Albert Ayler (tenor saxophone), Don Cherry (cornet/trumpet), John Tchicai (alto saxophone), Roswell Rudd (trombone), Gary Peacock (double bass), Sunny Murray (drums)
In 1964, via an urging from poet Paul Haines, Michael Snow heard and had been very impressed by the Albert Ayler Trio, at that time including bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. He invited them, along with trumpeter Don Cherry, trombonist Rudd and altoist John Tchicai, to his space, stating that he “wanted to buy a half hour of music.” His concept was fairly radical for the time, its principles adjacent to that practiced for several years by the ensemble Group Ongaku and taken up the following year by the British collective, AMM. Within jazz, perhaps the closest reference would have been the more or less concurrent work of Sun Ra. Brian Olewnick
