The Free Spirits -

The Free Spirits were an American jazz-rock/psych band from NYC that released the 1967 ABC album Out of Sight and Sound.

Members: Larry Coryell (guitar), Jim Pepper (saxophone), Bob Moses (drums), Columbus Baker (guitar), Chris Hill (bass)

Background

The Free Spirits formed in 1965 in New York City as a quintet of young jazz musicians drawn together by their shared interest in boundary-pushing improvisation and electric instrumentation. Guitarist Larry Coryell, a recent transplant from Seattle, led the group’s transition from post-bop to amplified songcraft. Saxophonist Jim Pepper (ex-Don Cherry), drummer Bob Moses, and bassist Chris Hills had roots in New York’s loft jazz scene, while rhythm guitarist Columbus “Chip” Baker brought a contrasting garage-rock sensibility. Early gigs at Manhattan venues like The Scene earned the band underground notoriety, though they rarely broke even financially.

In mid-1966, producer Bob Thiele signed the band to ABC Records. Recording took place that summer at Rudy Van Gelder’s New Jersey studio, capturing a set of originals that combined Coryell’s fuzz-toned guitar leads and satirical lyrics with swing-inflected backbeats, Eastern tonal references, and brisk bursts of horn improvisation. Though marketed vaguely as pop, the band was operating in uncharted territory, years before “jazz-rock” had a foothold in the wider market. Their blend of vocal harmony, saxophone solos, folk-derived progressions, and raga inflections placed them alongside The Blues Project and early Mothers of Invention, but with stronger jazz pedigree.

Out of Sight and Sound

The Free Spirits released their only studio album, Out of Sight and Sound, in January 1967 on ABC Records.

The album documents one of the earliest known attempts to fuse jazz instrumentation and rhythm with psychedelic pop, folk elements, and compact rock song forms.

Larry Coryell composed or co-composed every track and handles guitar, vocals, and occasional sitar. Saxophonist Jim Pepper, drummer Bob Moses, and bassist Chris Hills maintain a dynamic jazz undercurrent, while rhythm guitarist Columbus “Chip” Baker contributes vocals and songwriting.

A1. “Don’t Look Now (But Your Head Is Turned Around)” (2:12) – Rapid vocal cadence and clipped phrasing ride over tense rhythm guitar and shifting drum accents; Coryell’s vocal delivery borders on spoken-word.
A2. “I’m Gonna Be Free” (3:21) – Drone-based raga piece with sitar textures, faint cymbal tick, and interwoven flute lines; a modal structure emerges around minimalist chordal repetition.
A3. “LBOD” (3:00) – Sparse arrangement built on pulsing upright-style bass and open-string guitar figures; the horn lines rise in parallel to a staggered blues progression.
A4. “Sunday Telephone” (2:52) – Angular harmonies over steady four-beat pacing; Baker’s jangle rhythm drives a disorienting blend of vocal polyphony and lyrical nonlinearity.
A5. “Blue Water Mother” (2:39) – Vocal lines alternate between lyrical clarity and layered murmur; sax flourishes drift through an otherwise folk-like setting of minor-key strums.
A6. “Girl of the Mountain” (2:38) – Mid-tempo folk-rock ballad with reed accents and descending cadences; Coryell’s Dylan-esque vocal phrasing anchors the loose ensemble dynamic.

B1. “Cosmic Daddy Dancer” (2:31) – Fast pulse with irregular breaks and coiled guitar phrasing; saxophone cuts laterally across the mix with short bursts of controlled dissonance.
B2. “Bad News Cat” (3:19) – Close vocal harmony over upbeat rhythm and tight phrasing; melodic structure recalls UK mod pop but veers into jazz intervals and modal soloing.
B3. “Storm” (2:09) – Sultry half-time swing under light bossa inflection; Pepper’s flute solo meanders with circular phrasing over brushed percussion and sparse guitar.
B4. “Early Mornin’ Fear” (2:33) – Slow-shifting sax lines and call-response vocal phrasing ride atop an R&B-inflected pulse; momentum builds into a short free-jazz crescendo.
B5. “Angels Can’t Be True” (2:39) – Descending vocal contour and lamenting tone, softened by light guitar voicings and trailing flute interjections; the bridge offers brief harmonic contrast.
B6. “Tattoo Man” (2:23) – Snappy pace and clipped guitar riffing support Coryell’s vocal affectations; rhythm section pushes toward pop but breaks into jazz-oriented fills.

Out of Sight and Sound was recorded in 1966 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Produced by Bob Thiele and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. Design by David Perell and Henry Epstein (cover), Joe Lebow (liner). Photography by Ron Schwerin. Mastered by ABC Records.

Legacy

Out of Sight and Sound met with little fanfare upon its January 1967 release. The band, particularly Coryell and Moses, expressed dissatisfaction with the final mix and production, claiming it misrepresented their live sound. Coryell departed shortly afterward to join vibraphonist Gary Burton’s new quartet, marking his formal entry into jazz fusion. Moses also joined Burton’s group. Meanwhile, Pepper, Baker, and Hills reconfigured as Everything Is Everything, releasing one 1969 album that featured Pepper’s signature song, “Witchi Tai To.”

Though largely overlooked at the time, The Free Spirits gained retroactive recognition as a foundational act in jazz-rock history. Their pioneering use of improvisation within tight, guitar-driven song formats foreshadowed later developments in fusion and psych-tinged progressive music.

In 2006, Sunbeam Records reissued Out of Sight and Sound on CD, followed by a long-sought 1967 live recording that better reflects the group’s intensity and range. Despite their brief existence, The Free Spirits marked an inflection point—bridging bop-rooted jazz with emergent electric counterculture forms just as those worlds began to collide.

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