This pulsating live free jazz 2CD captures the alto saxophonist in uplifting form playing at New York's Collective for the Living Cinema at a time when acoustic jazz, let alone free jazz, was marginalised. Judging from the applause, the audience was sparse, partisan, and very much in tune with the band. The two-hour performance still sounds like a great gig and the fact that two of the tracks on the original three-album release were split to make them fit the vinyl format makes this first-time reissue on CD particularly welcome. The under-recorded Lyons remains best known for being the fiery sideman with a human touch who graced Cecil Taylor's early recordings. Here his passion, commitment and rich fruity tone are undiminished on a set of melodic, launching-point themes.

The twisty avant-bop of ‘Mary Mary’ and the eulogistic ‘Breakout’ both start at a furious pace, but the remaining three feature brief solo introductions – the title track and ‘After You Left’ by the rhapsodic bark of Borcs’ bassoon; the title track by a soaring melody from Lyons alto sax. But whatever the starting point, each track unfolds through a panoply of moods – not surprising since even the shortest lasts 15 minutes and the longest, ‘Mary Mary’, comes in at 32’50. Lyons’ melodic flare, helter-skelter fluency and bursts of phonics standout, while Roger Blank of Sun Ra, Andrew Hill and Albert Ayler fame, is an energetic and sensitive drummer. But with bassoon adding the occasional classical veneer, and bowed cello and double bass a spiritual cry, the music never flags and keeps you engaged throughout.