In the last few years, the Lithuanian NoBusiness label has been doing a fantastic job of unearthing previously unheard sessions by key players in New York’s 1970s loft scene, and this latest – taken from a radio broadcast – is one of the best yet. Along with original bassist Ronnie Boykins, trumpeter Abdullah and drummer Blank had both been members of Sun Ra’s Arkestra, while saxophonist Brackeen was a criminally under-recorded player who’d worked with Don Cherry and others. If Brackeen’s wide tenor sound and frequent altissimo bursts owe more than a nod to Ayler, it’s a debt that’s paid in full with the opening track ‘Before Heaven And Earth And The World’ – a joyful march of martial pomp that joins the dots back to the group improvisation of early New Orleans jazz. Waters’ congas and bells add a post-Coltrane, Afrocentric vibe that also plugs into Art Ensemble of Chicago’s concept of ‘Great Black Music, Ancient To Future’. Though the session is decidedly ‘out’, the peaks of boiling free-jazz are tempered by deep, rolling grooves, powered by the already unmistakable low-end lope of a 22-year old William Parker. It’s as pure as it gets.