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LP
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ESPDISK 1023LP
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Reissue, originally released on ESP Disk' in 1966. Frank "The Reverend" Wright was one of the most powerful saxophonists to pick up on Albert Ayler's freedom and ferocious playing. Born in Mississippi and raised in Memphis, TN and then Cleveland, OH, he started in music as a bassist in blues bands but switched to tenor sax under the influence of his Cleveland friend Albert Ayler. Wright's "energy music" approach to tenor saxophone was influenced by Ayler but at the time in the '60s Wright's intensity was unmatched and utterly distinctive. He followed Ayler to New York City, arriving in 1964 and fitting into the scene right away John Coltrane offered him a spot on his album Ascension in early 1965, though Wright demurred. ESP Disk' owner Bernard Stollman signed Wright on the spot upon hearing him sit in with Coltrane, and on November 11, 1965, Wright went into a New York studio to record his debut album, considered a free jazz classic. Wright's influence can be traced down to Charles Gayle, Sabir Mateen, and other hard-blowing tenormen, but even so, he remains unique. Personnel: Frank Wright - tenor saxophone; Henry Grimes - bass; Tom Price - drums. "Wright was throwing together ideas in a spirit of jubilation." --Clifford Allen, All About Jazz "... easily recommended to open-eared listeners who enjoy hearing fiery sound explorations." --Scott Yanow, AllMusic
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LP
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ESPDISK 1053LP
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Reissue, originally released in 1967. Frank Wright returned to the studio in May 1967 to make his second album using a quintet of players little-known at the time but now legends to free-jazz cognoscenti. Trumpeter Jacques Coursil, who almost made an album for ESP-Disk' himself, went on to the greatest fame of the players besides Wright; alto saxophonist Arthur Jones was not recorded nearly as often as his talents deserved; Steve Tintweis's stint playing with Albert Ayler raised the young bassist's profile; Muhammad Ali was Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali's brother. Together they raise the roof on a free-jazz marathon that still stands as Wright's magnum opus. "Your Prayer finds Wright refining the bag his solos come from, yet maintaining a firm hold on the ecstatic free-blues shout that makes up most of his solo language... Your Prayer is a rather lengthy slab of high-energy grit, but its unified forward and upward motion make for a firmly rooted sonic liberation." --Clifford Allen, All About Jazz "Rather intense at times, these emotional performances... still sound groundbreaking three decades later." --Scott Yanow, All Music Personnel: Frank Wright - tenor saxophone; Arthur Jones - alto saxophone; Jacques Coursil - trumpet; Steve Tintweis - bass; Muhammad Ali - drums.
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CD
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ESPDISK 4028CD
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To devoted avant jazz fans in the US and Europe during the seventies, Frank Wright was known as the Reverend Frank Wright, a title of veneration universally bestowed upon the saxophonist by his peers in recognition of his spiritual approach to music, as well as his fervent style of improvisation. The music here is compelling in its honesty and intensity. Opening with a ringing bell, as if to signal the start of a sacred ritual, Muhammad Ali (drums) and Alan Silva (bass) lay down a deep rhythmic groove to begin the piece. The music the band played that June night in Moers is indeed, as the best of jazz always is, a unified expression of each of the players' own distinctive voices. Wright, an egoless leader, allows plenty of space for his sidemen to be themselves. Ali's drumming is particularly noteworthy, not only for its propulsive strength, but also for his intelligent use of repeated musical motifs.
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