In part because he's lived in Europe for much of the last two decades, saxophonist Luther Thomas (pictured) isn't quite as well known ro American jazz fans as his former Black Artists Group colleagues Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett.However, Thomas' recordings from back in the day with the Human Arts Ensemble, particularly Funky Donkey, are seen as prime examples of the particular mixture of free jazz and funk developed in St. Louis during the BAG years, and Thomas has continued to perform and record, though much of his recent output has been for small European labels without much US distribution.
Distribution should be no problem for Thomas' latest effort, though, since it's a download-only release, available to anyone with a suitable fast Net connection and 8.70 Euros (that's a little more than $12 US, in case you were wondering.)
Meditations on Albert Ayler was recorded on March 8, 2007 at the Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm, Sweden, and features Thomas (alto sax), Jair-Rohm Parker Wells (bass) and Tony Bianco (drums). According to the Ayler Records label, which is releasing the recording, "it is not an "Ayler cover band". The music presented is improvised music inspired by the life, music and words of a musician who extended the vocabulary and the scope of the music formerly known as "Jazz"."
You can read more about the album here, or download it directly from this page.
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