(bootleg)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Not a legitimate compilation, this seven-song sampler of the brief career enjoyed by this underrated avant garde tenor saxophonist is as lovely and accessible as free jazz probably gets; at its most sublime moments, which are many, it amounts to some of the most joyous music recorded in the '60s. Sounding occasionally like a wheezing New Orleans big band run amok, Ayler's combo issues some of the only avant jazz that could likely function as wedding music; it captures such a feeling of romanticism, of overwhelming beauty and charm, that it's hard not to feel an instant kinship with it and a relation to a love-drunk spring afternoon.
Opening with a monologue from Ayler and a bit of forward-thinking funk that borders healthily on fusion, this torrent probably barely scrapes the surface of his recorded output but does a brilliant job of leaving you ready to seek out more, though the mournful glory of "Angels," the sumptuous extended celebration "Omega Is the Alpha," and the lyrical, beautiful "Going Home" would be clear peaks in any discography. Take this one out for a long spin; live in its walking-on-air surrealism. This is the sort of discovery you wait around for.
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