Albert Ayler

The first time I heard Albert Ayler's playing, I felt exhilaration that such a sound was even possible! HUGE! Sonorous! Cutting! Penetrating! Coming up through R&B and Bebop, Ayler became a true titan of the avant-garde Free Jazz movement in the 1960s. If you've never heard his playing, before diving into his truly 'outside' music, give his performance of the classic "Summertime" a listen. All of it is there to be heard in a recognizable melody which helps one to situate themselves in the essentials of his technique: strong vibrato, some overblowing, and large leaps in timbre. 

While immersed in the culture of Free Jazz, Ayler was unique. In some ways, his music harkened back to the earliest days of New Orleans Jazz, with frequent marching band melodies (as in the blistering Bells), as well as his integration of children's songs and gospel hymns. Ayler grew up in a religious family, and spiritual concerns were always present in his music, as his titles clearly show. However, Ayler deconstructed the melody and harmony and presented his playing as a deep exploration of the actual physicality of the saxophone and the physical act of blowing a sax. His use of a thick plastic reed too brings its own physicality to the overall sound and volume!

Ayler, like Eric Dolphy, was also interested in microtonality, trying to find the sounds between the notes of any particular scale or mode. Similarly, he sought to do the same rhythmically, resisting rigid time signatures for a more breathy pulsing, which fell right in line with the approach of his drummer, the legendary Sunny Murray! Jazz historian, Ted Gioia, writes about Ayler as a "virtuoso of the coarse and anomalous" and claims that Ayler aimed to break away from the constraints of playing notes and instead to "enter into a new realm in which the saxophone created 'sound'" When I first read that, I recognized what thrilled me about Ayler's playing: I've always been more interested in music as sound -- the sound of music -- more than any other aspect, and Ayler definitely produced sounds no one else before him ever had. Of course, there were also those who only heard noise where I heard joy-infused soul music!

My first exposure to his music was through the records released by ESP-Disk Records. His trio featuring Gary Peacock on bass and Sunny Murray on drums recorded Spiritual Unity in 1964 and was released in early 1965. This album includes his signature theme, "Ghosts" which he recorded frequently over the years. "Ghosts" was one of the first pieces I learned to play on sax, though I played alto. Give a listen and you can here his emphasizing of timbre as a central aspect of his improvisation, along with melody and harmony. 

That same year, Ayler recorded an improvised soundtrack for Canadian filmmaker, Michael Snow's New York Eye And Ear Control. For this album, Ayler had Don Cherry on trumpet, John Tchicai on alto sax, and Roswell Rudd on trombone added to his band. And then later that year, Ayler, Peacock, Murray, and Cherry traveled to Scandinavia for a tour where they recorded another three albums!

The next year's Spirits Rejoice features a rousing march that explodes into some furious jamming, featuring an expanded band with his brother Donald on trumpet, Charles Tyler on alto sax, Call Cobbs on harpsichord on "Angels" and adding Henry Grimes on bass alongside Gary Peacock. 

On May Day, 1965, at Greenwich Village's Judson Hall Church, Ayler recorded a 20-minute frenetic improvisation which once again features his signature military-march influenced melody. The one-sided album that resulted from this, Bells,  features liner notes from a Downbeat review written by Dan Morgenstern writing "... there seems to be a great deal of wild humor in Ayler's music. Though often vehement, it is a celebration rather than a protest: much of it has the sheer 'bad boy' joy of making sounds."

At the urging of John Coltrane, a big fan of Ayler's music, Impulse Records signed Ayler in 1966. But even with the support of a larger and more respected label, Ayler never achieved a substantial audience. His first album was a live recording, Albert Ayler Live In Greenwich Village.  John Coltrane was in attendance, and Ayler played a song in honor of his friend, "For John Coltrane" in which Ayler played alto sax for the first time in years. 

Coltrane died in 1967 from liver cancer, and before his death he requested that Ayler perform at this funeral. Twice during his performance, it was reported that Ayler pulled the sax from his mouth. The first time was to emit a cry of anguish, and the second time a cry of joy to symbolize his friend's ascension into heaven. Ayler later reported: "John was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace, and he left in peace; but during his time here, he kept trying to reach new levels of awareness, of peace, of spirituality. That's why I regard the music he played as spiritual music -- John's way of getting closer and closer to the Creator."

