My Name is Albert Ayler

My Name is Albert Ayler is a fantastic record, sounds of the new thing (I first heard that term from Amiri Baraka's book Black Music), as it appeared early in 1963. This is saxophonist Ayler's debut record, recorded in Copenhagen and first released on the Dutch Debut label. 

Personnel

• Albert Ayler - tenor saxophone (tracks 3-6), soprano saxophone (track 2), voice (track 1)
• Niels Brosted - piano (tracks 2-5)
• Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen - bass (tracks 2-6)
• Ronnie Gardiner - drums (tracks 2-6

The album has only three stars on Allmusic but what does Allmusic know? The fact of the matter is that although the band of Europeans (the two Niels) and the one American (Ronnie) is quite the typical straight ahead band, what Ayler does over the usual jazz construct, is create his own sound, playing himself, and creating a wondrous lyrical blues, a shout, a cry, a whisper if you will. This seems to be a response to Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, similar to Archie Shepp and Pharaoh Sanders, other great sax players of that revolutionary musical era. Its great that he went to Europe to play free jazz because his fame wouldn't have gone as far if he stayed in America.

What makes the record especially engaging for me is that well, I love jazz standards. I've heard most of the standards way more than a few times so when he plays all these tunes there's a certain legendary aura to them. I know all the melodies, all the chord changes, and when he plays what is unexpected I get quite a kick out of it, he's playing the standards we all (jazz fans) know but ultimately doing something different with them. That's the genius of this record. 

The Tunes
Bye Bye Blackbird
Billie's Bounce
Summertime 
On Green Dolphin Street 
C.T. (Ayler composition) 

On quite a few of these tunes a typical jazz fan who knows all these standards might say, "Well, this is a good band but the saxophonist isn't really playing the melody." In fact, what Ayler does on a lot of these tunes is use the basic harmonic framework (chords) for the tunes for improvisation of his own melodies, playing himself. His harmonies speak for themselves, sometimes shrill, a cry, this is what Baraka means when he says that free jazz is only spectacular when it stays close to its blues roots and doesn't get all intellectual. Of course I disagree because a lot of my free jazz heroes (The Art Ensemble of Chicago and other AACM musicians) are quite intellectual, even to the point of studying modern classical composers, serialism, etc. 

In a way you can only see the genius of this record is you're a free jazz acolyte. My favorite tune here is Billie's Bounce, a Charlie Parker tour de force. Even I know the head (main theme) to this tune on guitar. Here Ayler gets more straight ahead, and you can see the John Coltrane influence in his sheets of sound, long winded riffs played very fast. Its quite stunning.

As much as I like Bille's Bounce here the number one tune here would have to be Summertime, the Gershwin classic. The opening is such a blues, a wail.  I can assure you you've never heard Summertime like this before. Its a haunting, shrill cry of a saxophone sound. It sticks with you once you hear it. This is the blues. 

Another tune I dug very much was On Green Dolphin Street. I've heard this tune a million times and it always delivers with its driving melody. Here Ayler goes to Mars, almost like Coltrane's latest period stuff, he mixes 50s, early 60s style bebop phrasing with the new thing. Its my cup of tea. This particular tracks reminds me of Eric Dolphy a lot. Some of Ayler's phrasing doesn't even sound human, it sounds like an animal, like a bird, with the rhythms of frogs jumping in and out of pond.  

The Ayler original is pure free jazz at its best. No melody, no theme, mostly just call and response from the musicians. Given that this was his first original tune on a record, I would say its quite a great introduction to his music. This is where some people would scratch their heads and say,"What?"  In a way you either get it or you don't. For most jazz fans there is a fine line between straight ahead jazz and free jazz. In 1963 that line was very much quite apparent.

The rhythm section on the record is quite good. They play in a typical 1963 jazz fashion. It wasn't until later when Ayler teamed up with American musicians like Sonny Murray, Milford Graves, and Gary Peacock, that he started to develop more of the free jazz thing with a rhythm section that was more hip to his personal sound. But what can I say? These Europeans did a great job playing with an innovator. The drummer keeps time throughout the album. 

I recommend this album to anyone interested in the so-called new thing or free jazz. Or if you like Albert Ayler and never heard this particular record. Its on YouTube, and its quite good.