Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler (July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.
After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. However, some critics argue that while Ayler's style is undeniably original and unorthodox, it does not adhere to the generally accepted critical understanding of free jazz. In fact, Ayler's style is difficult to categorize in any way, and it evoked incredibly strong and disparate reactions from critics and fans alike.His innovations have inspired subsequent jazz musicians.
His trio and quartet records of 1964, such as Spiritual Unity and The Hilversum Session, show him advancing the improvisational notions of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman into abstract realms where whole timbre, and not just mainly harmony with melody, is the music's backbone. His ecstatic music of 1965 and 1966, such as "Spirits Rejoice" and "Truth Is Marching In", has been compared by critics to the sound of a brass band, and involved simple, march-like themes which alternated with wild group improvisations and were regarded as retrieving jazz's pre-Louis Armstrong roots.
==Links to Peel==
According to available tracklistings, Peel played a track by Ayler on 21 August 1968, on his Night Ride show. No other plays of the saxophonist's music are known, but his early LPs for ESP-Disk were available on import in London and he was one of the rare jazz musicians to have an underground following.
Peel's copy of the musician's 'Bells' album was displayed as part of the Record Collection: V&A LPs displayed between 2016 and 2017 in London's Victoria & Albert Museum.
==Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1968
*21 August 1968: Bells (presumably not all of, as it was an album made up of one 20-minute track) ESP-Disk 1010
;1998
*10 September 1998: Our Prayer (album - In Greenwich Village) Impulse!
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists