clifford_thornton Posted April 2, 2004 Report Share Posted April 2, 2004 I love Mutawef Shaheed! Can October come any sooner?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted April 2, 2004 Report Share Posted April 2, 2004 Is that Pharoah cut from the aborted Jihad date? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted May 1, 2004 Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 More news from the fantastic Ayler site http://www.ayler.supanet.com/ May 1 2004 News Revenant Records - Albert Ayler Box Set When Dean Blackwood of Revenant Records first sent me a list of some of the items to be included in the forthcoming box set there was one particular session which held no interest for me whatsoever - a rehearsal session for the New Grass LP. New Grass is one of two 'official' Ayler albums which I don't possess in some form or other, but I did once own a copy for as long as it takes to listen to it. I think I've mentioned the story somewhere else on this site about a friend of mine buying New Grass, hating it, giving it to me, and my chucking it away in disgust. New Grass I've always accepted as Ayler's aberration, selling his soul to Bob Thiele for a mess of pottage, selling out his hardcore avant-garde fans, betraying his brother Don, and beginning the inevitable slide into the East River. So, more of New Grass I don't need to hear. Then Mr. Blackwood kindly sends me a CD sampler of some of the tracks from the big box and there's this one 6 minute 'untitled blues' with a rock steady backing of piano, bass and drums with Albert blistering away over the top and, of course, it's from the New Grass rehearsal session. It is quite amazing. I'm not saying it changes my opinion of New Grass, but it does mean that there's more to the story of that record than we have so far been told. Albert Ayler (tenor saxophone, vocal, recitation); Call Cobbs (piano, Rocksichord); Bill Folwell (electric bass guitar); Bernard Purdie (drums); Mary Parks (vocal, tambourine); one Unknown (vocal). Recorded ca. late August, 1968 in New York City 1. untitled blues [demo] (6:17) 2. untitled sermon [demo] (1:45) 3. Thank God for Women [demo] (10:22) 4. New Ghosts [demo] (6:40) *** New Slug’s A new, remastered version of Live at Slug’s Saloon is due for release on 27th April from Lonehill. It’s a single CD, entitled ‘Complete Live at Slug's Saloon Recordings’ and according to the blurb offers: ‘The complete performance for the first time on one CD. This outstanding 66-minute set was recorded May 1, 1966.’ I’m not sure yet but it would appear that this is the version of Slug’s which was released in 1990 by the German label, Jazz Door, as In Memory Of Albert Ayler - at least the running time’s the same. Although In Memory Of Albert Ayler is a single CD version of the tracks on the original two volume LP release (on the Italian Base label), it does not include the extra 16 minute track, ‘Initiation’ which first appeared on a Japanese version of Slug’s. I haven’t seen a track listing for the Lonehill release yet, but if it doesn’t contain ‘Initiation’ and you’re looking to buy the ‘complete performance’ then it’s available as two separate CDs from ESP, or you may still be able to find the double CD version on the Get Back label which will probably be the cheaper option. *** The Weird and Wacky World of Albert Ayler - Flying Saucers and H. P. Lovecraft After last month's piece about the La Cave sessions, Richard Koloda sent me a link to the Cleveland Scene about a UFO sighting which occurred on April 17th 1966 when Albert Ayler was playing in his home town. Since the article was dated April 1st I was a little sceptical at first but it turned out to be genuine, or as genuine as all these things are. According to Richard: "It made the headlines of the next day's Plain Dealer and was the inspiration for the chase scene in Close Encounters (apparently the cops chased it into Pennsylvania from Mantua Ohio which is ca. 10 miles from AA's house)." Maybe Sun Ra was checking out the competition. And thanks to Guy Kopelowicz who put my mind at ease regarding which bits of H.P. Lovecraft some desperate French sleevenote writer chose to describe the decidedly uncthulhu-like First Recordings. "The whining of those impious flutes was shocking, and he would have given worlds for some even half-normal sound; but these toad-things had no voices, and the slaves did not talk." This is probably only of interest to me, but Guy sent me a photocopy of the back cover of the Stateside LP and I tracked down the quotes to 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath', so if you’re interested in the French Lovecraft/Ayler connection, you’ll find them here. At least it’s solved one mystery for me, that weird