Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost (Rare & Unissued Recordings, 1960–1972) [2004] (10 x CDs)

JAZZ SUNDAY

ALBER AYLER

Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost (Rare & Unissued Recordings, 1960–1972) [2004] (10 x CDs)

Holy Ghost remains one of the most ambitious archival undertakings ever devoted to Albert Ayler, issued in 2004 by Revenant Records, the art‑minded label founded by John Fahey and Dean Blackwood. Although officially described as a 9‑CD set, collectors know it as a 10‑disc box, thanks to the inclusion of a bonus 3" mini‑CD tucked into the packaging. Revenant treated the entire project as an artifact, so the disc count depends on whether you follow the marketing or the physical reality. Either way, it’s a monumental document.

The material spans Ayler’s journey from the early 1960 tapes, still grounded in blues phrasing and traditional forms, through the mid‑60s European broadcasts that had circulated only in deep‑collector circles before this release. By that point, the full Ayler vocabulary is unmistakable: the wide vibrato, the hymn‑like themes, the ecstatic cries, the sense that each performance is a spiritual summons rather than a conventional jazz statement. The fidelity shifts from tape to tape, but the emotional clarity never falters.

The later recordings, especially the rehearsal fragments and early‑70s live documents, offer a rare look at Ayler’s evolving ensemble dynamics. You hear ideas forming in real time, themes stretched and reshaped, the band responding with a mix of discipline and abandon. These aren’t polished studio artifacts; they’re living documents, the kind archivists value because they reveal the process rather than the product.

Revenant’s presentation, from the elaborate packaging to the inclusion of that miniature tenth disc, preserves the rawness, the searching, and the human scale of Ayler’s journey. Holy Ghost stands as a reminder that some artists can only be understood through an archive, not a single album. (B)

Artwork can be found here: 

https://musicbrainz.org/release/a450777c-2dc4-4ed9-8cc0-f3c080c7c3f1/cover-art

Please thanks CPT. HATEMONGER for this rare box set.

" from Cpt. Hatemonger's personal collection, and he hopes you all have a wonderful time listening☺️"

