At the Empty Bottle (2000)

About this title: Mars Williams leads Chicago-based jazz sextet Witches & Devils, whose debut, At the Empty Bottle, is a live tribute to Albert Ayler at his most ecstatic. The three covers of Ayler tunes are spectacular: the group shifts effortlessly among folk tunes and blasts of free noise, and Williams and fellow saxophonist Ken Vandermark lock each other in a howl that would do Ayler and his sideman, Charles Tyler, proud. The one Witches & Devils original, "Sax Duet/Piano Interlude," is even better, especially at its exhilarating beginning, where Williams and Vandermark circle around each other until their ... read more

Tracks:

1. Truth Is Marching In [Ayler]
2. Sax Duet/Piano Interlude [Witches & Devils]
3. Angels [Ayler]
4. Bells [Ayler]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.