Albert Ayler - 1970 - Spirits Rejoice

Albert Ayler

1970

Spirits Rejoice

01. Spirits Rejoice 11:31

02. Holy Family 2:10
03. D.C. 7:55
04. Angels 5:24
05. Prophet 5:25

Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Donald Ayler: trumpet
Charles Tyler: alto saxophone
Sunny Murray: drums
Call Cobbs: harpsichord
Henry Grimes: bass
Gary Peacock: bass

Recorded September 23, 1965 at Judson Hall, New York.

Press Quotes

"Once in a great while, an album comes along that’s filled with so much god-awful beauty and spiritual intensity that every majestic note contained therein cuts deep into the dark places of your soul and leaves you with nothing more than the promise of sweet deliverance...Albert Ayler’s Spirits Rejoice is that kind of album" - Tiny Mix Tapes

"Spirits Rejoice is proof that there was an underlying logic even to Ayler's most extreme moments, and that's why it remains a tremendously inspiring recording." - Steve Huey, All Music Guide

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. Freed up by the presence of the trumpet and alto, Ayler's playing concentrates on the rich lower register of his horn and all the honks and growls that go with it; his already thick, huge tone has rarely seemed more monolithic. Spirits Rejoice also provides an opportunity to hear the sources of Ayler's simple, traditional melodies becoming more eclectic. The nearly 12-minute title track has a pronounced New Orleans marching band feel, switching between two themes reminiscent of a hymn and a hunting bugle call, and the brief "Holy Family" is downright R&B-flavored. "Prophet" touches on a different side of Ayler's old-time march influence, with machine-gun cracks and militaristic cadences from drummer Sunny Murray driving the raggedly energetic ensemble themes. For all its apparent chaos, Spirits Rejoice is often surprisingly pre-arranged -- witness all the careening harmony passages that accompany the theme statements, and the seamless transitions of the title track. Spirits Rejoice is proof that there was an underlying logic even to Ayler's most extreme moments, and that's why it remains a tremendously inspiring recording.

Albert Ayler's "Spirits Rejoice" represents the first real codification of the sound which he would work in for the next several years-- while "Bells", recorded three months prior began introducing this sound, "Spirits Rejoice", from September of 1965 fully embraces it. Relying on multiple horns and march-like (or gospel-like) melodies, the music is deceptively simple, serving as a launching point for improvisation. The thing that's intriguing is that for pieces that are by-and-large considered difficult, Ayler's melodies are catchy and get stuck in your head, and by and large this is the pinnacle of the direction his career has been heading.

Performing exclusively on tenor sax, Ayler is joined by two other horns-- his brother Don on trumpet and alto saxophonist Charles Tyler. Don provides an interesting foil for Albert-- whereas Cherry provided a foil in delicacy to Ayler's aggressiveness and Cherry's predecessor Norman Howard adopted Ayler's wide vibrato, Don pursues an aggressive mode that avoids emulating his brother's vibrato. Tyler, for his part, seems to stick a bit closer to Ayler, providing an additional horn voice, particularly when Ayler cuts loose, holding down the melody. The remainder of the band is bassists Henry Grimes and Gary Peacock (the latter recording with Ayler for the last time) and drummer Sunny Murray. The bassists maintain a dialog with each other, providing a foundation, a countermelody, and almost a pillow to work on-- this role had previously been filled by Murray, who seems now concerned largely will accent and space and almost a direct beat statement rather than pure implication.

The pieces are by and large ecstatic-- generally avoiding the lyricism found on earlier records for excited call and response pieces ("Spirits Rejoice", which is almost a carefully constructed variant on "Bells" and the gospel-like theme "Holy Family") or aggressive explosivenes ("D.C" and "Prophet"). On the latter two, Don Ayler in particular solos powerfully and aggressively, managing to step out of the shadow of his brother, even if only briefly. The only cut that breaks this sound is titled on here "Angels" (although previously referred to as "Prophecy"). Featuring Call Cobbs on poorly recorded harpsichord (and with Don Ayler and Charles Tyler laying out), Albert digs in deep in a ballad form and expresses himself in a lyrical manner that belies the usual suspicions that he's incapable of straight playing as he stays pretty far inside on his beautiful soloing.

This reissue is newly remastered from the original tapes courtesy of the newly reborn ESP-Disk record label. The new transfer brings out subtlety and detail, particularly in the three part horn harmonies-- on previous issues, Tyler was hard to distinguish in the mix, being able to better hear and understand his role is enormously valuable.

Ayler's music is exciting and this is really quite a good example of it, it's not quite the masterpiece some of his earlier work (free jazz summit "Vibrations") is, or quite as good or essential an example as "Live in Greenwich Village", but its really quite a good record. Recommended.