Albert Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village (1965)

Live in Greenwich Village was Albert Ayler's first recording for Impulse, and is arguably his finest moment, not only for the label, but ever. This double-CD reissue combines both of the Village concerts -- documented only partially on previously released LPs -- recorded in 1965 and 1966 with two very different groups. The Village gigs reveal the mature Ayler whose music embodied bold contradictions: There are the sweet, childlike, singalong melodies contrasted with violent screaming peals of emotion, contrasted with the gospel and R&B shouts of jubilation, all moving into and through one another. On the 1965 date, which featured Ayler, his brother Donald on trumpet, Joel Freedman on cello, bassist Lewis Worrell, and the great Sunny Murray on drums, the sound is one of great urgency. Opening with "Holy Ghost," the Aylers come out stomping and Murray double times them to bring the bass and cello to ground level in order to anchor musical proceedings to their respective generated sounds. "Truth Is Marching In" casts a bleating, gospelized swirl against a backdrop of three- and four-note "sung" phrases that are constantly repeated, à la a carny band before kicking down all the doors and letting it rip for almost 13 minutes. On the 1967 date of the second disc, the Aylers are augmented with drummer Beaver Harris, violinist Michel Sampson, Bill Folwell and Alan Silva on basses, and trombonist George Steele on the closer, "Universal Thoughts." "For John Coltrane" opens the set with a sweltering abstraction of tonalities in the strings and horns. On "Change Has Come," the abstraction remains but the field of language is deeper, denser, more urgent. Only with "Spiritual Rebirth," which opens with a four-note theme, does one get the feeling that the band has been pacing itself for this moment, and that the concert has become an actual treatise on the emotion of "singing" as an ensemble in uncharted territories. Throughout the rest of the set, Ayler's band buoys him perfectly, following him up through every new cloud of unknowing into a sublime musical and emotional beyond which, at least on recordings, would never be realized again. This recording is what all the fuss is about when it comes to Ayler.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
CD1
01 - Holy Ghost (07:41)
02 - Truth Is Marching In (12:42)
03 - Our Prayer (04:45)
04 - Spirits Rejoice (16:22)
05 - Divine Peacemaker (12:37)
06 - Angels (09:53)

CD2
01 - For John Coltrane (13:40)
02 - Change Has Come (06:24)
03 - Light In Darkness (10:59)
04 - Heavenly Home (08:51)
05 - Spiritual Rebirth (04:26)
06 - Infinite Spirit (06:37)
07 - Omega Is The Alpha (10:46)
08 - Univeral Thoughts (08:22)

Line-up:
Albert Ayler - tenor saxophone
Don Ayler - trumpet
Michel Sampson - violin
Bill Folwell - bass
Henry Grimes - bass
Beaver Harris - drums

Waiting for the Axe to Fall

Gil Scott-Heron and the Midnight Band

Masahiko Satoh - All-in All-out (1979)

This unkown gem - that will amaze casual listeners and still conquer regular ones - stars both Masahiko Sato's talent in displaying a wide varriety of tones and fusion scales and Dave Liebman's fierce and intense saxophone playing. Sometimes "All-in, All-Out" recalls Weather Report's edgy style of abstract fusion, and Sato's work here serves that purpose very well,which means, painting soundscapes simultaneously dreamy and cerebral. "Sapajou Walk" begins like an orchestrated blues lament, but by the time we reach "Fallout", the last track, we realize that this is not just a pop-oriented jazz thing, but a trip to something much deeper. This is truly great stuff, so check it out.
By Miguel Patrício in Improvised Solo

Styles:
Fusion
Progressive Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Sapajou Walk (06:17)
02 - Grama Grass (07:35)
03 - Salamander (06:26)
04 - Moth Ball (04:25)
05 - Thus The Song Passed Out Of Their Mind (07:11)
06 - Fallout (08:18)

