Spirits

Albert Ayler (tenor sax), Gary Peacock (bass) and Sunny Murray (percussion). From the album Spiritual Unity (1965).

In 1961 Ayler left the army and moved to Los Angeles, but didn’t find work because of his playing, so in 1962 he went to Sweden, where he made his first recordings. There he played with Cecil Taylor’s group and in 1963 he travelled with him to Denmark, where he recorded his first album as a leader My Name Is Albert Ayler, in which double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen participated. Then he left to New York and in 1964 published Witches & Devils. He also recorded the album New York Eye and Ear Control as the soundtrack for the film with the same title by Michael Snow and then toured Europe with his usual trio and Don Cherry.

In 1964 Ayler recorded his most important work, Spiritual Unity, with a new trio. In 1965 he formed a band with his brother Donald, who brought his brother’s expressive style of improvisation to the trumpet until he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1967. In this group Ayler began to use folk melodies and collective improvisation. In 1966 he signed with Impulse! advised by Coltrane, incorporating in his recordings blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, rock and vocal music, but not even in this way found audience. In 1970 his lifeless body was found floating in the East River of Brookling in strange circumstances.

The theme is a heartbreaking lament played by Ayler, who is joined by Peacock playing the double bass with the bow and Murray intervening in a subtle way. Ayler draws  cries and groans from the saxophone and speaks through it, complaining about his human condition and the harsh circumstances in which he lives. His despair reaches unexpected levels. He tells his sad story in great detail. It’s impressive how he is able to express human emotions through his instrument and starts to beg and implore an end to his suffering. Afterwards Peacock enters in a sorrowful manner performing melodic but sometimes disconnected phrases. Next Ayler reappears remaining desolated and afflicted until his dialog ends.