Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village


Albert Ayler In Greenwich Village is a 1967 live album by free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was his first album for Impulse! Records, and is generally regarded as being his best for the label.
Originally released on LP, the album has since been reissued on CD.

Background

At the urging of John Coltrane, Impulse! Records' first recordings of Ayler were made live. A single track recorded at the Village Gate in 1965 was released on the album The New Wave in Jazz and Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village was recorded at the Village Vanguard and Village Theatre, New York City in 1966 and 1967. Unusually, Ayler plays alto rather than his more usual tenor on the opening track, a tribute to Coltrane, who was present when the two tracks on side two of the album were recorded. The two versions of Ayler’s band heard on the record both feature two bass players, which "sharpens the sound considerably, producing a rock-solid foundation for Ayler’s raw witness".
Further tracks from the same performances were released on the double album The Village Concerts, and both albums, along with the 1965 track mentioned above and one further track, were combined to produce the double CD album Live in Greenwich Village: the Complete Impulse Recordings.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Albert Ayler
  1. "For John Coltrane" – 13:38
  2. "Change Has Come" – 6:24
  3. "Truth Is Marching In" – 12:43
  4. "Our Prayer" – 4:43

    Personnel

Performance