Spiritual Unity

Recording

The single recording session that resulted in Spiritual Unity was ESP's first. It was on July 10, 1964, in the Variety Arts Recording Studio, off Times Square in New York. The session began some time after one in the afternoon. "At one point," according to the record label, "the engineer fled the control room for a few minutes, but returned in time to change the tape for the next selection". Although label owner, Bernard Stollman, remembered asking for a stereo recording, the session, well mixed and miked, was in mono. The musicians were paid and signed recording agreements after the session, in a nearby cafe.

Reception

The critic Ekkehard Jost wrote that "Ayler's negation of fixed pitches finds a counterpart in Peacock's and Murray's negation of the beat. In no group of this time is so little heard of a steady beat [...] The absolute rhythmic freedom frequently leads to action on three independent rhythmic planes." Maintaining these qualities required deep group interaction. Ayler himself said of the record, "We weren't playing, we were listening to each other". The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" and awarded it a "crown".

Track listing

1. "Ghosts: First variation" – 5:12
2. "The Wizard" – 7:20
3. "Spirits" – 6:46
4. "Ghosts: Second variation" – 10:01

Musicians