Albert Ayler Trio Busts Some "Ghosts"

"Ghosts: First Variation" by the Albert Ayler Trio is often listed as one of the best songs of the 1960s. The reasoning behind its inclusion in these lists is apparent. Sandwiched between tracks by Nancy Sinatra and the Beach Boys, "Ghosts" is the consummate representative of the free jazz idiom that developed in the mid-20th century. The trio here consists of Albert Ayler on saxophone, Gary Peacock on bass and Sonny Murray on drums, and the track is from 1964's the "Spiritual Unity" recording. Summing up the work of the trio, Ayler once described the process of recording the track, "We weren't playing, we were listening to each other."

The tune begins innocently enough with a few seconds of what sounds like Ayler warming up his sax (about 30 seconds later the listener realizes that the strained tones are Ayler purposely making it sound like he is warming up his sax). Still, the lead of the song hints at something harmonious, and about 13 seconds in Ayler (now joined by the other two players) settles into a phrase that reminds me a little of "The Farmer in the Dell" or a creepy nursery rhyme for jazz-heads. Everything seems to be running fine: Murray is working over his cymbals and Peacock is plucking the bass, and all this gets too safe for Ayler, so around the 50 second mark he lets the sax get away from him. An effective crescendo occurs with Murray incorporating the snare drum, and suddenly we are transported to another realm for three and half minutes of free improvisation.

The rhythm section probably does the best work at keeping the earlier idea of the song alive at this point, as Ayler's sax flutters haphazardly like a fly around the contours of the piece. His work, the gamut of sounds his sax runs, reminds me of the type of all-out playing Ken Vandermark is championing presently. Honks and wails come out of nowhere, and the trio is speeding ahead when Ayler's sax drops out altogether. The listener, who's been intently focused on him, is left with...nothing but the pattering cymbals and the whispering bass, a section so sparse it reminds of the title of the song. Ayler reenters with a very similar imagining of the spooky nursery rhyme. He's too slow to some of the notes and they end up sounding garbled, but in the frame of free jazz, it works.

He probably meant it to end up like that, anyway.

Visit the link below to hear a version of "Ghosts" off of a 1964 Aylers release.