This album is the eleventh Albert Ayler release on the ezz-thetics label. As two of them were double disc albums, that means there have been thirteen discs released, totalling fourteen-and-a-half hours of Ayler altogether. Prior to this album, the other ten had all featured music from the years 1964 to 1966. In a way, the current album seems something of a misfit as its title More Lost Performances Revisited closely resembles the earlier Lost Performances 1966 Revisited but its tracks date from 1962 and 1967. Nonetheless, the three batches of recordings comprising More Lost Performances Revisited all feel special in their way as they date from landmark occasions — a November 1962 concert in Copenhagen when Ayler sat in with Cecil Taylor's trio of the time alongside alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and drummer Sunny Murray, an Ayler quintet (including Michel Samson on violin) playing three pieces at the 1967 Newport Jazz Festival, and an Ayler quartet playing an all-too-brief medley at John Coltrane's funeral in NYC in July 1967. Special indeed. This is not the first time these recordings have been issued; all three were included in the hard-to-find ten-disc compilation Holy Ghost (Revenant, 2004).
Unsurprisingly, the 1962 Cecil Taylor rendition of the pianist's "Four" is predominantly a showcase for Taylor himself, with his fingers flying all over the keyboard while maintaining total control. The other players do not play soloes in the conventional sense, as Taylor continues playing throughout; instead, the other three players all find the time and space in which to add their own contributions to the overall sound, with Ayler's contributions being instantly recognisable and appropriate.
Fast forward to Newport in 1967 and Ayler plays alto, tenor and soprano saxophones plus vocals, alongside Samson, brother Don Ayler on trumpet, Bill Folwell on bass and Milford Graves on drums. Two of the three pieces played at the festival, "Our Prayer" and "Truth is Marching In" were often played and recorded by Ayler's groups. Maybe Ayler introduced the violinist into the group in order to avoid repetition and freshen them up; if so, the move was an inspired as that is exactly what Samson does to the group's sound. The third piece played at Newport, "Japan (traditional) Universal Indians" is more varied than those before and after it, with the violin again commanding attention.
Being the first to play at Coltrane's funeral, on July 21st 1967, Ayler, Don Ayler, Richard Davis on bass and Milford Graves again on drums opened with the newly composed "Love Cry" followed seamlessly by "Truth is Marching In" and "Our Prayer" in a performance which lasted under six-and-a-half minutes but oozed emotion from start to finish. Although the total playing time of this album just exceeds fifty minutes, the historical significance of its three dates more than justifies exploring it and listening to its contents.
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