cover of the single taken from New Grass - that was also issued by Stateside in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 And thanks to Guy Kopelowicz who put my mind at ease regarding which bits of H.P. Lovecraft some desperate French sleevenote writer chose to describe the decidedly uncthulhu-like First Recordings. "The whining of those impious flutes was shocking, and he would have given worlds for some even half-normal sound; but these toad-things had no voices, and the slaves did not talk." This is probably only of interest to me, but Guy sent me a photocopy of the back cover of the Stateside LP and I tracked down the quotes to 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath', so if you’re interested in the French Lovecraft/Ayler connection, you’ll find them here. At least it’s solved one mystery for me, that weird cover of the single taken from New Grass - that was also issued by Stateside in France. Guy is an Organissimo guy under a different name... and a good guy at that. Thanks for the continuing updates on this box. Man! Serious cash, but I really have to get this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 The "Wire Tapper 11" attached to the latest issue of "The Wire" (June 04) includes an "Untitled Blues" taken from: "Holy Ghost (Rare & Unissued Recordings)", Revenant Records, 9CDs. That's a good sign I hope! Bring it on! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 The "Wire Tapper 11" attached to the latest issue of "The Wire" (June 04) includes an "Untitled Blues" taken from: "Holy Ghost (Rare & Unissued Recordings)", Revenant Records, 9CDs. That's a good sign I hope! Bring it on! ubu I received that Wire Tapper 11. The 'Untitled Blues' was a rehearsal tune for the 'New Grass' album on Impulse. Not really Ayler's best. But the 12-bar blues turns out to be very enjoyable. From what I heard from Revenant, the box is coming ahead and should be out in October as scheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted June 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 Nine CDs?! Oh my Lord & pocketbook... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 more news from the supranet site June 1 2004 News Revenant Records - Albert Ayler Box Set With Albert Ayler, sometimes it's not the purely musical moments which raise the hairs on the back of the neck: the laugh at the end of 'Change Has Come' on Live in Greenwich Village, an involuntary explosion of pure joy; the reaction of the crowd to 'Ghosts' on the BluJazz bootleg of the first Fondation Maeght concert with that feeling of all sins being forgiven; and then there's that moment of magic at the end of the spoken introduction on My Name Is Albert Ayler when Ayler says “One day everything will be as it should be” and 'Bye, Bye Blackbird' fades in. Over the years that brief bit of autobiography has assumed much greater significance than was ever intended. It probably made sense to Ayler and the record's producers to include the spoken introduction since this was Ayler's debut album, but as far as I know no one else ever did it. In fact, one American release of 'My Name' dispensed with it altogether, probably because it didn't fit the image of the wild, free, iconoclastic jazzman that they were trying to promote - that quiet, courteous voice, telling the world that he also played golf in high school, did not really conform to the politics of the time and the marketing schemes adopted for the new black music. Ayler probably thought little of it back in 1963, there'd be plenty of opportunities to get his message across and let his voice be heard - plenty of interviews, radio and TV broadcasts, even a documentary film. But, everything seemed to vanish apart from that 1 minute 20 seconds of a young, hesitant but essentially optimistic Albert telling us that “one day everything will be as it should be”. So, it will be interesting to see how our perceptions of the spoken introduction on 'My Name' change when Revenant release their box set which includes 2 CDs of Ayler interviews. For any other artist the announcement that a 9 CD set contains only 7 CDs of music would be greeted with cries of foul (or "what a swizz" as we used to say), but not so with Ayler. So little documentary evidence remains of the man that it could be said that the two interview CDs are perhaps the most important of the lot, particularly to jazz historians. Not only do they contain two brief interviews from Denmark, one from 1964, the other from the European tour of '66, Revenant have also secured the complete Daniel Caux interview which was recently reprinted in The Wire. And to top it all there's an interview with a Japanese journalist, Kiyoshi Koyama, recorded at the Fondation Maeght in