Saturday, September 10, 2011

Albert Ayler Quartet - Hilversum Session



The Hilversum Session is a real gem! Albert w/ Don Cherry deliver one of their best records in a very full year (1964). The quartet powered through similiar material in the wonderful live Vibrations---one of my favorites. Here the quartet hones their studio sound. Albert's tenor brilliance in high fidelity is something to behold. Check out Don's cornet magic as well as Peacock's bass and the incredible Sunny Murray. Ayler live was always amazing, but here in the studio the group flows through the material at a different pace w/ Don & Albert playing a tighter sound. I love hearing Albert in this small setting, meshing his unreal full tenor w/ a master like Don Cherry. Soon the quartet disbanded and the 2 players moved on to other settings. But I've always cherished this work, and I want to thank ESP for reissuing this very very fine session.

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1 comment:

Ian said...

Mega post! This release is never discussed, yet it remains one of my regular go-to's for Albert.

Not sure why it has fallen off (or never made it on) the critical radar, because there's a casual brilliance happening here that has always struck me as a key to Ayler.

Newbies should check this out and discover there's more to the man than just Spiritual Unity.

Thanks so much for the post.