Line-up:
Masahiko Satoh - acoustic piano, Rhodes piano, Korg synthesizer, percussion
Dave Liebman - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto flute
Ryo Kawasaki - electric bass guitar
Francisco Centeno - electric bass
Harvey Mason - drums
Rubens Bassini - percussion
Randy Brecker - trumpet
Tom Malone - trombone
Dave Taylor - bass trombone

Psi - Horizonte (1977)

With their sole output 'Horizonte', Psi managed to fit everything I love about jazz fusion into one concise package. Virtuosity, creativity, delicious improv, great songwriting, energy, progressive leanings, they all shine here. They have an interesting and unique sound that is distinctively theirs, but dynamic enough to create different atmospheres throughout the album.
Don't be fooled by the deceptively simple 2 minute opener. Don't get me wrong, its a solid fusion track, but only a sampler of sounds and songs to come. In Bettgerausche, the quiet reverberated guitar licks and melancholy accompanying saxophone lay the groundwork for a gorgeous progressive fusion track that sets the bar high for the rest of the album. And it never loses that high. The self titled track is certainly a highlight, opening with complex keyboard melodies that sonically dart around almost too quickly to keep up with. The rest of the track seamlessly entwines these melodies with jaw-dropping improv from the keys, guitar, and sax player.
Also worth mentioning is the virtuosity of the musicians here, especially the keyboard playing of Mathias Fray. Maybe I'm a bit biased being a keys player myself and fully realizing how far his talents reach, but nonetheless he surprised me time and time again throughout each track. Certainly not to understate the efforts of the other musicians, the guitar playing is as fast as it is inspired, and the saxophone adds a lot of great sound to the band. Needless to say the rhythm section does its job, and very well at that. Their chops match the often quirky music exceptionally well.
Tough to recommend anything quite like this, as it is very unique music. Lotus' two albums come close, though this has more of an easy-listening vibe to it. Perhaps a better known comparison would be Brand X. It reminds me of a quirkier 'Unorthodox Behavior' at times, and the jazzy vibe is similar.

Styles:
Fusion
Progressive Rock

Tracks:
01 - Unter Der Schurze Liegt Die Wurze (02:28)
02 - Bettgerausche (05:29)
03 - Horizonte (07:28)
04 - Elektrisch Kall-Heinje (05:02)
05 - Urschrei (02:04)
06 - Breikopf (08:36)
07 - Drall / Arkadash (09:14)

Line-up:
Bodo Feldmann - electric bass, vocal
Mathias Frey - keyboards
Volkmar Zimmermann - guitars
Robert Jahn - drums
Wilfried Kunkler - tenor saxophone

Finch - Glory of the Inner Force (1975)

The debut album from one of the best prog bands to come from the Netherlands during the 70s: "Glory of the Inner Force" is a record full of musical glory and lively force. Right from the starting point, the opener 'Register Magister' shows a bombastic explosion of sound, fed by the fire of hard rock and the sophistication of jazz rock, ordained by the progressive laws of variations and unexpected twists in melody, rhythm and mood. Each individual musician's skill is top-notch, and all four of them know how to work effectively in togetherness: this opener is a clear example of how the band can use the melodic structure of the main motifs and expand their potential strength without over-indulging in excessive improvisation, always keeping the focus on the logic of the motifs themselves. As points of reference, I could cite Akkerman and McLaughlin as major influences on van Nimwegen's guitar playing, while keyboardist Determeijer sounds clearly inspired by the Canterbury scene, but mostly what these guys do is find their own voice while challenging each other during the performances. The rhythm section is awesome, too: they remind me of van der Linden-Ruiter in terms of energy and precision. The high standards of Finch's intensity level is reaffirmed in 'Paradoxical Moods' - including an incendiary organ solo by Determeijer and some of Klaase's best drum rolls in the album. This piece sound to me very reminiscent of 72-73 era Focus, since its framework is heavily leaned on jamming: finally, the closing section is similar to early Camel with a harder edge. Things certainly don't get much softer with the opening section of 'Pisces', which once again sees the band mainly focused on jamming (once again Determeijer exposes his talent brilliantly, this time on electric piano), until a slower section gets in and gives room for an intense guitar solo by van Nimwegen, and somewhere in the middle, a bass extravaganza by Vink, too. I feel the symphonic ending comes somewhat abruptly, not too naturally, as if its potential bombast had been aborted, but all in all, it's still a great track. Things go back to plain perfection with the majestic closure 'A Bridge to Alice', which is also the longest and most intense piece of the album's official repertoire. All throughout the series of successive motifs there is a predominant somberness performed in a bombastic ambience. Somewhere in the middle there is a captivating acoustic guitar solo, and immediately afterwards, a spacey section that enhances the air of mystery that is displayed in many places all over the track. What a splendid closure! But the CD edition has got some more for the avid prog fan: a bonus track titled 'Colosus', divided in 2 parts that occupied both sides of a single. It is a catchy piece, indeed, but not simplistic: the prototypical Finch sophistication is overtly there. Overall rating: the maximum mark, which is just what every masterpiece deserves.

