A stellar quartet captured in its prime, playing a repertoire that most devotees will know well – ‘Spirits’, ‘Vibrations’, ‘Saints’, ‘Mothers’ and ‘Children’ – with the kind of intensity and focus that might both unsettle and seduce those who do not. Ayler may be one of the defining figures of the mid-1960s avant-garde, but his composing and improvising are so deeply rooted in the primal soil of black music, namely what blues and gospel may have sounded like before they were given those names, that his relevance to American culture is enormous. With an imperious Don Cherry alongside him the saxophonist frequently ascends to searing heights of turbulence on a session that is constantly, unapologetically wired. His trademark vibrato as furious as ever, Ayler has the rage of Public Enemy breaking out of rather than into a beat, and the tenderness of a healer who really stands firm on the belief that there is a balm in Gilead.