AMG Review of Prophecy

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

The first of Albert Ayler's ESP recordings (but one of the last to be released) is this live session with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. The tenor is heard on the earliest versions of his most famous theme, "Ghosts" (two renditions are included), along with such melodies as "Spirits," "Wizard," and "Prophecy." Ayler alternated the simple march-like themes with wild and very free improvisations which owe little if anything to the bop tradition, or even his contemporaries in the avant-garde. Ayler always had his own individual message, and his ESP sessions find him in consistently explorative form.