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Track lists

CD01

01 Herbert Katz Quintet With Albert Ayler - Sonnymoon for Two 8:32

02 Herbert Katz Quintet With Albert Ayler - Summertime 6:56

03 Herbert Katz Quintet With Albert Ayler - On Green Dolphin Street 3:33

04 Herbert Katz Quintet With Albert Ayler - [Spoken Introduction] 0:41

05 Herbert Katz Quintet With Albert Ayler - Four 21:50

06 Albert Ayler Trio - Spirits [Incomplete] 6:44

07 Albert Ayler Trio - Saints 10:34

08 Albert Ayler Trio - Ghosts [Incomplete] 10:55

CD02

01 Albert Ayler Trio - The Wizard 6:56

02 Albert Ayler Trio - Children 9:04

03 Albert Ayler Trio - Spirits [Theme] 0:31

04 Unknown - [Spoken Radio Introduction] 0:55

05 Albert Ayler Quartet - Spirits 8:43

06 Albert Ayler Quartet - Vibrations 8:22

07 Albert Ayler Quartet - Untitled (Tune Q) 8:58

08 Albert Ayler Quartet - Mothers 7:52

09 Albert Ayler Quartet - Children 8:38

10 Albert Ayler Quartet - Spirits [Theme] 1:26

11 Burton Greene Quintet With Albert Ayler - Untitled (Collective) 8:56

CD03

01 Peter Bergman - [Spoken Introduction] 1:02

02 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spirits Rejoice 4:39

03 Albert Ayler Quintet - D.C. 5:58

04 Albert Ayler Quintet - Untitled Minor Waltz 7:03

05 Albert Ayler Quintet - Our Prayer 6:36

06 Peter Bergman - [Spoken Introduction] 1:12

07 Albert Ayler Quintet - F# Tune 15:20

08 Albert Ayler Quintet - Ghosts 6:44

09 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spirits Rejoice 6:31

10 Albert Ayler Quintet - Prophet / Ghosts / Spiritual Bells 14:32

11 Albert Ayler Quintet - Our Prayer / Spirits Rejoice 9:42

CD04

01 Albert Ayler Quintet - Untitled / Truth is Marchin' In 15:40

02 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spirits 9:23

03 Albert Ayler Quintet - Zion Hill 12:39

04 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spirits 7:00

05 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spiritual Bells 3:53

06 Albert Ayler Quintet - F# Tune 9:17

CD05

01 Ralf Schulte-Bahrenberg - [Concert Announcement By Ralf Schulte-Bahrenberg] 1:09

02 Albert Ayler Quintet - Bells 11:15

03 Albert Ayler Quintet - Truth is Marching In 7:07

04 Albert Ayler Quintet - Omega 3:48

05 Albert Ayler Quintet - Our Prayer (Don Ayler) 4:43

06 Peter De Wit - [Spoken Introduction By Peter De Wit] 1:25

07 Albert Ayler Quintet - Truth is Marching In 11:13

08 Albert Ayler Quintet - Bells 5:34

09 Albert Ayler Quintet - Spirits Rejoice 10:51

10 Albert Ayler Quintet - Free Spiritual Music Part Iv 6:45

CD06

01 Albert Ayler Quintet - Truth is Marching in / Omega 9:08

02 Albert Ayler Quintet - Japan / Universal Indians 5:45

03 Albert Ayler Quintet - Our Prayer (Don Ayler) 8:25

04 Albert Ayler Quintet - Love Cry / Truth is Marching in / Our Prayer (Don Ayler) 6:27

05 Albert Ayler - Upper and Lower Egypt (Pharoah Sanders) 23:04

06 Albert Ayler - Untitled Blues 6:09

07 Albert Ayler - Untitled Sermon 0:55

08 Albert Ayler - Thank God for Women [Albert Ayler / Mary Parks] 10:20

09 Albert Ayler - New Ghosts (Demo Fragments) [Albert Ayler / Mary Parks] 7:10

CD07

01 Don Ayler Sextet With Albert Ayler - Prophet John 10:53

02 Don Ayler Sextet With Albert Ayler - Judge Ye Not 10:19

03 Albert Ayler Quartet - Mothers / Children 8:42

04 Albert Ayler Quartet - Untitled [Incomplete] 14:18

05 Albert Ayler Quartet - C Minor 5:21

06 Albert Ayler Quartet - F Minor / C Minor 10:38

CD08

01 Albert Ayler - Travel and Plans 1:50

02 Albert Ayler - Holbaek 0:38

03 Albert Ayler - The New Blues 1:33

04 Albert Ayler - Christmastime Stateside 1:13

05 Albert Ayler - A Great Chance 1:34

06 Albert Ayler - Traveling and Coltrane 1:00

07 Albert Ayler - Drummers and Sunny Murray 1:41

08 Albert Ayler - A Job to Do 1:06

09 Albert Ayler - Birth, Family, and First Music 3:08

10 Albert Ayler - Academy, The Road, and School 0:57

11 Albert Ayler - Young Professional and The Army 5:39

12 Albert Ayler - Sweden 4:39

13 Albert Ayler - New York 0:48

14 Albert Ayler - 1964 1:25

15 Albert Ayler - Frustration, Sources 3:39

16 Albert Ayler - 1966 Tour and Coltrane 3:15

17 Albert Ayler - Impulse and Mary Maria 3:26

18 Albert Ayler - The Artist's Life 1:30

19 Albert Ayler - Question: Leroi Jones 0:46

20 Albert Ayler - Question: for John Coltrane 1:09

21 Albert Ayler - Question: Socio-Political Connections 3:18

22 Albert Ayler - Question: Instrumentation, Engineering 4:15

23 Albert Ayler - Choosing The Players 6:45

CD09

01 Albert Ayler - Current Activity 2:02

02 Albert Ayler - Antibes 1:06

03 Albert Ayler - Coltrane's Funeral 1:01

04 Albert Ayler - Clubs 3:40

05 Albert Ayler - Ahead of My Time 1:41

06 Albert Ayler - Home Lives: Brooklyn and Cleveland 1:27

07 Albert Ayler - Impulse, Pt. 1: Hippies 1:20

08 Albert Ayler - Space Music 1:07

09 Albert Ayler - Don 0:45

10 Albert Ayler - Thank God for Women 0:46

11 Albert Ayler - Blues & Rhythm 1:17

12 Albert Ayler - Copying My Records 2:00

13 Albert Ayler - Impulse, Pt. 2: New Grass 2:17

14 Albert Ayler - Tone and Vibration 1:07

15 Albert Ayler - Rollins, Coleman and Coltrane 4:08

16 Albert Ayler - Maeght Group 0:56

17 Albert Ayler - Serenity of Life 0:36

18 Albert Ayler - Childhood Memories, Pt. 1 1:59

19 Albert Ayler - Blairman Enters 0:34

20 Albert Ayler - Early Professional Career 1:02

21 Albert Ayler - Childhood Memories, Pt. 2 1:08

22 Albert Ayler - Don's Music 3:46

23 Albert Ayler - I Love America' and Youth 1:05

24 Albert Ayler - Mary and Golf 0:37

25 Albert Ayler - Early Relationships and Mary Maria 1:02

26 Albert Ayler - Japan Work and Warm Weather 4:01

27 Albert Ayler - Play Solo 0:24

28 Albert Ayler - Naming Tunes 1:22

29 Albert Ayler - Charles Ives 0:25

30 Albert Ayler - Influences 1:44

31 Albert Ayler - Practicing 1:09

32 Albert Ayler - The Healing Force 0:51

33 Albert Ayler - Diet and America 2:08

34 Albert Ayler - Defining 'improvisation 0:44

35 Albert Ayler - Sonny Rollins, Reactions, and Miles Davis 2:42

36 Albert Ayler - Newport '67 2:29

37 Albert Ayler - New York: Keeping to Oneself [Mary Maria Joins] 0:43

38 Don* & Mocqui Cherry - Paris 1971 - "Don and Mocqui Interview With Daniel Caux." 22:11

CD10

01 US Army Band - Tenderly 4:36

02 US Army Band - Leap Frog 3:16

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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