Music CD - Albert Ayler: Live In Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings

	Music CD: Live In Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings Artist: Albert Ayler List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $14.56 Your Save: $ 5.42 ( 27% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Grp Records
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Tracks: 1. Holy Ghost 2. Truth Is Marching In 3. Our Prayer 4. Spirits Rejoice 5. Divine Peacemaker 6. Angels
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0011105027328 Format: Live Label: Grp Records Manufacturer: Grp Records Number Of Discs: 2 Publisher: Grp Records Release Date: 1998-10-06 Studio: Grp Records
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: ESSENTIAL MUSIC FOR THE MUSICALLY ADVENTUROUS Comment: This two-CD collection of live recordings from the late 60s should be essential music in anyone's jazz collection. Not just for historical reasons but because it is such exceptional, moving music. I believe it was Nat Hentoff who described them as 'speaking in tongues." The description is accurate. In the solo sections, the Ayler brothers --especially Albert on tenor and alto saxophones-- sound like voices shrieking in ecstasy. And the background is phenomenal --cello and (one or two) bass together, most of the time violin as well, with either Sunny Murray or Beaver Harris thrashing away in irregular cadence on drums. Names aren't terribly important in Ayler compositions, nor for that matter are the heads. It's when they break into preaching --solo voices, occasional intertwining duets-- that Albert and Don take us to another place. This is not immediately pleasant music, but, hey, neither was john Coltrane's Ascension, the recording that most seems to me to be have an affinity with this one. I listened to recordings of Ayler when they first came out and hated them. More fool me! Customer Rating: Summary: trully a classic Comment: This along with spiritual unity and vibrations are some of the best recordings in the history of jazz. Live in Greenwich is the best example of this phase his development and has the perfect ballance between orchestrated themes and ferocious avant jazz interplay. This is trully a masterpiece of american music. Customer Rating: Summary: The Cure For The Big C Comment: I know nothing about this guy(that's why why i love listmania-the discoverys),but in listening to these clips,me thinks many of the reviews here describing this as a revoloution & the second coming are missig the fun of whats going on here.this is some of the funniest flatulent sounds i've heard in along time,i'm laughing almost to wetting my self.Innovation for the sake of innovation-Blow Me.Humor is a rare gift in any field.i could see firing this up to cure my self of The big C. Customer Rating: Summary: Can I Get A Witness? Comment: Astonishing 2-CD set, excellent value, good packaging (except for ugly cover) and outstanding booklet with notes from Nat Hentoff and Robert Palmer. Impulse! usually equals quality and this offering is no exception. Combining the live dates was a particularly good, and customer-friendly, idea. It's been said of Coltrane that he didn't so much play the music as "play through it" in order to reach a higher spiritual goal. One can also hear this in the playing of Eric Dolphy who, though quite technical at times, appeared to be constantly exploring, looking for that pure place. Pharaoh Sanders reveals the same struggle. But in the playing of Albert Ayler one finds the apotheosis of this approach. Listening to Ayler is akin to witnessing old-testament revelation, he plays with the inspired intoxication and sanctified fury of a man who has not only been to the mountaintop and seen the Promised Land but already has one foot in it. You will never hear this music in an elevator for the simple reason that it would cause businessmen to rip off their ties, weep like infants, get on their knees and pray, and confess their countless sins of mediocrity and cowardice. While Ayler certainly deserves center stage for his euphoric and completely original contribution to jazz, the other players fan the flames expertly. Brother Don, on trumpet, shares the vision and is no slouch. Both drummers featured, Beaver Harris and Sunny Murray, understand that Ayler generates such intense rhythm that timekeeping is not an issue; they are free to maneuver around the beat expressively. Most intriguing of all is the use of strings. Ayler went with two bass players on both sets, also using a cellist and violin player on some tracks. This adds an unearthly and highly unexpected texture to the playing that works marvelously well. The stunning Michel Samson violin solo on Truth Is Marching In demonstrates that Ayler has surrounded himself with fellow musicians who completely understand his style and ambition. The result is a kind of rapture, this is what it sounds like when a soul catches a glimpse of heaven and starts its voyage home. Truly righteous music. Customer Rating: Summary: Amazing. Comment: "Live in Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse! Recordings" brings together two Albert Ayler LPs, "Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village" and the posthumous "The Village Concerts", together with a track released on a compilation and one unreleased piece, all recorded in Greenwich Village in Manhattan between 1965 and 1967. Ayler by this point had totally codefied his music, and was still outside of any commercial influence, and the performances are nothing short of astounding. These recordings find Ayler surrounded by sympathetic musicians, including his brother Don on trumpet, who totally believe in what he's doing-- the music is largely familiar sounding march themes played in harmony and unison by the two horns, supported more often than not by strings, with drumming abandoning timekeeping and instead coloring the music further. Improvisation is fierce, with both Ayler's reachign far beyond themselves-- their playing is clearly inspired. Honestly, just about everything on here is nothing short of astonishing in its beauty and power. Of particular note is "Truth is Marching In" from the first disc-- swelling as Don states the theme and Ayler plays counter and harmony to him while Michel Samson lays full counterpoint on violin and the rhythm section explodes. Also quite interesting is the piano and tenor duet "Angels" and "For John coltrane", again the only piece featuring Ayler on alto accompanied only by four strings. The sound on these recordings is fantastic-- crisp, clear, and could have been recorded last year. The liner notes include essays by Nat Hentoff and Robert Palmer written for the original LPs most of this material was released on. If you're new to Ayler, this may be a good place to start, certainly the performance is brilliant throughout. If you're not new to Ayler, you should probably have a copy of this, the material contained here is essential. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: These stirring Albert Ayler performances were only sporadically available on LP two decades ago, making them highly sought-after items indeed. This two-CD set presents Ayler's Village Vanguard sets in all their rattling fervor (with remastering improvements), making 1998 a year when crucial pieces of this avant-garde jazzist's puzzle fell brilliantly into place. If anyone is recording music as fearless and commanding as this in jazz today, they deserve the spotlight. --Andrew Bartlett