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Writing that "Spiritual Unity" was the first recording Albert Ayler made with musicians who were not ashamed to play with him may seem like a display of cynicism, but it's not unwarranted: a strong musical connection based on a shared attitude with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray represents what was missing up to that point for Ayler's exploration to take off and for his tenor sax to sound alien but not out of context.
In the four tracks of the album ("Ghosts", "The Wizard", and "Spirits") the rustle of cymbals and the flow of double bass hits create a pulse of variable intensity, but always in symbiosis with the sax; the freedom from melody and harmony leaves infinite possibilities for the development of the tracks (the two variations of "Ghosts" attest this); the license to exploit all the timbral possibilities offered by the instruments broadens their expressive range; the tight interaction among the musicians on a shared and non-hierarchical level eventually serves to capture the "here and now" and create the "spiritual unity" referenced in the title.
The listener must engage in highly active listening, choose to sweat with the musicians, to have any chance of getting involved in this adventure. It's up to the individual to understand the interest in taking or not taking on this challenge, as well as the pleasure of discovering the outcome: I embrace the thesis that understanding this album, and enjoying dirtying one's ears with the radical jazz of the '60s, can be formative for those interested in tracing an intricate family tree that touches jazz and whose bastard spores have spread heretical fruits even in musical galaxies seemingly distant.
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