There were other albums, some of which hewed more closely to tightly written compositions, some including vocals and a glance back to his early R&B days. His last, Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe, even features rock musicians like Henry Vestine of Canned Heat. 

Ayler went missing on November 5, 1970 and was found dead in New York City's East River on November 25, a presumed suicide. Ayler had, indeed, shown some increasing mental instability for some time before he disappeared. 

Kevin Ayers

 The British rock journalist, Nick Kent, summarized the importance of Kevin Ayers by writing: "Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett were the two most important people in British pop music. Everything that came after came from them." And both were big influences on me, but currently I'm concentrating on those whose name begins with "A". 

Kevin Ayers grew up in Malaysia and the relaxed, unpressured tropical lifestyle led him toward an approach to life that eschewed the competitive and angst-ridden nature of so much rock culture. He was, in other words, a hedonistic slacker intellectual -- of a sort. I remember meeting him for the first time in the restroom at Mudd Club in 1980. We ended up talking about Ibiza, where he had been living. In fact, it was because of some large financial loses involving poker that led Ayers to the States to play some cash-infusion gigs. For Ayers, sunny climes, good wine and food, and beautiful women always seemed to take precedence over pursuing musical career success.

That said, he still managed to create a career of great importance and creativity, working at times with such collaborators as Brian Eno, Syd Barrett, John Cale, Elton John, Robert Wyatt, Andy Summers, Mike Oldfield, Nico, and Ollie Halsall. In his early college years, he became active in the progressive Canterbury scene when he was invited to join The Wilde Flowers, a band featuring Robert Wyatt and Hugh Hopper. That band evolved into Caravan when Ayers and Wyatt left to form Soft Machine with Mike Ratledge and Daevid Allen. Their integration of rock and jazz was a unique form of psychedelia and they would often share stages with early Pink Floyd. Their debut single, "Love Makes Sweet Music/Feellin' Reelin' Squeelin'" was released in 1967 making it one of the first British psychedelic records. (You can hear Ayers' baritone on the B-Side and Wyatt's tenor on the A-Side) In 1968, the debut album, The Soft Machine, is considered a classic of the genre.

Soft Machine toured the States, opening for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Ayers became disillusioned with the frenetic craziness of rock touring so as soon as the tour ended he retreated to the beaches of Ibiza after selling his Fender Jazz Bass to Noel Redding. While in Ibiza, Ayers went into a song-writing binge resulting in his fist solo LP, Joy Of A Toy, an album that, along with Pink Floyd's Ummagumma were the first releases from the then newly formed Harvest Records label. Ayer's expansive creativity is evident as the LP includes circus marching music, pastoral folk tunes, some avant-garde noise, and a cut, "Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong" based upon a Malay folk song.

Shooting At The Moon (1970) soon followed and his band, called The Whole World, introduced a teenaged Mike Oldfield on bass and guitar, and featured avant-garde composer David Bedford on keyboards and Lol Coxhill on sax. It too fascinatingly integrates pure pop pleasure (with "May I", the opener capturing the whole Ayers sunny, slacker vibe) with avant tonalities and structures. Whatevershebringswesing, his next release is regarded by many of his fans as among his very best, though for me, it's his fourth (and final LP for Harvest at this time), Bananamour that I tend to prefer, featuring a blistering sax solo in the randy "When Your Parents Go To Sleep". This one also includes Ayer's portrait of Nico, "Decadence."

Now on Island Records, Ayers released The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories, marking Ayers' move to a more commercial sound. A short country hoedown "See You Later" asks koan-like (and reflecting his on-going Pataphysical interests) "How can you see me later when don't see me now?" flows right into the rocking "Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought Of You". It is with this album that he began his 20-year collaborative partnership with guitar wizard, Ollie Halsall. Then, on June 1, 1974, Ayers headlined a concert in London where he invited several of his friends -- John Cale, Nico, Brian Eno, and Mike Oldfield to participate. A wonderful album came of it with Eno performing the consummate version of "Baby's On Fire" and John Cale reinvented the Elvis Presley hit, "Heartbreak Hotel" highlighting the darkness of the lyric. That said, it apparently was a tension filled affair as the night before the concert, John Cale caught Ayers in bed with his wife, which became the genesis of Cale's bitter "Guts" that opens his Slow Dazzle LP released the following year.

