Jazz Articles about Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler: Live on the Riviera

by James Taylor
April 24, 2005

Albert Ayler's saxophone sound was raw and unfettered. Ayler's life, like his sound, was the personification of the blues. Sorrowful and excitable, both mournful and full of life, Ayler's sound was the sound of the human voice set free. That's why critics are afraid of him--like all revolutionaries, Ayler said things people don't like to hear. As part of ESP's recent relaunching and reissue campaign, Live on the Riviera is a testament to the underappreciated brilliance of ...

Albert Ayler: New Grass

by Trevor MacLaren
November 29, 2004

Albert Ayler New Grass Impulse! 1968

If there is one word that is poison in the minds of jazz fans and critics, it's sellout. If any musician, for whatever reason, decides to change their sound in a way that could be considered commercial, they have committed the deadliest of sins. So many debate and whine over whether an artist is a sellout, but really, what the hell difference does it make? None. ...

Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost

by Andrey Henkin
October 31, 2004

Albert Ayler Holy Ghost Revenant 2004

Albert Ayler was a mysterious figure. His recording career was relatively brief, beginning in 1962 and ending in 1970, with several of the entries live performances released many years after his passing. His demise itself was a bizarre circumstance. Revenant Records, by all accounts the most ambitious and thorough of all box-set minded labels, has now released a nine+ CD set of Ayler whose mystery ...

Albert Ayler: Backwards And Forwards

by Nic Jones
May 20, 2004

By March of 1965, when the first of the Village Vanguard recordings were made, Albert Ayler's career as a leader was less that five years old. He'd covered a lot of ground. It was also only thirteen years since he'd worked in Little Walter's band, yet in that time he'd moved as far away from the mainstream of African American popular music as it was possible to be, at least that was an impression. The reality of the situation was ...

Albert Ayler: Forwards And Backwards

by Nic Jones
February 10, 2004

By March of 1965, when the first of the Greenwich Village recordings were made, Albert Ayler's career as a leader was less than five years old. He'd covered a lot of ground. It was also only thirteen years since he'd worked in Little Walter's band, yet in that time he'd moved as far away from the mainstream of African-American popular music as it was possible to be. At least that was an impression. The reality of the situation was rather ...

Albert Ayler: Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe

by Jeff LeVine
May 14, 2003

Albert Ayler was a true giant who walked this earth far too briefly. Thankfully, he was able to leave behind a fairly substantial body of work and Impulse! finally saw fit to issue one of his last albums to CD. Recorded in August of 1969, a little more than a year before they fished Ayler out of New York's East River, Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe may not be one of his best moments ( Spiritual Unity ...

Albert Ayler: The Copenhagen Tapes

by Derek Taylor
December 2, 2002

Albert Ayler's recorded legacy remains woefully scant, especially for a figure of his musical stature and reach. Coupled to this comparative paucity is the fact that the bulk of his recordings from live concert settings where the acoustics and engineering were often suspect. Prime culprits arose out of his iconoclastic reputation and the general stigma levied toward free jazz in the Sixties. 21st century listeners are the worse off for it. Fortunately, further documents of his artistry do exist and ...