Fri 12/2 @ 7PM
Sax player, vocalist and composer Albert Ayler grew up in Cleveland where he graduated from John Adams High School in the mid 50s. After a stint in the army and some peripatetic years, he settled in New York City where he became a legend in the then-thriving avant-garde jazz community, although he never found a large audience.
That was due in large part to the fact that even most serious jazz listeners didn’t know what to make of him. He worked on the fringes of free jazz, but never quite fit that mold either. His music was highly experimental and radically unique, often (apparently) formless, often reflecting a deeply personal and unorthodox form of spirituality. His death in 1970 at the age of 34 — he was found floating in NYC’s East River, an apparent suicide — only enhanced his legend.
Given that, it’s hard to believe that the new book, Holy Ghost: The Life and Death of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler, is the first full-length look at the artist and his career. Author Richard Koloda has a master’s degree in musicology from Cleveland State University and was a friend of Ayler’s brother Don. He has contributed to previous Ayler projects, including a Swedish documentary and a ten-CD retrospective of his work.
He’ll be talking about the book and signing it at Visible Voice Books this week. It’s free and open to all.