In 1976, Ayers returned to Harvest for Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today) on which Halsall turns in a truly transcendent solo in the album's closer, "Blue" (This linked version features Andy Summers, the original is unavailable on YouTube). I can remember blasting it while standing in front of my stereo speakers, preparing for a night out. Rainbow Takeaway followed in 1978 and That's What You Get Babe in 1980 which features three of my favorite pop tunes from him: "Given And Taken" (a song that celebrates the anti-romantic idealism of those who are 'warriors in love') "I'm So Tired", and the closing "Where Do The Stars End" which may be the most honest love song ever written with this great verse opening: "Floating on moonbeans, with my head on your knee/But once again babe, I'm thinking about me./And though we're feeling close, and touching too/You have to admit babe, you're thinking 'bout you." It was at this time that I met him in NYC. 

In 1983, Diamond Jack and The Queen of Pain proved to be a low point with Ayers admitting he had no recollection of making the record! 1984 found him releasing Dejà... Vu and two years later, As Close As You Think. Neither received much attention. Finally, in 1988, Falling Up received the first positive reviews in years. This was followed by an acoustic album, Still Life With Guitar, recorded with folk band, Fairground Attraction.

In the late 90s, Ayers had fallen into reclusion and writing songs described by others who got to hear them as "poignant, insightful, and honest." Through the mechanizations of friends, some recording sessions were organized here in Tucson, Arizona at Wavelab Studios. A whole new generation of musicians influenced by Ayers came together (including members of Teenage Fanclub and Trash Can Sinatras), along with old friends Robert Wyatt, Phil Manzanera, Hugh Hopper, and Bridget St John to recored what became The Unfairground, released to critical acclaim in 2007. This proved that in a just world, and one in which Ayers just tried a bit harder, would have made him a much more popularly known musician songwriter. 

The Unfairground would be his last album. Kevin Ayers died February 18, 2013, at the age of 68.

This photo was taken in April, 1980 at Hurrah's in NYC. An example of the laid-back attitude Kevin embodied, he invited a friend of mine, a vocalist, to join in on stage having never heard her sing!

Avec Pas d'Casque

I first came to know of the Montreal "folk" band, Avec pas d'casque in 2013 when I came across their third album, Dommage Que Tu Sois Pris. The very notion of a French Canadian cowboy/country band, as perhaps as absurd as it may sound, was intriguing to me. I don't speak a word of French, so I've not a clue as to what any of their songs are about, but for weeks after my return home, every evening wouldn't be complete without this cd finding its way into my player as I sat with a wee dram or two of good ole American whiskey.

The band's name literally means, "with no helmet" referring to hockey players who don't wear helmets! They started out as a duo made up of film directors Stéphane Lafleur and Joël Vaudreuil who recorded a self-produced LP in 2004. Their first "official" release was Trois Chaudières De Sang, which came out in May, 2006. On a subsequent trip to Montreal, I picked up their debut and found it a bit less cowboy and being a duo effort, a bit more sparse in sound and arrangement.

In 2008, they gained a third member, Nicolas Moussette, and released their second album, Dans La Nature Jusqu'au Cou. With the later addition of Mathieu Charbonneau, they became the quartet that has continued, releasing Astronomie in 2012, which was a Juno nominee for Francophone Album of the Year, and features the addition of some horns on a few of the songs. 

Since the release of the album that grabbed my attention in 2013, they seem to have released only one other album in 2016 entitled Effets Spèciaux. Ironically, in my opinion it's their strongest release, the most fully realized, a romantic soundtrack to an evening at home in either wistful solitude or as a sweet love-making background soundtrack.

