Albert Ayler Venus

Albert Ayler - Prophecy (1964) {Esp-Disk' Japan TKCZ-79121 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 22 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1964, 1993 Esp-Disk' / Venus Records Japan | ESP-3030 / TKCZ-79121
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Jazz / Tenor Saxophone

The first of Albert Ayler's ESP recordings (but one of the last to be released) is this live session with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. The tenor is heard on the earliest versions of his most famous theme, "Ghosts" (two renditions are included), along with such melodies as "Spirits," "Wizard," and "Prophecy." Ayler alternated the simple march-like themes with wild and very free improvisations which owe little if anything to the bop tradition, or even his contemporaries in the avant-garde. Ayler always had his own individual message, and his ESP sessions find him in consistently explorative form.

Albert Ayler - Spirits Rejoice (1965) {Esp-Disk' Japan TKCZ-79102 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 199 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 1993 Esp-Disk' / Venus Records Japan | ESP-1020 / TKCZ-79102
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Jazz / Saxophone

Recorded live at New York's Judson Hall in 1965, Spirits Rejoice is one of Albert Ayler's wildest, noisiest albums, partly because it's one of the very few that teams him with another saxophonist, altoist Charles Tyler. It's also one of the earliest recordings to feature Ayler's brother Don playing an amateurish but expressive trumpet, and the ensemble is further expanded by using bassists Henry Grimes and Gary Peacock together on three of the five tracks; plus, the rubato "Angels" finds Ayler interacting with Call Cobbs' harpsichord in an odd, twinkling evocation of the spiritual spheres. Aside from that more spacious reflection, most of the album is given over to furious ensemble interaction and hard-blowing solos that always place in-the-moment passion above standard jazz technique.

Albert Ayler - New York Eye And Ear Control (1964) {ESP-Disk Japan}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 213 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1964 ESP-Disk / Venus Japan | TKCZ-79111
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

This is a very interesting set, music that was freely improvised and used as the soundtrack for the 34-minute short film New York Eye and Ear Control. Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler leads the all-star sextet (which also includes trumpeter Don Cherry, altoist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray) on two lengthy jams. The music is fiery but with enough colorful moments to hold one's interest throughout.

In the mid-1960s, the rigid and colourless British way of life was irrevocably transformed by the emergence of the underground movement, a loose collective of young radicals who introduced new social, sexual and aesthetic perspectives. Operating out of the heart of London, their various activities, from the newspaper the International Times, to the psychedelic club UFO, promoted alternative lifestyles and values and sparked a cultural revolution.

This is Thurston Moore’s seventh solo album, and features musicians Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine) on bass and backing vocals, Jon Leidecker aka ‘Wobbly’ (of Negativland) on electronics, James Sedwards on guitar, and Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, as well as Jem Doulton, alternating on drums. Prior to isolation during the Covid pandemic, Thurston worked in recording studios in North London until the third week of March 2020 to complete this album.