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Albert Ayler & New York Contemporary Five: Revisited, Remastered, Resplendent
by Chris May
The Swiss-based ezz-thetics label was launched in 2019 by Hat Hut Records' founder, Werner X. Uehlinger, and its Revisited strand is a jazz aficionado's dream. The series is devoted to landmark avant-garde recordings from the 1960s, and ezz-thetics does more than simply reissue them. Peter Pfister, Uehlinger's longtime mastering Jedi, improves the audio quality of the discs so substantially that listening to them is, at times, almost like hearing the music anew. Among the albums in the Revisited catalogue are ...
Continue ReadingAlbert Ayler Quintet: 1966: Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm. Revisited
by Mark Corroto
It may sound odd to describe the music that Albert Ayler's quintet performs here as the musical equivalent of comfort food, but these sounds can be associated with security and nostalgia. They are a reminder of the spark ignited by this tenor saxophonist from Cleveland. Ayler, maybe more than any artist of his day, paved the way for free jazz by linking it to the music of New Orleans, African-American spirituals, marching bands, and national anthems. If no Ayler, then ...
Continue ReadingAlbert Ayler. Un ardito sogno futuristico
by Giuseppe Segala
Come una meteora, Albert Ayler ha attraversato il firmamento della musica neroamericana, dal 1962 al 1970. E ha lasciato il segno. Una traccia presente e attiva tutt'oggi, nell'operato di numerosi musicisti che dedicano il proprio lavoro all'improvvisazione e alla ricerca di un'autenticità dell'espressione artistica. L'apparizione del sassofonista nel mondo del jazz, una vera epifania, impressionò molti, tra cui John Coltrane, che lo supportò anche in senso finanziario. Trane fu profondamente colpito dal carattere, dal suono di Ayler, dalla ...
Continue ReadingAlbert Ayler: Albert Ayler 1965: Spirits Rejoice & Bells Revisited
by Mark Corroto
Being that 2020 is more than half a century since Albert Ayler (1936-70) recorded this music, the best way to approach might be through what the Zen Buddhists call Shoshin. Roughly translated as “beginner's mind," or the ability to experience things as if for the first time. Since we cannot transport ourselves back to 1965, taking a posture of readiness and being open to experience the revelatory nature of this music might be the best plan of attack.
Continue ReadingAlbert Ayler Trio: 1964: Prophecy Revisited
by Mark Corroto
Albert Ayler is often quoted as saying “Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost," referring to John Coltrane, “Pharoah Sanders," and himself. It might be better said that Ayler was John The Baptist, the musical prophet that proclaimed the coming of free jazz. Like many a prophet, his end was agonizing. Ayler drowned in the East River in 1970, after a very brief eight year recording career. Coltrane knew then what many ...
Continue ReadingThe Jazz Avant-Garde in the 1960s (1960 - 1966)
by Russell Perry
Nurtured in the seminal recordings of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor in the mid to late 1950s, the jazz avant—garde came into its own in the 1960s with their continuing creations, those of John Coltrane already featured in this program and those of next generation players, Joe Harriott and Albert Ayler. Defining statements of the free jazz movement in the early 1960s by Coleman, Taylor, Harriott and Ayler in this hour of Jazz at 100. Playlist Host Intro ...
Continue ReadingAlbert Ayler: Quartets 1964: Spirits To Ghosts Revisited
by Mark Corroto
When did you first encounter saxophonist Albert Ayler's music? Not 'hear' because hearing was just part of the experience. Call it the shock of the new or just the discovery of a totally original sound, Ayler's music was a revelation. That first encounter will probably always be one of those “where were you when you first heard Ayler" stories to share with friends. Enter Werner X. Uehlinger's Hat Hut Records and its new ezz-thetics label which, with permission ...
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