One way to go is to go very, very quietly. John Coltrane told almost no one about his liver cancer, so that when he died in the middle of summer, 1967, it shocked even Miles Davis—and plenty more.
But Albert Ayler knew. Coltrane had asked the great innovating saxophonist to play at his funeral, and boy did he ever. There’s something so joyful, so mournful, so useful—so just plain FULL—about “Love Cry, Truth is Marching On, Our Prayer,” which Ayler delivered along with his brother Donald on trumpet, Richard Davis on bass, and that beautiful genius Milford Graves on drums.
Video footage apparently doesn’t exist, and the recording itself is wrinkled and scratched, imperfect and far-away. But don’t let that stop you from hearing, seeing, and feeling the very essence of life and death as you listen to these six minutes or so of grief, illustrated.
Love The Trane! Only music I can write too.
Your work here is stunning, deeply meaningful and, honestly, takes my breath away leaving me without words. But I do want to say thank you for Griever's Ball, as it is touching me in ways I cannot describe, but that I know are healing.