Spiritual Unity

jazz free jazz avant-garde improvised saxophone new york

ESP

Recorded

1964

Released

1964

Ayler’s tenor sax sounds big enough to stand up in the bell, and he plays like he’s chewing on the notes, using simple melodic figures as springboards to launch himself into space. Neither bassist Gary Peacock nor drummer Sunny Murray are interested in generating a beat; they’re off on their own journeys, occasionally looking up and nodding to each other, or the “leader.” A titanic statement, all the more powerful for being recorded in mono.

Phil Freeman