Mystery Spirit
Review of the Jawbone Press Kindle eBook (November 15, 2022) released simultaneously with the paperback edition.

Val Wilmer was the first critic to notice this source in Ayler’s music. It was the coalescence of all that preceded him—spirituals, funeral dirges, bugle calls, the blues, and marches of the past. His growls, she wrote, would ‘produce coarse, gutteral effects’ that hark back to the sounds of Earl Bostic and Illinois Jacquet.

The notion of collective improvisation which pre-dated even King Oliver found its modern incarnation in the Ayler brothers’ free jazz: it was spiritual music that demanded musicians listen to each other, rather than being concerned with what they themselves were playing. It was ‘free’ music in the sense that it was built on the relationship of free sounds.

[4 is an averaged rating from 5 for the research involved & 3 for readability/lack of hyperlinks in the Kindle eBook/unresizeable photographs]
The music of avant-garde jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936-1970) was mostly ignored in his brief lifetime with live performances mostly limited to small jazz clubs and lofts and record releases on obscure European and indie American labels. Most of his discography has been released posthumously and it has expanded considerably even as recently as 2022 with the 5LP/4CD set of "Revelations" (see below under Soundtrack.

His style blended everything early New Orleans marches and Army bugle calls to the most dissonant and atonal types of free-wheeling experimental sounds. Despite all the criticism by many contemporary jazz critics he was well respected by many of his peers, notably John Coltrane (1926-1967) whose funeral he was specifically asked to perform at.

Richard Koloda's biography is a massive undertaking which gathers a phenomenal amount of research material. The bibliography section alone takes up about 20% of the book. It is obviously difficult to assemble a complete life story when many of the contemporaries from over 50 to 60 years ago are now gone as well. Much of the book is limited to quotes from reviews and reactions to live performances and recording sessions and releases, so that it reads much like a gigography and sessionography. The human element is mostly missing and the glimpses that we have of it are quite sad e.g. Ayler making a visit home to Cleveland and going to a schoolyard in order to see his estranged son Curtis and having to ask which one he was among the other kids, before giving him $1.

See photograph at https://media.newyorker.com/photos/626876ee4c8590c8496e40dd/16:9/w_1000,c_limit/...
Photograph of Albert Ayler (soprano saxophone) with Steve Tintweiss (bass) and Mary Parks (vocals) performing at Nuits de la Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence, France, July 1970. Image sourced from The New Yorker April 26, 2022.

Still it is a terrific achievement to have pulled this all together and Koloda deserves all the acclaim for having done so. I was disappointed that the photographs and captions section of the Kindle eBook did not seem to be enlargeable on my devices and also that the possible online sources were not hyperlinked (possibly many of them didn't exist, but there was at least one that was in place).

p.s. If you are not familiar with Ayler's music, then it is best to start with A.4. Swing Low Sweet Spiritual in the Soundtrack section below, before tackling the more experimental albums.

Other Reviews
All About Jazz by Matt Marshall, November 15, 2022.
London Jazz News by Tony Dudley-Evans, October 31, 2022.

Soundtrack
These were the Albert Ayler albums that I was listening to while reading Holy Ghost:
A. Albert Ayler: The Early Albums Collection Originally recorded & released 1962-1966, Budget priced anthology collection released by Enlightenment 2020.
See album cover at https://i.discogs.com/HUs73Woa3xFW9Dw8cZjTAZ5xg7eZcpw2ttpV5NKOrAo/rs:fit/g:sm/q:...
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Listen to some of the full albums on YouTube:
1. Something Different!!!!! [Recorded October 25, 1962 at the Academy of Music, Stockholm, Sweden] (Tracks 5-8 first released 1963) starting with "I Remember April" through to "Free" here.
2. My Name is Albert Ayler [Recorded 1963 in Copenhagen, Denmark & released 1964] (Tracks 1-6) starting with "Introduction" through to "C.T." here.
3. Spirits [Recorded February 24, 1964 at Atlantic Studios, New York City] (Tracks 1-4) starting with "Spirits" through to "Saints" here.
4. Swing Low Sweet Spiritual [Recorded February 24, 1964 at Atlantic Studios, New York City not released until 1981] Reissued as Goin' Home [1994] Listen to the reissue including bonus tracks here.
5. Prophecy [Recorded Live June 14, 1964 at the Cellar Cafe, New York City, not released until 1975] There is no YouTube posting of this full album as far as I could find.
6. Albert Smiles With Sunny [Recorded Live June 14, 1964 at the Cellar Cafe, New York City, not released until 1996] There is no separate posting of this album, but see under B. Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost below for CD 1 Tracks 6. to 8. and CD 2 Tracks 1. to 3.
7. Spiritual Unity [Recorded July 10, 1964 in New York City] Listen to 5 tracks on the reissue from "Ghosts First Variation" to "Vibrations" here.
8. New York Eye and Ear Control [Recorded July 17, 1964 in New York City] Listen to a reissue here.

B. Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost: Rare and Unissued Recordings 1962-1970 Released 2004 by Revenant Records.
See album cover here https://i.discogs.com/vtrvJ-7nnChpBTaRwISb0wQWsFML_XNrfvC3vb_wyis/rs:fit/g:sm/q:...
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Someone has posted this very rare 10+ hour collection on YouTube here.

C. Albert Ayler: Revelations - The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings Released 2022.
See album cover here: https://i.discogs.com/Y2737fpad7t1eJQ1chOe7LoMr0K2UfGIwiAUIcsN0nQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:...;
Cover image sourced from Discogs.

Trivia and Link
There is a mini-biography of Albert Ayler at Pitchfork April 28, 2016. ( )