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Albert Ayler

Country: United States

Of all the figures of free jazz, the Cleveland-born tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936 to 1970) had the shortest career and one of the most radical visions. He first recorded in 1962 and was dead by 1970, drowned in New York's East River at thirty four, yet in those few years he articulated an aesthetic second only to Cecil Taylor's, a virtuoso art made out of anti-virtuoso means. Starting in rhythm and blues, he arrived in New York with a huge, keening tone and a repertoire of hymns, marches and folk tunes blown apart into pure sound; Spiritual Unity (1964) and Bells remain touchstones.

Vibrations
2023 stock. "Vibrations is the second album released by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet featuring Don Cherry, Gary Peacock, and Sonny Murray. The album was recorded in Copenhagen in September of 1964. Originally issued by the Fr…
Europe 1966
Super tip! Europe 1966 is a box set consisting of live performances from free jazz visionary Albert Ayler. Each of the 4 LPs highlight some of the most magnificent moments on this European tour, showcasing Ayler and his bandmates at the height of the…
Love Cry
Tip! Love Cry (1968) is a true Albert Ayler manifesto: a sometimes disorienting combination of childish dirges, band music and folk melodies, all revised according to the New Thing perspective. Experimental album (for the time) containing some of the…
Something Different!!!
Recorded in Stockholm on October 25th, 1962, this session marks one of Ayler's earliest recordings, featuring a European backing group he assembled during his brief stay there, before returning to the States in 1963 and beginning his legendary run wi…
In Greenwich Village
Originally released in 1967, Ayler's first LP on Impulse! and arguably his best for the label. "During 1967-69 avant-garde innovator Albert Ayler recorded a series of albums for Impulse that started on a high level and gradually declined in quality. …
Summertime To Spiritual Unity Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! Summertime from the LP My Name Is Albert Ayler made me discover Albert Ayler. His unique interpretation of Summertime motivated me to go to Lörrach crossing the border from Switzerland to Germany to listen to the concert of the…
Lost Performances 1966
Temporary Super Offer! "Rare performances and concerts. The Sound of the Munich Filmprodction and the concert of Helsinki are first releases. The Rotterdam concert was available in the Holy Ghost bootleg box." – Werner X. Uehlinger. "Albert Ayler’s l…
Esp-Disk
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* In October 2018, Steve Holtje, the mastermind of the pioneering American music label ESP, was invited by the 8th OCT-LOFT International Jazz Festival to give a lecture in Shenzhen entitled "55 Years of Pioneering …
At Slugs’ Saloon 1966, Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! 'Among the jazz innovators, Albert Ayler is still considered a solitary figure to this day. From 1964 on he pursued his vision with firm determination. Like no other artist he used well-known melodies from military, marching, b…
The Hilversum Sessions
Our Swimmer present a reissue of Albert Ayler's The Hilversum Sessions, originally released in 1980. "Recorded in the Dutch city of Hilversum, The Hilversum Sessions presents Albert Ayler in all his blowzy, testifying glory, fronting a quartet that i…
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First Recordings Vol. 2
Tip! *300 copies limited edition* Recorded in Stockholm on October 25, 1962, this session is one of Albert Ayler's earliest recordings, featuring a European backing group he assembled during his brief stay there, before returning to the States in 196…
First Recordings Vol. 1
Tip! *300 copies limited edition* Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I…
Spirits Rejoice! Albert Ayler and his message (Book)
No music swung as erratically between extremes as his: folk song, march or acoustic apocalypse – anything was possible in the cosmos of Albert Ayler’s soundscapes. With his furious instrumental glossolalia and his pathos-laden ballads, the musician f…
La Cave Live, Cleveland 1966
the first authorized release by permission of the Estate of Albert Ayler of the two concerts played at La Cave, Cleveland on April 16 & 17, 1966. Remastered for best possible sound of these under difficult technical circumstances recorded performance…
New York Eye And Ear Control 1964, Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! Ezz-Thetics presents New York Eye And Ear Control 1964, Revisited. Albert Ayle tenor saxophone, Don Cherry cornet & trumpet, John Tchicai alto saxophone, Roswell Rudd trombone, Gary Peacock double bass and Sunny Murray drums. A…
Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm - Revisited
In the fall of 1966, Albert Ayler embarked on a European tour with his current quintet. For the first time, the four recorded concerts previously issued by Hat are presented here in one package, in chronological order. The group included his brother,…
Spirits Rejoice & Bells - Revisited
Together, ‘Spirits Rejoice’ and ‘Bell’s encapsulate a four month period where long-gestating ideas of Ayler’s were birthed, helping to usher in a conception of music unlike virtually anything else extant, paving the way for his own adventures of the …
New Grass
Albert Ayler's 1969 album New Grass has been misunderstood from the day of its release. The album finds Ayler experimenting with soul music and digging back into his R&B roots (he started his career playing saxophone with Chicago bluesman Little Walt…
Something Different! The First Recordings Vol. 1 & 2
The complete session finally back on CD! Recorded in Stockholm on October 25th, 1962, this session marks one of Ayler's earliest recordings, featuring a European backing group he assembled during his brief stay there, before returning to the States i…
