Phase One

This album was recorded in February 1971, one of the Art Ensemble’s final projects before leaving Paris to return to the US. Like several of their other albums from this era — People In Sorrow, Reese and the Smooth Ones, Tutankhamun — it consists of two side-long pieces. “Ohnedaruth,” which was the spiritual name Alice Coltrane bestowed upon her husband John after his death, begins slowly, drawing the listener in with soft percussion and bass, but once it kicks off properly it’s a high-energy, 20-minute sprint, with Malachi Favors and Famoudou Don Moye (a relatively recent addition to the band) laying down a hard-swinging groove as the horns, particularly trumpeter Lester Bowie, go off. The second side, “Lebert Aaly” (a jumbled version of “Albert Ayler”) never develops a groove; instead, the horns moan back and forth across the sonic field like lost livestock, with percussion rattling ominously. In the piece’s final third, a gently struck xylophone adds a note of tenderness.