In Defence of Albert Ayler and The New Thing

Jazz Monthly in February 1968 had a five page article on Albert Ayler and "The New Thing" in music, defending avante-garde jazz and Albert Ayler, no doubt to still conservative jazz fans in the late 60s. The first section of the article is below. I'll follow up with the remainder in future blogs.

Albert Ayler—Conservative Revolution?

W.A. BALDWIN

It is when we come to the work of the rhythm section that we find a little more in the way of real innovation. Even here however there has been considerable exaggeration of the amount of innovation which has actually taken place. One cannot help suspecting that some critics regard it as their obligation to find new developments even where none exists: how else are we to explain all these references to the elimination of the distinction between the rhythm section and the front line ? We are assured that it is now difficult to say who is accompanying whom, that the rhythm section now occupies a position of equality with the horns. Now one can think of examples where the rhythm section dominates the proceedings, but this is invariably when the horns are extremely weak. (Or perhaps the horns are so weak because of the dominance of the rhythm section.) Perhaps l might refer the reader to the review in this magazine of “Barrage” by the Paul Bley Quintet; Max Harrison (in the June 1966 issue) opens with some comments on collective improvisation in the New Thing, and manages to include the inevitable remark that . . it becomes absurd to speak of “front line‘ and ‘rhythm section’ as separate entities". He goes on however to admit that “the horns . . . actually say very little"; then he concludes by saying that . .this record is more attractive for its manner (i.e. the collective improvising) than its matter". Whilst agreeing entirely with this assessment of the quality of the music, I should like to suggest that it is the manner which is responsible for the low standard of the actual content.

It seems to this listener that on all the most musically worthwhile of the New Thing recordings there is no doubt whatsoever about who is being accompanied and who is doing the accompanying. This is most certainly the case with Ayler, whose solos show a formal perfection which would be impossible if Ayler were prepared to change the course of his solos in order to accommodate every whim of his accompanist.

During the course of this article I have, as l am well aware, tended to avoid discussing in very much depth the work of the rhythm sections on Ayler’s records. This is because quite franklyl find it difiicult to discern the underlying principle behind their work. Most of the figures played by Sonny Murray on drums are clearly related to the beat, but do not actually seem to give much consistent rhythmic support. This does not detract as seriously from the records as one might imagine, because Ayler‘s rhythmic control is such that he seems quite assured even in passages where he gets no rhythmic support at all. And it is not really so wildly revolutionary either, because the accompaniments that country blues singers give themselves can often amount to a sort of free commentary rather than a rhythmic backing. From myown point of view I should like to hear Ayler with a more positive accompaniment. It can however be said of Murray and the various bassists that their contribution never actually clashes with Ayler’s soloing, which may seem faint praise indeed, but which is really saying quite a lot in view of some of the rhythm sections to be heard today. Murray in particular shows a considerable awareness of dynamics and his frequently simple and repetitive but powerful figures can heighten the efiect of a climax. Of the bassists, Lewis Worrell gives the most consistent rhythmic support on Holy Ghost from the “New Wave in Jazz" album. Peacock is the most individual of Ayler’s accompanists, and the one whose ideas can at times seem most independent of Ayler’s soloing, although some of the most memorable moments on Ayler’s records occur when Peacock plays strongly rhythmic but imaginative figures behind him. There is no doubt that today's rhythm sections have become tired of the stereotyped but efficient devices which constitute standard practice in Modern and Mainstream jazz. There might be some reason for maintaining that in throwing away the rule-book today‘s players have made way for some inefficient and even downright unhelpful rhythm section work. This is true enough but to talk about throwing away the rules is rather misleading. The standardised conventions of rhythm section playing have no really universal application. They do not, for example, apply in New Orleans jazz, which might be compared to the New Thing in that the absence of any real accepted practice gives plenty of latitude to an individualist such as Baby Dodds but also allows lesser musicians to get away with some very poor work. it also means that individually fine musicians may prove incompatible. In the dispute surrounding the New Orleans All-Stars, for example, the evidence of the record suggests that Max Harrison was right to criticise the rhythm section. This does not alterthe fact that both Frazier and Purnell have been outstanding in other contexts. The danger of incompatibility is very real in free jazz but this is not an insurmountable difiiculty, for two reasons. First of all, groups within the new style tend to be organised on a less casual basis than in standard Modern Jazz, so that there is not the same immediate necessity of musicians being able to play together. Secondly, if a leader feels that he is not getting very helpful accompaniment he can always get rid of his accompanists. Critics who speak of anarchy when rules are broken tend to ignore such essentially practical considerations. Rhythm section men today have at least one discipline on their work—they want to keep their jobs.