The Art Ensemble of Chicago

 Of the seven bands/musicians I'm covering for the letter "A", The Art Ensemble of Chicago is undoubtedly the most "out-there" in approach. They were/are an avant-garde, free-jazz ensemble that incubated in the fertile ground of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) based in Chicago in the late 60s. Much of their music was created spontaneously, improvised on the spot. They utilized an incredible array of instruments including what they referred to as "little instruments" such as bells, whistles, bicycle horns, wind chimes, birthday party noise makers, kalimbas, and a variety of percussion. And while each musician had their main instruments, they all contributed to the overall tonal effect through the varied use of these "little instruments."

Their first LP, Sound, was released in 1966 as a work from The Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, featuring Mitchell on sax, Lester Bowie on trumpet, and Malachi Favors on bass. The following year, they were joined by Joseph Jarman (also on sax) and Phillip Wilson on drums. and their performances grew theatrically. 

In describing what they were about, Jarman said: "So, what we were doing with that face painting was representing everyone throughout the universe, and that was expressed in the music as well. That's why the music was so interesting. It wasn't limited to Western instruments, African instruments, or Asian instruments, or South American instruments, or anybody's instruments."

It was during their residency in Paris starting in 1970 that they became known as The Art Ensemble of Chicago, which they felt represented the collaborative nature of their work. It was also during this time that drummer Don Moye joined the band as Phillip Wilson had left to join Paul Butterfield's Blues Band. Here, in Paris, in 1970, they recorded one of my favorite albums of all time, Les Stances A Sophie, featuring a blistering vocal from Fontella Bass, the iconic singer of the hit, "Rescue Me" and who was Lester Bowie's wife. 

Here's a performance from 1991, pretty much the group as I saw them and here's an example of their expressionistic improvised performances, replete with small instruments. And, finally, a tune they often performed, here an exciting performance from the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.

The last thing heard from those of the group remaining was in 2019, with a celebration of their 50th Anniversary.

Arcade Fire

 Arcade Fire is without a doubt the most famous of those artists starting with the letter "A" that I'm writing about. And, they are another Canadian band I first learned about at Soundscapes in Toronto. The store had listening statios where you could listen to a selection of CDs in order to see if you'd want to buy a particular CD. Between the accordion, the exuberantly warbling vocals of Win Butler, the Bjork-like vocals of his wife, Règine Chessagne on "I'm Sleeping In A Submarine" and the collective shouts in "No Cars Go", the first three trqacks of their eponymous EP, I knew  I'd be bying the record as I stood listening. "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" was the other stand-out track for me, and when I saw them play in live, I can remember the rhapsodic joy I felt standing at the listening station in Soundscapes, knowing I'd discovered a real gem of a band.

So, when I returned to Toronto a few months later, in 2004, I scoffed up Funeral without even bothering to listen at the listening station. The rewards were rich and many. It may still stand as the best debut LP of any band I can think of off the top of my head, and almost 20 years later, it sounds as fresh and exciting as it did the day I popped it into my cd player in my Subaru, as I drove back home to the Hudson Valley. It's an album I simply cannot singly out individual tracks since it's such a cohesive work of art. The "Neighborhood" series provides a unifying thread though each sonf has its own tonal palette. Again, the passionate vocalizing, the instrumentation, string arrangements, and evocative lyrics all work to make this one of the most rewarding and successful albums and deservedly has led it to being called one of the best and most important LPs of the 2000s so far. I guess I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the anthemic "Wake Up", which brings audiences to their feet to this day. 

Of course, when Neon Bible was released in 2007, I didn't think twice and grabbed my copy and while Funeral still featured heavily in my rotation, this new one did not disappoint. I found it a perfect accompaniment to my long drives along the New York Thruway from the Hudson Valley to Brooklyn I took ever week. The opening cut, "Black Mirror" sets the pace and "Keep The Car Running" takes it up two notches. I would often catch myself topping out at 100 mph while blasting these songs. There are also some darker hued tunes and a re-recording of "No Cars Go" that absolutely soars!

