Spiritual Unity
was the album that pushed
Albert Ayler
to the forefront of
jazz
's
avant-garde
, and the first
album ever released by
Bernard Stollman
's seminal
ESP
label. It was really the first available document of
Ayler
's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians, and the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic. Bassist
Gary Peacock
's full-toned, free-flowing ideas and drummer
Sunny Murray
's shifting, stream-of-consciousness rhythms (which rely heavily on shimmering cymbal work) are crucial in throwing the constraints off of
's playing. Yet as liberated and ferociously primitive as
sounds, the group isn't an unhinged mess -- all the members listen to the subtler nuances in one another's playing, pushing and responding where appropriate. Their collective
improvisation
is remarkably unified -- and as for the other half of the album's title,
conjures otherworldly visions of the spiritual realm with a
gospel
-derived fervor. Titles like
"The Wizard,"
"Spirits,"
and
"Ghosts"
(his signature tune, introduced here in two versions) make it clear that
's arsenal of vocal-like effects -- screams, squeals, wails, honks, and the widest vibrato ever heard on a
record -- were sonic expressions of a wildly intense longing for transcendence. With singable melodies based on
traditional folk
songs and standard scales,
took the simplest musical forms and imbued them with a shockingly visceral power -- in a way, not unlike the best
rock & roll
, which probably accounted for the controversy his approach generated. To paraphrase one of
's most famous quotes, this music was about feelings, not notes, and on
that philosophy finds its most concise, concentrated expression. A landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of
free jazz
. ~ Steve Huey