The Strange and Iconoclastic Wonders of The Late Great Albert Ayler

If you ever want to take a wild abstract ride of sonic brilliance,then check out the free jazz sound styling of the late, great, Albert Ayler,but be forewarned, he is not for the faint of heart, nor ears.Albert Ayler is known for his brute, yet deep and blistering raw tone and timbre, with a touch of forlorn vibrato, where harmony and melody are mere afterthoughts.He has been know to mention in interviews that, "Trane (John Coltrane) was the father.Pharoah (Pharoah Saunders) was the son.I am the Holy Ghost."

Albert Ayler emerged upon the jazz scene as a virtuoso saxophonist, already on the outside, and pushing to go,"further out", with his keen sense of improvisation after a stint in the United States Army in 1962.From the Army, he carried with him his love for martial music, which often showed up in his group improvisations,alternating between march-like music, and wild improvisation.Albert had already gotten his feet wet as the sixteen year old son of a Holy Roller family playing saxophone in Cleveland Heights,Ohio ,bar walking,and honking his tenor saxophone in the blues outfit led by the legendary blues singer and harmonica player, Little Walter.

In 1962,while living in Stockholm,Sweden, Albert met Avante Garde pianist, Cecil Taylor and jammed with Taylors band for one year, all the while, not getting paid.There is a story of how Albert approached Cecil Taylor, much to the dismay of Albert's younger trumpet playing brother Donald.It is said that Albert walked up to Cecil and asked,"have you ever heard of me"? Only to get an earful of profanity from Cecil,and Albert's brother apologizing to Mr.Taylor,while pulling Albert away telling him, "man you don't ever walk up to a man like Cecil Taylor and ask him a question like that!"

Upon returning to the United States and settling in New York,Albert assembled a trio and began to put out the music he is best known for, bending the ears of free jazz giants such as Eric Dolphy,and John Coletrane. The rag-tag trio consisted of Sunny Murry on drums, and Gary Peacock on double bass.The three assembled to record the milestone album, Spiritual Unity (1964), which took the listeners on a mind warping excursion into blazing improvisation.

In 1964, Albert added to the trio,trumpeter Donald Cherry and toured Europe. Upon returning to the U.S. Albert altered the group again, adding his brother Donald on trumpet, as well as Charles Tyler on baritone saxophone, Lewis Worell, and Sunny Murray on drums.This outfit was more like a group of misfits as far as appearance was concerned, with Albert often shaving half of his goatee off so as to only show show the white portion of his beard (which was his birthmark), and Sunny Murray often wearing a tattered large wool turtleneck sweater, and playing with knitting needles! The music really began to take on the marching band style of his military years, mixed with overblown improvisation by him and his brother Donald.Spirits Rejoice, (1965) is a wonderful recording of this period.Bells is also a good live showcase of the same time period.The releases of Albert's albums helped to put the label ESP on the map as a top Free Jazz label.

"IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE MY MUSIC NOW,THEY WILL." - Albert Ayler

Just after John Coletrane recorded his 1965 album "Ascension", he phoned Albert Ayler telling him,"I recorded an album and found I was playing just like you." Albert's reply was, "No man, don't you see, you were playing like yourself. You were just feeling what I feel and were just crying out for spiritual unity. There is a story of the time when John Coltrane was blown away by the playing of Albert Ayler as Albert walked onto the stage of one of Coltrane's concerts unannounced, horn pointed toward the ceiling, "playing to the spirits", "playing to God".It is said that the next day, John called Albert on the the telephone, not to berate him, but to ask,"hey man,what kind of reed YOU using?"John Coletrane became a huge fan of Albert Ayler's,championing his cause, and supporting his genius and creative vision, as well as financially supporting him by occasionally paying his rent.It was John Coletrane who impressed it upon Impulse producer, Bob Thiele that Albert had, "moved the music into even higher frequencies", and in1967,after the death of John Coltrane, Albert was signed to Impulse records.

"WE MUST BE AS PURE AS OUR MUSIC" - Albert Ayler

1967 marked the decline of Albert Ayler's career. Albert's brother Donald suffered a nervous breakdown,of which Albert took the blame.1966 -1967 saw Albert recording music that was more like the popular music of the day. On the album Love Cry ,recorded in1967, Albert added idealistic lyrics written by his girlfriend, Mary Maria Parks, that were similar to that of the hippie movement that was popular of the day to his compositions,while continuing to experiment by adding instruments such as Scottish highland bagpipes,and extra horns to the music.New Grass Roots,considered to be Albert's worst album, leaned heavily towards R&B.The electric guitar of Canned Heat's Henry Vestine appeared on 1969's album Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe,which was his final studio album.In 1970 Albert made an attempt to return to the free jazz style of old with a new band, but the new band was not of equal caliber.

On November 25,1970 Albert Ayler was found dead, floating in New York's East River after disappearing on November 5th.His death is said to be mysterious, as some felt he was murdered,though some feel that it was a suicide,as Albert was suffering from depression due to guilt stemming from his brother's breakdown, for which he felt responsible, and had been threatening to commit suicide.

Albert Ayler made a wonderful contribution to the body of free jazz.Though short lived, he left behind a solid body of work for those who dare to venture into his abstract world.