Strangely, it was around this time that I noticed a curious phenomenon. Though by this time Arcade Fire had moved from small clubs to arenas and festivals; though they had songs featured in television and film; though they had been endorsed by folks such as David Bowie; had appeared on David Letterman and Saturday Night Live; had received several Grammy nominations and had two albums in a row making many Top Ten lists; and even having some songs licensed by the NFL (the proceeds of which when to the charity Partners In Health), I kept meeting people who had never heard of the band! Often, if I then played a song by them, people would recognize the song. I found this strange: when I was growing up, popularity and financial success went hand in hand, but here was a band that was selling records and receiving great press, and yet they didn't seem to have much name recognition.

It was sometime between the release of Neon Bible and The Suburbs that I met Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld, their violinist, at a Moksha/Modo Yoga Teacher Training in India. I was on the Moksha Teacher Training faculty and Sarah was a student. I did not know who she was until on our one day off we traveled together into town. We were making small talk, and I had already shared a bit about my NYC punk-rock days in the East Village and how I was now living in Tucson. She then said, "Oh, my band played at Solar Culture", a small artist venue in the warehouse district of downtown Tucson. I asked for the name of her band and she tilted her head, and in a questioning voice said, "Arcade Fire?" as if I would not recognize the name. After I picked my jaw off the floor of the van, I asked why she acted like I wouldn't know the band. She said, "Well, we're not big with hippies." This struck me kind of funny as I'd already shared my punk credentials, and I aksed her why she would think me a hippy. "Well, you know... yoga people." "But Sarah, you're here to become a yoga teacher!" I then said and to this she laughed. Sarah still practices, even when on tour, and is a co-owner and yoga teacher at the two NYC Modo Yoga studios.

2010's The Suburbs was another resounding success as their popularity grew, now hitting number one on the Billboard Charts and winning a Grammy for Album of the Year while getting two other nominations including one for Best Alternative Music Album. Maybe it's an age thing, but I was still meeting people who hadn't heard of the band, even while it was hard to escape hearing them on the radio and in stores everywhere I went! Their next album, Reflektor, was released in 2013 and while being met with critical acclaim, the elector-disco elements took me a bit longer to grow to appreciate and still it's the album I listen to least of thier oeuvre.

In 2017, Everything Now was released and the title track reached number one on Billboard's Top 100. I've written a review here at this blog so all I'll say here is that the opening romantic piano flourish of the title cut still moves me and transports me to a mind movie as the best music tends to do. That year I saw the band perform in Denver and my friend, a newbie to Arcade Fire was blown away by the power of their playing and returned to Tucson a fan. 

The most recent LP, WE, was released last year (2022) and once again it leads off with a beautifully romantic piano motif in "Age Of Anxiety I". As the album progresses we hear elements from previous incarnations of the band with echoes of Reflektor as well as even Funeral but reenvisioned. 

So, Arcade Fire remains one of the most interesting of the "pop" rock bands I follow; perhaps now the most "commercial" among them. Sadly, the release of this album and the tour was tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse/exploitation on the part of the band's frontman/leader, Win Butler. In fact, after just two shows, Feist dropped out from the tour in solidarity with the women accusers. Allegations are just that, and both Win and Règine deny the charges, saying the relationships were all consensual. That said, the women accusing him of abuse are all young -- one just 18 -- and due to the age differences, and no doubt some fannish emotional entanglements, they seem to feel they were taken advantage of. Strangely, after a few days where the media announced this story, I've not seen any follow up. I do not know anything of the current situation. 

APOSTLE of HUSTLE

 

Apostle of Hustle only released 3 LPs and a few EPs over the course of their existence, and they are all worth hearing! They were a Canadian "indie-rock" band formed as one of the many side projects growing  out from the Toronto "supergroup/collective", Broken Social Scene. Apostle of Hustle was the brainchild of Andrew Whiteman formed after he had spent some time in Cuba learning to play the Cuban tres, sometimes thought to provide the defining sound of Cuban son. Wanting to create music inspired by the instrument and the music he heard in Cuba, Whiteman recruited Julian Brown and Dean Stone to form Apostle of Hustle, playing Brazilian and Cuban folk songs, covers by folk such as Tom Waits and Marc Ribot, as well as originals. 

