Albert Ayler – Tenor & Alto Saxophones, Vocals
Alan Silva – Upright Bass
Milford Graves – Drums & Percussion
Call Cobbs Jr. – Harpsichord
Donald Ayler – Trumpet
Vibe: Ecstatic, Passionate, Anthemic, Energetic, Spiritual, Joyful, Deconstructed, Uplifting
Musical Qualities: Thematic, Collective Improvisation, Acoustic, Loose, Melodic
Style: Spiritual Jazz, Free Jazz
Style: Analogue Electronic, Experimental Rock
Vibe: Anxious, Motorik, Mechanical, Dystopian, Futuristic, Ominous, Hypnotic
Musical Qualities: Dissonant, Repetitive, Percussive, Polyrhythmic
One can only imagine how Ayler bringing more commercial styles like R&B, Rock, and Gospel into his avant-garde music messed with critics and fans alike when it came out—the way it looked like commercial pandering to the Free Jazz listeners but was probably still too weird for new listeners. It helps to remember that Ayler came from R&B and went straight to the Free Spiritual Jazz of the early 60s, making Jazz critics highly skeptical skeptical by not climbing the bebop ranks like Coltrane before plunging into freedom. On New Grass, Ayler really started to synthesize the spiritual elements of many forms of Great Black Music, making more accessible music not as a way of selling out, but a way of sharing his beautiful spiritual message and sound with a wider audience. Plus this thing has Bernard Purdie on drums so of course it slaps.
If you dig this LP, I think he succeeded in this sound direction even more on his following albums Love Cry and Music is the Healing Force of the Universe. Albert Ayler was a pure soul that left this world too soon, grateful for the gifts of music and wisdom he left behind.
Style: American Primitive Guitar, Folk
Vibe: Rootsy, Eclectic, Raw
Musical Attributes: Acoustic, Lo-fi, Sound Collage, Vignettes, Bluesy, Instrumental
Released in 1968 on ESP-Disk Format: LP Style: Chamber Folk, Psych Folk Vibe: Peaceful, Mellow, Psychedelic Themes: War, Nature, Love Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Strings, Flute, Banjo, Keyboards, Bass, French Horn
Released in 1968 on Takoma Records Format: LP
Released in 1968 on Probe Records 1968 Second Pressing Format: LP
Released in 1968 on JCOA Records Format: LPx2, includes 12″ booklet
Released in 1968 on Impulse! Records Format: LP
Released in 1968 on Elektra Records Format: LP
Released on Elektra in 1968 Format: LP Track Notes A1 – Jobs Tears (Uplifting, Morning, Spiritual) “Stranger than that we’re alive” A2 – Puppies (Peaceful, Sitar, Bowed Gimbri, Morning) “Music is so much less than what you are” A3 – Beyond the See (Instrumental featuring organ, harpsichord, whistle, and bowed gimbri A4 – The Yellow Snake …
Released in 1968 on Warner Bros.
Groovy soul instrumentals decorated with sweeping orchestral arrangements, jazz soloing, and psychedelic guitars, all inspired by William Blake’s writings.
Peaceful drone meditations and mantras for bass clarinet and sitar. The improvisatory melodies are beautifully expressive, exploratory, and blanketed in a soft, soothing reverb.
Soft Machine’s second album is an eclectic suite packed full of whimsical psychedelia, Dadaist detours, complex prog structures and jazz-inspired musicianship.
