymbal work) are crucial in throwing the constraints off of Ayler's playing. Yet as liberated and ferociously primitive as Ayler sounds, the group isn't an unhinged mess — all the members listen to the subtler nuances in one another's playing, pushing and responding where appropriate. Their collective improvisation is remarkably unified — and as for the other half of the album's title, Ayler conjures otherworldly visions of the spiritual realm with a gospel-derived fervor. Titles like "The Wizard," "Spirits," and "Ghosts" (his signature tune, introduced here in two versions) make it clear that Ayler's arsenal of vocal-like effects — screams, squeals, wails, honks, and the widest vibrato ever heard on a jazz record — were sonic expressions of a wildly intense longing for transcendence. With singable melodies based on traditional folk songs and standard scales, Ayler took the simplest musical forms and imbued them with a shockingly visceral power — in a way, not unlike the best rock & roll, which probably accounted for the controversy his approach generated. To paraphrase one of Ayler's most famous quotes, this music was about feelings, not notes, and on Spiritual Unity that philosophy finds its most concise, concentrated expression. A landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of free jazz.

:::Review by Steve Huey:::

Albert Ayler Trio - Spiritual Unity (1964)

1. Ghosts: First Variation 5:14
2. The Wizard 7:23
3. Spirits 6:48
4 . Ghosts: Second Variation 10:02

Credits
Bass - Gary Peacock
Percussion - Sunny Murray
Saxophone - Albert Ayler

Drummer Tony Williams' first recording as a leader (made when he was 18 and still billed as Anthony Williams) gave him an opportunity to utilize an advanced group of musicians: tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, and both Richard Davis and Gary Peacock on bass. Williams wrote all four of the pieces and has a different combination of players on each song. The freely improvised "Memory" features Hutcherson, Hancock, and Williams in some colorful and at times spacy interplay; "Barb's Song to the Wizard" is a Hancock-Ron Carter duet; "Tomorrow Afternoon" has Rivers, Peacock and Williams in a trio; and all of the musicians (except Hutcherson) are on the sidelong "2 Pieces of One." The unpredictable music holds one's interest; a very strong debut for the masterful drummer.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Tony Williams - Life Time (1964)

1. Two Pieces Of One: Red 8:03
2. Two Pieces Of One: Green 10:36
3. Tomorrow Afternoon 5:31
4. Memory 8:02
5. Barb's Song To The Wizard 5:56

Credits
Artwork By [Cover Design] - Reid Miles
Artwork By [Creaive Director For Rvg Series] - Gordon H Jee
Artwork By [Design For Rvg Series] - Eric Bernhardi , Michael Boland
Bass - Gary Peacock (tracks: 1 to 3) , Richard Davis (2) (tracks: 1, 2) , Ron Carter (tracks: 5)
Drums - Tony Williams (tracks: 1 to 3)
Drums [Drum Set], Percussion [Wood Block], Timpani, Maracas, Triangle - Tony Williams (tracks: 4)
Other [Original Liner Notes] - Lawrence Rutter
Other [Reissue Liner Notes] - Bob Blumenthal
Photography [Cover Photograph, Liner Photographs From The Actual Session] - Francis Wolff
Piano - Herbie Hancock (tracks: 4, 5)
Producer - Alfred Lion
Recorded By, Mastered By [Remastered By] - Rudy Van Gelder
Reissue Producer - Michael Cuscuna
Saxophone [Tenor] - Sam Rivers (tracks: 1 to 3)
Vibraphone, Marimba - Bobby Hutcherson (tracks: 4)
Written-By - Tony Williams