July 1970 which is almost an hour long. So, come October we're going to be hearing Albert Ayler speak again, and this time for a lot longer than 1 minute 20 seconds. *** Ayler’s Influence David Willems emailed the other day to ask if I could point him in the direction of other musicians who might be carrying on Ayler’s musical style, particularly that of the Live in Greenwich Village period. I had to confess my ignorance on the matter but I said I’d mention it on the message board (there is one on the site, although it doesn’t get much use - you’ll find it at the bottom of this page) and see if anyone else could help. I’ve told him about the Versions and Tributes pages on the site which should give him some idea of where to look, but if anyone knows of contemporary ‘Greenwich Village’ style Aylers out there, leave him a message on the board. *** http://www.ayler.supanet.com/html/what_s_new.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 This came up on the Coltrane list earlier today: Dean Blackwood from Revenant sent me a sampler from the to be released in September nine CD Albert Ayler boxed set (I loaned him a flyer from Slugs Saloon to use in the booklet). Here's a heads up on what I have heard. The notes on the CD sleeve only give city and year, so while I believe some of this material is on the Ayler tree done on this mailing list a couple of years ago, I'm not positive, not having done A/B comparisons. The sound quality for the most part is very good. Truth Is Marching In (Germany-1966)-from disc 4 of the tree Summertime (Finland-1962)-his earliest recordings, not known to be in circulation. Rhythm section plus guitar, done in mainstream style, even Ayler, sort of. Not a great solo, structurally, but enjoyable. Mothers (Denmark-1964)-from disc 2 of the tree Ghosts (NYC-1964)-from disc 1 of the tree Untitled Blues (NYC 1968)-quartet (piano, bass, drums)-mid tempo blues, band plays it straight, Ayler wails. Not that hot. Untitled Sermon (NYC-1968)-one minute of prediction of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Free Spiritual Musics, Part IV (The Netherlands-1966)-I remember this song as Change Has Come. With Donald, Sampson, bass, drums, possibly a second bass or cello. Good stuff. Untitled (Cleveland-1966)-duet with Sampson. There is audience applause, so I would imagine this is from their first meeting, at La Cave. Sampson was guesting with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and stopped by the club after his nearby gig at Severance Hall. They already play well together. Our Prayer (Germany-1966)-from disc 4 of the tree Interview #1 (Denmark 1964)-he gives his plans for the future and talks about the inevitability of breaking out of the old structures. Interview #2 (Denmark 1966)-he speaks of playing with Trane, of various drummers, and of true believers. Jack [Lefton] Yum, yum. Simon Weil I just got a copy of this sampler today but can't listen to it until I get home from work. Man.....those Revenant guys. Even the pre-release sampler comes in cool packaging. Jeez.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Copies of the sampler have already made their way to eBay. Albert Ayler 11-Track Sampler CD from Revenant Box Set Albert Ayler 11-Track Sampler CD from Revenant Box Set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Copies of the sampler have already made their way to eBay. Albert Ayler 11-Track Sampler CD from Revenant Box Set Albert Ayler 11-Track Sampler CD from Revenant Box Set That's funny. I'm borrowing mine from a buddy at work who got it from Dean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Man, oh man... I can't wait to get this box & do a radio special around it. My, my! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 For any other artist the announcement that a 9 CD set contains only 7 CDs of music would be greeted with cries of foul (or "what a swizz" as we used to say), but not so with Ayler Well, put me down as one of those crying foul on this development. Interviews are o.k. to hear once or twice, but to have two cds be nothing but interviews on what will be a very expensive set, is, to my view, terrible. I would much rather have nine complete cds of unissued music then seven. A big negitive move to my mind, and one which might affect my willingness to buy the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Weil Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 For any other artist the announcement that a 9 CD set contains only 7 CDs of music would be greeted with cries of foul (or "what a swizz" as we used to say), but not so with Ayler Well, put me down as one of those crying foul on this development. Interviews are o.k. to hear once or twice, but to have two cds be nothing