I discovered their first CD, Folkloric Feel, at the late and deeply lamented Soundscapes in Toronto (where I discovered so much awesome Canadian music) soon after its release in late summer 2004. I'd been staying at the Toronto Zen Temple, where I did most of my Zen training, which at the time was on College, just down the road from Soundscapes. Guests appearing on that debut album include Feist, Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew, and Amy Millan, all from Broken Social Scene. The title starts off with some tenuous scratching, and grows into a stron rocking tune, evidence of the way they would interweave their influences. Other strong standouts include "Energy of Death", and "Dark Is What I Want/Strutters Ball" which plays with some jazz chording. There are quite a few soft-whispered ballads as well.

Three years later, they released their sophomore effort, National Anthem of Nowhere  featuring Liam O'Neil and Lisa Lobsinger as guests. Overall, I find it a more cohesive and rewarding album to listen to. The link provided brings you to most of the album, missing only the opening "My Sword Hand's Anger" and "Fast Pony For Victor Jara." The title cut and "The Naked & Alone" are strong rockers, followed by the jagged "Haul Away" and "Cheap Like Sabastien". "Rafaga" is a frenetic piece that moves through some interesting changes. "Jimmy Scott Is The Answer" tags the wonderful Jazz vocalist Lou Reed was a huge fan of. The album ends with the dark-hued "NoNoNo".

Later that year, the band released an EP of three different versions of "My Sword Hand's Anger". And one month later they recorded with Tanya Tagaq who they then joined with for a tour. 

In 2009, they went on tour with Gogol Bordello. I got to see them here in Tucson when the tour stopped at the Rialto. Everyone I went to the show with were familiar with Gogol Bordello and went to see them while for me, the thrill was to see Apostle of Hustle. Afterward, my friends all agreed that while Gogol Bordello put on a fine, fun show, they pretty much put on a one-note vibe, playing all their songs at the same high-energy and volume level while Apostle of Hustle showed themselves to be more varied and interesting. 

Their last album, Eats Darkness, featuring the loon on its cover, was released in mid-2009. The link offers a look at an intimate live performance of "Eazy Speaks." 

Akron/Family

 Today, March 1, 2023, I thought it might be fun to do a version of something I did decades ago when I was a deejay for Queens College radio: Alphabet Soup. Each week I will spotlight some artists for each of the letters of the alphabet. And thus, this week, I'll present seven bands and solo artists whose name begins with the letter "A"

Akron/Family were an American alt-folk/experimental/psychedelic/post-rock/noise band active from 2002 to 2013. Each of the musicians played multiple instruments and vocalized. Their music incorporated improvisation and the use of "found noise" such as that of a creaking rocking chair, thunder, and white noise.

Though none of the members were native New Yorkers, they became a hub of creativity that revolved around the Gimmel Coffee House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from 2003 - 2007. It was while based in Brooklyn that they came to the attention of Michael Gira of Swans and Angels of Light fame, who signed the band to his label as well as collaborated with them on several projects.

They has already released their eponymous LP in 2005 along with a collaborative LP entitled Akron/Family & Angels of Light same year. I first became aware of them with the 2006 release, Meek Warrior. The opening cut, "Blessing Force" is a wild rave that features wild rhythmic changes, elements of discordant noise and an ebullient chant. Its 9-minute assault ends abruptly and is followed by the pastorally acoustic tune built around the Mahaprajñaparamita Mantra, entitled "Gone Beyond." Other songs such as "The Lightening Bold of Compassion and the closing "Love and Space" evidence their Buddhist inclinations. 

The following year brought Love Is Simple, the opening, "Love, Love, Love (Everyone)" begins with the Tibetan Buddhist teaching that "every precious living being" has at one time been one's mother, so we must "Go out and love, love, everyone." Perhaps my favorite cut from this LP, featuring a glockenspiel, is "Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead" which is sung after a verse where they repeat "Don't be afraid, it's only love" leading into the chorus: "Love is simple." 

.Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free was released in 2009, followed by 2011's S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT and their final LP dropped in 2013. Throughout their career, the quality of their work never faltered.

ALL THEIR ALBUMS can be found here.