Albert Ayler, "holy Ghost: Rare And Unissued Recordings (1962-1970)"

There is no greater jazz musician to have been fished out of New York's East River than Albert Ayler. But while the story behind his murky demise remains a great mystery of modern music, the legacy he left behind grows with every young saxophonist who discovers his short yet dynamic body of work, one that changed the course of freeform bop structure as we know it.

Although many of his albums remain available thanks to the efforts of such labels as Impulse!, Black Lion and ESP, never before has his career been celebrated to the degree of this nine-disc boxed set.

Titled "Holy Ghost" after Ayler's famous quote where he declared himself as one-third of jazz's holy trinity behind John Coltrane (the father) and Pharoah Sanders (the son), this gorgeous collection anthologizes the controversial tenor's professional years between 1962 to 1970 through rare and previously unreleased material.

Amongst the treasures found here include a fiery medley of "Love Cry/Truth Is Marching On/Our Prayer" from John Coltrane's funeral on July 21, 1967, a phenomenal reading of Gershwin's "Summertime" with the Herbert Katz Quintet from a 1962 Helsinki concert, a serious jam of "Venus/Upper and Lower Egypt" with the Pharoah Sanders Ensemble from January 1968 in New York and several kinetic performances of various Ayler-led quartets and quintets spanning his career.

"Holy Ghost" is encased inside a gorgeous black onyx Spirit Box replica of a hand-carved wooden original, with a 208-page hardbound book loaded with essays, photos and facsimiles of sacred possessions Ayler so dearly held to his heart.

Revenant continues to prove itself the finest reissue label in the country with this incredible piece. But most of all, "Holy Ghost" is a definitive look at one of the finest God-fearing men to ever step on the stage of the Village Vanguard, one whose legacy has finally been given the treatment it so lovingly deserves.