but interviews on what will be a very expensive set, is, to my view, terrible. I would much rather have nine complete cds of unissued music then seven. A big negitive move to my mind, and one which might affect my willingness to buy the set. This is a valid point, which I'm sure Revenant considered. The obverse of it, as Patrick Regan (who puts together the Ayler site) said is that there's so little interview material available. Not only does this make a brand new interview available, you also get to hear Albert's voice over an extensive period. I cannot tell you how often I have gone over the spoken introduction to "My name is Albert Ayler", listening to the nuances of tone and the trend of what he's saying - but also to the overall quality of his voice. Now granted this is a bit obsessive, but that's what this box is about - obsessive. You simply won't be buying 9CDs of the marvellous, if underrated, artist at a premium price if you're not pretty damn obsessed. Two CDs of intense listening for me, but I'm verbal. Simon Weil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 I'm pretty much with Simon (on the obsession level!) I'm looking forward to two cds of interviews . . . . I have more than that on the recent Ayler "tree" of interviews of musicians that worked with Ayler, and really enjoy listening and RElistening to those. So I'm sure I'll be delighted to hear these two cds! It DOES add to the cost of the set, and I wish there were two more cds of music too. . . to make an eleven cd set! I'll continue to go deeper into debt to have this set. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 I understand your points, it's just I wished there was another way to do the interviews, such as, being able to download them off the Revenant web-site (each set could come with a unique password for access), or just print the interviews, with, maybe a short 15 minute interview to conclude the set so we could hear Ayler's voice. I know that I'll get this set first thing when it comes out, I just feel that my "bang-for-the-buck" music value has been lessened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Some additional news - from the ayler.supanet site on the Revenant box: What's New July 1 2004 News Revenant Records - Albert Ayler Box Set The First and the Last Recordings The Revenant box set (due for release in October) is much more than a random compilation of unissued Ayler sessions, it is more an attempt to present a new version of Ayler's musical progression. By plugging some of the gaps in Ayler's recorded legacy with previously unheard recordings, it almost amounts to an alternate history of Albert Ayler. Sometimes the two worlds collide when familiar (but difficult to get hold of) material appears, such as the extra Cellar Cafe session from the Albert Smiles With Sunny CD, or the Berlin Jazz Festival tracks from the wonderful world of the Italian bootleg industry. And to maintain the historical aspect of the set Revenant have also included one of the Ayler-Cherry Quartet sessions, released in 2002 as The Copenhagen Tapes. But the overall effect is to put more flesh on the bare bones of Ayler's recorded output. In that sense it carries on the process which began almost immediately after Ayler's untimely death - more than half of the Ayler albums in the discography were released posthumously. However, rather than sporadically released single LPs and CDs, the advantage of the Revenant box set is that all this new material is put into context and presented chronologically. And so, quite fittingly, it begins with Ayler's first recording - with the Herbert Katz Quintet in Helsinki, Finland in June 1962, and ends with his last known recording, at the Village Vacances Famille in St. Paul de Vence in July 1970. I'd always assumed that the Helsinki recording was somehow connected to the World Youth Festival that was held in Helsinki in 1962 and that Ayler was part of the American contingent of avant-garde jazzmen (including Bill Dixon, Jimmy Giuffre, Herbie Nichols, Perry Robinson and Archie Shepp) who performed at the festival. Apparently this was not the case and Ayler appears to have been living in Finland at the time, playing on a regular basis with the Herbert Katz Quintet. On the one hand this is a pity since there's a load of information about the C.I.A. involvement in the 1962 World Youth Festival on the internet which would be wonderful to weave into the Ayler myth - especially since the Finnish Jazz Archive is spookily lacking in information about Albert Ayler, or the World Youth Festival. On the other hand the image of Ayler touring Finland with this very straight modern jazz group does bring to mind that brilliant Swedish film from 1976, 'Sven Klang's