Riviera

Albert Ayler played two concerts at the Fondation Maeght in 1970. The Shandar release, Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, only contains material from the second concert on July 27th. Although Shandar recorded both concerts it is assumed that the rest of their tapes have been lost. However, the concerts were also broadcast on French radio, which was the source for this recording of the first concert on July 25th.

The original Italian CD was given away as a freebie on a magazine and was never distributed to shops. However, fees were paid to the Italian ASCAP and so this was not technically a bootleg release. The mistitling of the Blu Jazz CD (there’s only a quartet, since Call Cobbs did not play at the first concert) extends to the track titles. The Blu Jazz listing is as follows: 1. Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe, 2. Birth of Mirth, 3. Oh! Love Of Life, 4. T.C.A., 5. Heart Love, 6. A Little Prayer, 7. Holy Ghost. The ESP release goes some way to correcting this, although I’m still not sure that Tracks 2 and 3 are correct. A copy of the session distributed among collectors on the ‘Ayler Tree’ retitled Track 2, ‘Desert Blood’ and Track 3, ‘T.C.A.’, but again I’m dubious.

Over thirty years after this recording was made, Steve Tintweiss, Ayler’s bassist at the Fondation Maeght, got to hear the music again and sent me the following comments:

“Although the title is a misnomer, as all the tracks are either trio, or a quartet when Mary Maria sings or plays soprano sax, and the identification of some of the tracks are incorrect, to my surprise the recording quality is excellent. Hearing this 32 years later is quite an experience for me. This is really newly found Albert Ayler performances at the peak of his creative powers. Albert sings his heart out on several of the tracks. The CD concludes with a wild version of "Ghosts", including an audience induced encore.”

Stills from the documentary film: Albert Ayler: Le Dernier Concert

(Album covers)

(Offsite reviews:
Dusted
Paris Transatlantic Magazine
All About Jazz

2013 reissue:
All About Jazz
gapplegate music review)

Next: Nuits De La Fondation Maeght

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