Styles:
Fusion
Progressive Rock

Tracks:
01 - Register magister (09:22)
02 - Parodoxical moods (10:43)
03 - Pisces (09:29)
04 - A bridge to Alice (13:13)
05 - Colossus Part I (03:28)
06 - Colossus Part II (03:36)

Line-up:
- Jan Van Nimwegen - guitars
- Cleem Determejer - keyboards
- Beer Klaasse - drums
- Peter Vink - bass

Weather Report - Live At Montreux (1976)

Tracks:
01 - Elegant People (07:23)
02 - Scarlet Woman (08:09)
03 - Barbary Coast (09:29)
04 - Portrait of Tracy (05:02)
05 - Cannon Ball (06:23)
06 - Black Market (10:25)
07 - Drum and Percussion Duet (Rumba Mama) (06:21)
08 - Piano and Saxophone Duet (04:42)
09 - Dr. Honoris Causa/Directions (07:57)
10 - Badia (06:09)
11 - Gibraltar (12:15)


Line-up:
Joe Zawinul - Keyboards
Wayne Shorter - Saxophones
Jaco Pastorius - Bass
Alex Acuna - Drums
Manolo Badrena - Percussion

Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman (1969)

Black Woman documents Sonny Sharrock's temporary departure from the confines of Herbie Mann's always invaluable patronage. Around the time of recording, Sharrock was struggling to express his own musical ideas within the rigid framework of the successful Mann bands. Black Woman marks an early opportunity for Sharrock's own voice to be heard; he composed all the songs except "Bailero" and personally chose the band to reflect his own interests. The music is full of Sharrock's skittering, trademark clusters of notes and remains at a consistently high-intensity level with Linda Sharrock, Milford Graves, and Teddy Daniel on board. At times the music reaches for the sublime as on "Peanut" with its mandolin-like, vibrato theme and otherworldly improvisations; can music evoke visions like Dante's Rings of Hell? The beauteous "Bialero" with piano and bass figures oscillating around Linda's lilting yet unpredictable voice and "Portrait of Linda in Three Colors, All Black" are Sonny Sharrock in glory. Linda Sharrock's vocals could be alarming to the uninitiated; she doesn't enunciate a single word throughout, except on the traditional "Bialero," instead using her instrument, her voice to express, like her husband does, the inexpressible: those emotions, passions, or exaltations that cannot be rationally shared, only referred to comparatively vaguely by the "knower." The results in this instance were later dubbed "energy music" by some well-intentioned critic. This album is not for everyone, even Sonny Sharrock fans may find the music beyond their wildest expectations.

By Wilson McCloy in All Music Guide

Styles:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde
Spiritual

Tracks:
01 - Black Woman (05:16)
02 - Peanut (09:16)
03 - Bialero (04:52)
04 - Blind Willy (03:22)
05 - Portrait of Linda in Three Colors, All Black (08:34)

Line-up:
Sonny Sharrock - guitar
Linda Sharrock - volcals
Teddy Daniel - trumpet
Dave Burrell - piano
Norris Jones - bass
Richard Pierce - bass
Milford Graves - drums