Jazz Articles about Michel Sampson

About Michel Sampson

Album Review

Albert Ayler Quintet: Copenhagen, Bordeaux 1966 & Newport 1967 Live First Release

Read "Copenhagen, Bordeaux 1966 & Newport 1967 Live First Release" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 9, 2026

Heroin addicts often speak of chasing that first high for the rest of their lives. A similar impulse can be found among devoted listeners of Charlie Parker, the Grateful Dead and especially free jazz, perhaps most intensely among followers of saxophonist Albert Ayler. That initial encounter with Ayler's music, whether live or on record, can feel transformative, even overwhelming. Once experienced, it becomes something listeners spend years trying to rediscover. Maybe you were fortunate enough to hear Ayler ...

Album Review

Albert Ayler: Live Greenwich Village to Love Cry Revisited

Read "Live Greenwich Village to Love Cry Revisited" reviewed by Giuseppe Segala

by Giuseppe Segala
December 2, 2024

Nel 1996, quando fu pubblicata la prima edizione della sua biografia dedicata ad Albert Ayler, Spirits Rejoice!, il contrabbassista e musicologo tedesco Peter Niklas Wilson scriveva nella prefazione: “La sua musica resta controversa: per alcuni fu un profeta, per altri un ciarlatano. (...) Ayler resta oggi tanto controverso quanto esile è la base per una discussione obiettiva sul suo contributo alla musica degli anni Sessanta." Anche tra i colleghi musicisti c'era chi ne apprezzava la potenza innovativa e propulsiva e ...