Meditations on Albert Ayler - Live at Glenn Miller Café

Jeff Stockton, AllAboutJazz

Meditations on Albert Ayler is what the trio of altoist Luther Thomas, bassist Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and drummer Tony Bianco calls themselves, but the liner notes to this digital download-only release emphasize the fact that they are not a cover band. The rhythm section wanted to explore the “Ayler approach” and needed a saxophonist with the résumé to take the Ayler legend head on. Thomas, who had recorded the lost free jazz classic Funky Donkey in the early ‘70s, was living in Copenhagen and swung over to the Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm for the gig captured here. True to their word, the trio obliquely refers to a couple of Ayler’s best known compositions, but they are barely recognizable inside the lengthy workouts. This group concentrates on tapping into Ayler’s enduring holy spirit and continuing the soulfulness and heart it was Ayler’s mission to convey.