(Free Improvisation) Luther Thomas, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, Tony Bianco - Meditations on Albert Ayler - 2007, MP3 (tracks), 256 kbps

By: Jeff Stockton
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.

By: Greg Edwards
You are at the Glenn Miller Cafe in Stockholm, Sweden, March 2007. The trio of Luther Thomas, alto sax, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, bass, and Tony Bianco, drums, has gotten together to pay tribute to Albert Ayler in a supercharged set of freewheeling improvisations.
That's the setting for the Ayler download release Meditations on Albert Ayler. Familiar Albert themes and an old hymn are the launching pads for two extended cuts, but what matters is the group dynamic that bounds off the bandstand and engulfs the listener.
This is no clone of an Ayler session. It's in the tradition that comes out of Ayler, yes, but it is not some remapping of the licks and timbres of an old Ayler trio recording. Everyone in this ensemble contributes with their own take on the free improvisational genre. Drummer Bianco is busy, energetic without overwhelming the group context; Parker Wells brings the bottom up and lays down a spectral fullness; and, perhaps most of all, Luther Thomas plays an alto that has real projection and a virtual arsenal of sounds. He plays strongly rhetorical lines that power over the free wash, gets a wide range of sound colors and can play overarching cries and rapid figurations without sounding at all like an Ayler clone. He's a strong player and makes a strong statement and a cogent musical argument for why he is a player definitely worth hearing.
The sound is decent, the price is right and the music is very recommended.

By: Mike Szajewski
With a lengthy set of zealous Ayleresque improvisation, this unlikely trio presents over an hour of high powered playing. Once they get into a groove, they don't stop the momentum whatsoever, as drummer Tony Bianco takes his drumming chops to the limit, demonstrating an ability to produce steadily furious playing over the course of two half-hour pieces.
The ever unpredictable Luther Thomas, who originally came up in the St Louis scene in the early 70's and now finds himself residing in Copenhagen, masters the Ayler folk/ballad melody style as well as the more unbridled shrill improvisational tendencies.
Bassist Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and Bianco have previously collaborated as members of the electro-acoustic trio Decision Dream with guitarist Magnus Alexanderson, which also draws from the music of Albert Ayler. Rather than being an Ayler cover band, "Meditations" strives to create a sound inspired by the mentality and creativity of the visionary saxophonist.
The trio's first tune is a combination of two Ayler staples, and the second is a free jazz take on the Swedish folk song "O Store Gud."

By: Henrik Kaldahl
New download only release who was made available for the masses on the 13th of july 2007 to mark the day of Albert Ayler's birthday who would have been 71 years old this year. The people behind this ambitious project are a trio consisting of Luther Thomas on alt saxophone, bells, whistles and hollers, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells on bass and Tony Bianco on drums and cymbals.
Two long numbers is what we as hungry freejazz lovers are being presented of here. The first number called Ghosts/Thruth Is Marching In has a running time of 36 minuttes and 40 seconds and the second number called O Store Gud (How Great Thou Art) runs in on 29 minuttes and 54 seconds – both recorded at Glen Miller Café in Stockholm Sweden on the 8. of march 2007.
This trio does not play cover versions of the music of Albert Ayler but play improvised music inspired by the life, thoughts and music of this amazing artist who changed the jazz community forever and made sure that it would never be the same. Both numbers on this release are absolutely great and nothing but jawdropping – Thomas blows his horn like there was no tomorrow and sounds at times just like the master he so greatly admires, Parker Wells pushes his bass to the limit and yanks the strings with great skills and last there is the the human drum monster in the figure of Bianco. He is a true master on the drums and the absolute star on this release – just try to listen to his drum playing on the first number, only pausing a few times in the nearly 37 minuttes the number lasts, truly amazing and breathtaking.
This release is a worthy tribute to one of the creators of free jazz music, and i cant give it recommendations enough with it on the way. Great music from great musicians – it does not get any better than this.