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Spirits Rejoice
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work
Saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded Spirits Rejoice in 1965 in New York, at Judson Hall, a hall hired solely for the recording, and so without an audience. The record was released on the ESP-Disk label. It was the last time bassist Gary Peacock played with him. Label founder Bernard Stollman asked for a short piece during the session. That is how Holy Family came about, less than three minutes long. Later Stollman felt that in doing so he had broken the agreement that the artist himself decides what his work contains.
The music sounds wild and loud, but follows a logic of its own. The title song borrows from La Marseillaise and is a long march of themes with harmonies for three horns, according to biographer Jeff Schwartz. One reviewer wrote that the music at first angered many experts. Steve Huey called the album one of the saxophonist's wildest and loudest records, but also saw in it a surprisingly predetermined structure.
Listening
Track list
- 1Spirits Rejoice11:43Apple Music ↗
- 2Holy Family2:13Apple Music ↗
- 3D.C.8:02Apple Music ↗
- 4Angels5:33Apple Music ↗
- 5Prophet5:36Apple Music ↗
30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