as a rhythm section and with other front-line players than they do here." Regarding Cherry's playing, Jurek wrote: "the inveterate and outrageously talented listener/musician is in full bloom, untethered as a soloist, yet, like the other three, remaining an inextricable part of a band." Scott Yanow wrote that the quartet is a "fairly ideal group" for Ayler, and that the recording is "not for the faint of heart." Concerning the chemistry between the members of the quartet, Val Wilmer wrote: "The more lyrical extrovert Cherry, with his quick-thinking and open mind, was the ideal partner for Ayler's loosely assembled melodies and darker moods." Mark Richardson wrote that "every note they recorded together remains worth hearing" and stated that The Hilversum Session is a demonstration of "how brilliantly the group gelled." Jeff Schwartz, bassist, Ayler biographer, and author of "Free Jazz: A Research and Information Guide", referred to the recordings made during the 1964 European tour as "amongst the greatest jazz ever recorded.". Regarding The Hilversum Session, Schwartz stated that it "seems more like a live performance in the openness of the players' approach, with more energy in the rhythm section and more simultaneous blowing by the horns." He also wrote: "The addition of Cherry to the group is only one of the many things that makes these performances so outstanding. Peacock plays arco (bowing) at length for the first time on record with Ayler and this enables him to play long tones with vibrato and extract waves of harmonics, both in imitation of Ayler, and to function as a third melodic voice... Murray too plays a greater variety of textures on this recording, perhaps aware that he is being decently recorded, for the first time with Ayler... There is a much greater sense of ensemble and textural variety in this group than in prior Ayler aggregations. The quartet conjures the sounds of marching bands and chamber music, as well as those of traditional and avant-garde jazz. Murray introduces vast plains of silence into his playing, leaving one horn alone with the bass, the two horns in duet, or the soloist a cappella. Sometimes also, all four players will improvise together, making the New Orleans collective improvisation that was latent on Spiritual Unity explicit. All of these possibilities would be further explored by Ayler in future, larger, ensembles." Track listing "Angels" (Ayler) - 6:50 "C.A.C." (Ayler) - 4:58 "Ghosts" (Ayler) -