 Albert Ayler A magnificent 1968 release by the great unsung sax man Albert Ayler, Love Cry is begging for a cleaned-up CD reissue to restore its rightful place in the avant- garde pantheon. (The GRP CD issue is perfectly fine, but damn if it wouldn't sweeten the pot to have the artwork restored and remastered sound!) If you've never heard Ayler, be prepared for some of the most difficult accessible music ever. Far from the honking and hooing of other Impulse! greats like John Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders, Ayler's tone is very lyrical and smooth. The melodies might be described as baroque horn concertos composed by the homeless. Beautiful contrapuntal harmonies weave in and out as Albert and his trumpet-playing brother Don soar through each tune, anchored by the cacophonous rumbling of Milford Graves on drums. With straightforward beats, this music would outsell Stan Getz, but Graves seems to be tapping into some rhythmic wavelength the rest of us could only hear at some of the more highbrow jazz clubs in heaven. The proximity to post-Love Supreme Coltrane is easy to identify here, but Ayler was definitely into his own bag. His aren't so much sheets of sound as beautiful sonic wires thrashing around in the wind of some delirious dust storm. The addition of harpsichord on several tracks offers new colors to the palette (and I must say I'm a sucker for jazz records with unusual instrumentation), and Ayler even gives us some yodeling here and there. This is an album of great seriousness, spirituality, and purpose. The music is tightly focused and exceptionally rewarding; not to be overlooked!
Review by D.J. Hendersonbottom |