egroj world: Albert Ayler • My Name Is Albert Ayler

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Albert Ayler • My Name Is Albert Ayler

Review by Thom Jurek
Hearing the soft-spoken voice of Albert Ayler at the beginning of this 1963 recording is spooky. Not because he's gone, but because he's so calm, so young, and so hesitantly articulate: Nothing like the voice of his saxophone playing at all. This session is a reissue of a Fantasy recording, and one which pairs Ayler up with a Scandinavian rhythm section that includes the 16-year-old Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass. After the weirdly wonderful spoken intro, Ayler goes for the throat on soprano in "Bye Bye Blackbird." It's difficult to tell if Ayler's tonality on the horn is intentional or the rhythm section is just so stick-in-the-butt rigid that he sounds more out of tune than he is. Ayler plays tenor on the rest of the program, which includes "Summertime," "Billie's Bounce," "On Green Dolphin Street," and "C.T." The session becomes irritating in that the rhythm section refuses to give Ayler the room he needs: they play straight bop no matter what, as if they couldn't play anything else. Only on "Summertime" does he connect with the inner voices of his emotions and lets loose in what would be come his trademark wail. Born equally of gospel, R&B, and early jazz phrasing, Ayler lets loose a torrent of emotion on the tune, making everything -- and everyone on the bandstand -- else seem nonexistent in comparison. This is a strange record, like a soloist mismatched with the recording of another band, but nonetheless there is that singular tenor voice to contend with, and, on "Summertime," it is unfathomably beautiful.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-name-is-albert-ayler-mw0000197172

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Reseña de Thom Jurek
Escuchar la voz suave de Albert Ayler al principio de esta grabación de 1963 es espeluznante. No porque se haya ido, sino porque es tan tranquilo, tan joven y tan vacilantemente articulado: Nada que ver con la voz de su saxofón. Esta sesión es una reedición de una grabación de Fantasy, en la que se combina a Ayler con una sección rítmica escandinava que incluye a Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, de 16 años, al bajo. Tras la extrañamente maravillosa introducción hablada, Ayler se lanza a la garganta con la soprano en "Bye Bye Blackbird". Es difícil saber si la tonalidad de la trompa de Ayler es intencionada o si la sección rítmica es tan rígida que suena más desafinado de lo que es. Ayler toca el tenor en el resto del programa, que incluye "Summertime", "Billie's Bounce", "On Green Dolphin Street" y "C.T.". La sesión se vuelve irritante porque la sección rítmica se niega a dar a Ayler el espacio que necesita: tocan bop directo a toda costa, como si no pudieran tocar otra cosa. Sólo en "Summertime" conecta con las voces interiores de sus emociones y se suelta en lo que más tarde sería su característico lamento. Nacido a partes iguales del gospel, el R&B y los primeros fraseos de jazz, Ayler da rienda suelta a un torrente de emoción en la melodía, haciendo que todo lo demás -y todos los presentes en el escenario- parezca inexistente en comparación. Se trata de un disco extraño, como si un solista no coincidiera con la grabación de otra banda, pero aun así hay que enfrentarse a esa singular voz de tenor y, en "Summertime", es insondablemente hermosa.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-name-is-albert-ayler-mw0000197172

Tracks:
1 - Introduction By Albert Ayler - 1:15
2 - Bye Bye Blackbird - 7:30
3 - Billie's Bounce - 5:59
4 - Summertime - 8:47
5 - On Green Dolphin Street - 9:05
6 - C.T. - 12:02

Credits:
    Bass – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
    Design – Malcolm Walker
    Drums – Ronnie Gardiner
    Liner Notes – Eric Weidemann
    Photography By – D.F. Photo Archive*
    Piano – Niels Brønsted
    Producer – Ole Vestegaard Jensen*
    Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Albert Ayler

Recorded in Copenhagen, January 14th, 1963 by Danish Radio.

Label:    Black Lion Records – BLCD760211, Black Lion Records – BLCD 760211
Country:    USA & Europe
Released:    1995
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Free Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/23563796-Albert-Ayler-My-Name-Is-Albert-Ayler