Quintet'. The Helsinki recording is from a radio broadcast so the sound quality is excellent. So far I've only heard one track but that's an incredible version of 'Summertime'. Ayler is still recognisably Ayler, but his playing is far more restrained than on The First Recordings or his other version of 'Summertime' on My Name Is Albert Ayler, and the other members of the band supply a completely straightforward reading of the tune. Remove Ayler from the track and it would be the blandest modern jazz but with Ayler in the mix it naturally becomes something else entirely. On The First Recordings and My Name Is Albert Ayler, Ayler was the leader, trying to find his own approach to the old jazz standards, working with musicians who weren't entirely in tune with his ideas. Before the massive leap into Witches and Devils these records were the only evidence the critics had to link Ayler to the jazz tradition. The Helsinki session adds another piece to the puzzle. This is Ayler, not as leader but as sideman, and not in a one-off recording session, but as part of a working group. It's fascinating to hear the tension in his playing, the obvious urge to slip the bonds dampened by a polite restraint. The full details of the session are as follows: Herbert Katz Quintet: Katz (guitar) with Albert Ayler (tenor saxophone); Teuvo Suojärvi (piano); Heikki Annala (bass); Martti Äijänen (drums). Recorded June 30, 1962 in Helsinki, Finland 1. Sonnymoon for Two (Sonny Rollins) 8:29 2. Summertime (George Gershwin–Ira Gershwin) 6:53 3. On Green Dolphin Street (Bronislau Kaper) 3:26 And from the first to the last: Ayler's impromptu performance after his two concerts at the Fondation Maeght. According to Steve Tintweiss: "It was an add-on performance at 'Villages Vacances Tourisme' which was a retreat of tourist villas outside of St Paul de Vence near Nice, where we were staying. Although the management did not want to open up the attendance to our fans who were not guests there, we insisted, so they were allowed in. It was all by word-of-mouth, but the news spread quickly. There was an informal set-up, an upright piano, no bass amplification at all, and only one ancient P.A. microphone which we didn't really use. The audience was seated on what may have been folding chairs." One member of that audience was Denis Benoliel, whose account of the concert can be found on the Ayler Remembered page. I've not heard any of this material and given the circumstances I'm not expecting a professional recording.However, that anything has survived is quite astonishing. This is the last known recording of Albert Ayler, recorded in an informal setting, playing what he wants to play, free from all restraints. The full details of the session are as follows: Albert Ayler Quartet: Ayler (tenor saxophone) with Call Cobbs (piano); Steve Tintweiss (bass); Allen Blairman (drums); prob. Mary Maria (tambourine, hand-clapping). Recorded prob. July 28, 1970 at La Colle sur Loup: Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France 1. Mothers/Children 8:42 2. [untitled, incomplete] 14:14 3. [C minor] 5:21 4. [F minor/C minor] 10:36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 This keep on sounding like a set for the ages, but the 2 cds worth on interviews still bugs that heck out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 I'm STOKED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 I'm stoked too... Anybody seen a list price for this puppy yet? I'll definitely check the usual suspects--Deep Discount, CD Universe, Amazon's, etc.--when it comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danasgoodstuff Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Count me among the "totally stoked". I've been going through an intense Ayler thing in anticipation. I've even come to appreciate the 'with strings' bands/recordings, listened to the Impulse dbl Live in the Village the other night and it all made perfect sense, Even Sampson whose playing I'd previously had more trouble with than any of his regular sideman...(this is not an anti-violin thing, I love Charles Burnam, Stuff Smith, Billy Bang and all sorts of country fiddlers). Any recommendations on the best sound quality version of Spiritual Unity to tide me over? Also, anyone know of sheet music (tunes and/or solos); a sax teacher wrote out Ghosts for me, sometimes it's the only thing I feel like playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 (edited) Someone's just posted a link to this on AAJ - NOW I'M EXCITED http://home.austin.rr.com/subculture/news.htm Edited July 9, 2004 by Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Gary Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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