3. Albert Ayler Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondations Maeght Recordings (Ina/Elemental)

To hear Albert Ayler is to behold genius without being beaten over the head by it; he may have been a titanic figure who inspired John Coltrane, but his music never gives you the impression of an arteest. The four-CD live album Revelations is an excellent gateway into Ayler’s universe; even when compositions like “Birth of Mirth” grow tempestuous and unwieldy, the music is charged with imagination, a sense of play, and superlative love. MORGAN ENOS