On this recording, the explosive
Charles Gayle trades saxophone lines with
John Tchicai, who typically plays with a thinner sound in a more restrained style. On paper, it's an odd pairing, but the two musicians settle their differences nicely, with
Tchicai playing more aggressively than usual and
Gayle often toning things down a bit. Still, despite the presence of plenty of more tentative tracks like the opening title cut, there are flashes of the
Albert Ayler-style blasting for which
Gayle would later become known. For example,
Gayle and
Tchicai tear at each other throughout the raucous, 13-minute "Solid Clouds," with
Reggie Nicholson's free-rock drumming egging them on.
Nicholson and bassist and former
Cecil Taylor sideman
Sirone are superb throughout
Always Born, and they get a chance to shine on their duet, "Coming Together," in which
Sirone plays twisting, high-register harmonics on his bass that sound a bit like
Gayle's squealing saxophone.
Always Born is more restrained than much of
Gayle's later work, but his interaction with
Tchicai and the fine playing from
Sirone and
Nicholson are not to be missed. ~ Charlie Wilmoth