Albert Ayler (born July 13th, 1936 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio – New York Ci… Read Full Bio ↴Albert Ayler (born July 13th, 1936 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio – New York City, November 1970) was the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s. He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved by using the stiffest plastic reeds he could find on his tenor saxophone—and a broad, pathos-filled vibrato that came right out of church music. His trio and quartet records of 1964, like 'Spiritual Unity' and 'The Hilversum Sessions', show him advancing the improvisational notions of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman into abstract realms where timbre, not harmony and melody, is the music's backbone. His ecstatic music of 1965 and 1966, like "Spirits Rejoice" and "Truth is Marching In" has been compared by critics to the sound of a Salvation Army brass band, and involved simple, march-like themes which alternated with wild group improvisations and took jazz back to its pre-Louis Armstrong roots.
Ayler remains something of a cult artist. "Ghosts"—with its bouncy, sing-song melody (rather reminiscent of a nursery rhyme)—is probably his best known tune, and is something of a free jazz standard, having been covered by Lester Bowie, Gary Windo, Eugene Chadbourne, Joe McPhee, John Tchicai and Ken Vandermark, among others.
Saxophonist Mars Williams led a group called Witches and Devils, which was not only named after an Ayler song, but which covered several of his songs.
Peter Brötzmann's Die Like A Dog Quartet is a group loosely dedicated to Ayler. A record called 'Little Birds Have Fast Hearts' references Ayler's youthful nickname.
In 2005, guitarist Marc Ribot (who has occasionally performed Ayler's songs for some years) released an album dedicated to the ethic of collective improvisation, entitled 'Spiritual Unity' in honor of Ayler's 1964 album of the same name. Ribot's Spiritual Unity Quartet, dedicated to music by and for Albert Ayler, has toured and played more than 50 concerts in 15 countries in the past few years. The quartet includes Ayler bassist Henry Grimes, who played, toured, and recorded with Albert Ayler (1964-66), trumpeter Roy Campbell, Jr., and drummer Chad Taylor.
On his 1969 album 'Folkjokeopus', English guitarist/singer Roy Harper dedicated the song "One for All" ("One for Al") to Albert Ayler "who I knew and loved during my time in Copenhagen". Harper considered Ayler to be "one of the leading jazzmen of the age". Within the Folkejokeopus liner notes Harper states, "In many ways he (Ayler) was the king".
The Albert Ayler Trio's album Spiritual Unity is well known to have been a major influence on Paul McCartney during the recording of The Beatles' celebrated album 'Revolver'.
Ayler remains something of a cult artist. "Ghosts"—with its bouncy, sing-song melody (rather reminiscent of a nursery rhyme)—is probably his best known tune, and is something of a free jazz standard, having been covered by Lester Bowie, Gary Windo, Eugene Chadbourne, Joe McPhee, John Tchicai and Ken Vandermark, among others.
Saxophonist Mars Williams led a group called Witches and Devils, which was not only named after an Ayler song, but which covered several of his songs.
Peter Brötzmann's Die Like A Dog Quartet is a group loosely dedicated to Ayler. A record called 'Little Birds Have Fast Hearts' references Ayler's youthful nickname.
In 2005, guitarist Marc Ribot (who has occasionally performed Ayler's songs for some years) released an album dedicated to the ethic of collective improvisation, entitled 'Spiritual Unity' in honor of Ayler's 1964 album of the same name. Ribot's Spiritual Unity Quartet, dedicated to music by and for Albert Ayler, has toured and played more than 50 concerts in 15 countries in the past few years. The quartet includes Ayler bassist Henry Grimes, who played, toured, and recorded with Albert Ayler (1964-66), trumpeter Roy Campbell, Jr., and drummer Chad Taylor.
On his 1969 album 'Folkjokeopus', English guitarist/singer Roy Harper dedicated the song "One for All" ("One for Al") to Albert Ayler "who I knew and loved during my time in Copenhagen". Harper considered Ayler to be "one of the leading jazzmen of the age". Within the Folkejokeopus liner notes Harper states, "In many ways he (Ayler) was the king".
The Albert Ayler Trio's album Spiritual Unity is well known to have been a major influence on Paul McCartney during the recording of The Beatles' celebrated album 'Revolver'.
Summertime
Albert Ayler Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Albert Ayler:
Bye Bye Blackbird No one here can love or understand me Oh, what hard…
Heart Love Heart love Heart love Heart love Heart that is full of love …
Introduction By Albert Ayler Cómo tú te llama yo no sé Cómo tú te llama…
Island Harvest If you work all day and your heart ain't in…
On Green Dolphin Street It seems like a dream, yet I know it happened A…
Spirits ...Occhi socchiusi e mani quasi troppo fredde Si uniscono so…
Universal Indians vocalizations…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Marc Jacobs
@Marat Azaryan big hug back!
🤩🤩🤩🤩
Ik zit eraan te denken om weer eens een 10-daagse te doen. Er zijn nu ook 3 of 4 centers in China, dus....
Het gaat.
Zit in een proces.
Veel hoofdpijn nu en hersens niet stabiel.
Afijn.
Let's see!
We'll meet again somwhere. :-)
pedro a. cantero
Rebelde hasta en lo más sencillo, incluyendo el bramido en tan hermosa balada. Aquel verano inolvidable del que todos tenemos recuerdo. Música de fiesta, de trance, de locura, desbordando alegría, rabia, amor. «Yo toco para la belleza que surgirá tras los conflictos y las ansiedades. Esta música habla de gritos tras la guerra; quiero decir gritos de amor que ya pueden oírse entre aquellos jóvenes que aparecerán cuando los hombres que buscan la paz alcanzarán la paz espiritual ».
Axel Azaryan
Mi versión favorita de Summertime
Gracias Albert por tanto
Federico R
The fact that the rest of the quartet is playing the standard the 'straight' way makes Ayler's way of playing that much more heart wrenching.
It's as if the saxophone is estranged from the rest of the family and is crying because of it
Willie Dynamite
His playing is almost the total opposite in tone compared to the rest of the quartet. Those shriek's sound like cries.
Willie Dynamite
This is a criminally underrated beautiful haunting cover of one of Gershwin's finest compositions.
Leeloo Boublil
Found this song through a QR code in LA… I love it ❤️
Paul O'Donnell
mind bogglingly brilliant !
Ludwig SMODILLA
My favorite versions of Summertime : Albert Ayler and Cat Anderson
ard Smith
Mindblowingly sublime !!
Udo Matthias drums
still love it!!