Prophecy
With the essential sidemen to express his unique voice and approach to free jazz, saxophonist Albert Ayler, double bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray, recorded these sessions in 1964 for the ESP label as "Prophecy", this excellent reissue…
Spirits To Ghosts
Three variations of quartet settings from iconoclastic free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, remastering and combining two Debut Records albums, "Spirits" from 1964 and 1965's "Ghosts"
Spiritual Unity
2023 repress. LP version. 180 gram virgin vinyl, with original artwork restored. Spiritual Unity, recorded on July 10, 1964, is the album that made Albert Ayler and ESP-Disk' famous (or, in some people's eyes/ears, infamous). Mr. Ayler had already re…
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Recorded in Stockholm, October 25th, 1962
On this double album, the Albert Ayler Trio consisted of Ayler, bassist Torbjörn Hultcrantz and drummer Sune Spångberg. These four dissonant songs recorded during their live performance on 24 October 1962 were issued on the Bird Notes label in Sweden…
Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe - Fragments of Music,
"Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe is a powerful and often ignored recording from the Albert Ayler catalog. It is a prophetic statement dealing with guilt, confusion, sorrow, and hopes of redemption. A powerful rhythm section of Bobby Few on…
Bells
Reissue on 180-gram opaque white vinyl. Originally released in 1965. The transitional "Bells" was just under 20 minutes, released originally as one side of a clear vinyl LP with the other side empty of music. It was recorded at a May 1, 1965, Town…
The First Recordings Vol. 1
Recorded in Stockholm on October 25, 1962, this session is one of Albert Ayler's earliest recordings, and features a European backing group he assembled during his brief stay in Sweden before returning to the States in 1963 and beginning his legen…
Ghosts
"I have to admit that this record contains some of the most intriguing and wicked music I ever experienced. And I say that from the point of view of a John Coltrane aficionado. Well, Ayler and his mates Don Cherry on trumpet, Sonny Murray on drums an…
The First Recordings Vol. 2
Recorded in Stockholm on October 25, 1962, this session is one of Albert Ayler's earliest recordings, featuring a European backing group he assembled during his brief stay there, before returning to the States in 1963 and beginning his legendary run …
My Name Is Albert Ayler
Originally released in 1964, My Name Is Albert Ayler, is the debut album from legendary free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. Recorded in Copenhagen with a Scandinavian rhythm section this album sets the stage for the sheer brilliance that was to co…
Bells/Prophecy: Expanded Edition
** 2020 restock, nice price** Albert Ayler's trio with Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray is best known for the July 10, 1964, recording of Spiritual Unity (ESPDISK 1002CD), the album that made both Ayler and ESP-Disk' famous when it was released in 1965.…
Spirits Rejoice
Live recording of Albert Ayler's large septet configuration, featuring brother Donald, Charles Tyler, Sunny Murray and both Henry Grimesand Gary Peacock on bass. Compared to the bare trio of Spiritual Unity, this nearly big band of two bass players a…
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Lorrach, Paris 1966
"The enthusiasm of the Paris audience, the strong following the Aylershad in France does not come as a total surprise, For, as the musician and his brother explained in the Down Beat story: if you really understoodthe message of Sidney Bechet, you sh…
Stockholm, Berlin 1966
Hard to believe that this far down the line there would still be unreleased recordings of Albert Ayler, never mind a full live set from the apex of his reign, the glorious 1966 tour of Europe, so I nearly did a double take when I first saw this title…
Live in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, July 25th, 1970
White vinyl LP release of saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet with pianist Call Cobbs, bassist Steve Tintweiss, and drummer Allen Blairman performing in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France in 1970 (LP 1 of 2). Just a few months before Albert Ayler presumab…
Live in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, July 27th, 1970
Grey vinyl LP release of saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet with pianist Call Cobbs, bassist Steve Tintweiss, and drummer Allen Blairman performing in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France in 1970 "Just a few months before Albert Ayler presumably jumped to …
Swing Low Sweet Spiritual
Following a few years spent living and playing in Scandinavia, an unknown saxophone player by the name of Albert Ayler returned home to the USA to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world. Having recorded his debut album, My Nam…
Spirits
After a few years spent living in Sweden and touring with Cecil Taylor's Jazz Unit, Ayler moved to NYC to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world through a number of groundbreaking records. Spirits, recorded at Atlantic Studios…
The Hilversum Session
Originally recorded in 1964. Featured artists: Albert Ayler (tenor saxophone); Sunny Murray (percussion); Gary Peacock (bass); Don Cherry (cornet). The legendary recording, digitally remastered with new artwork, and liners by Russ Musto. Includes fre…
Holy ghost
By 1958, Albert Ayler and his horn had made some rounds: from boy prodigy to teenage member of Little Walter's Blues Band, from "Little Bird" of Cleveland to featured US Army Band soloist. Then he resolutely set out to forget everything he'd ever lea…